Post by Morreion on Jun 18, 2012 13:52:03 GMT -5
This past weekend The Secret World had its beta weekend #3- here's my impressions!
TSW is a contemporary/horror themed MMO- this is refreshing, because let's face it, fantasy is a bit overdone by now
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When creating a character, you pick 1 of 3 factions that are battling to guide the future of humanity. There is 3-faction consensual PvP too. The backstory is pretty cool. The game itself is full of mysteries, conspiracy theories, the unknown- it's a great vibe. Sort of The X-Files meets MMOs.
Character creation is well-done, and you can pick your clothing and accessories too. The characters look more realistic than idealistic, if you know what I mean.
The loading screens and the music are well-done. Everything is dark and mysterious, setting the tone for the game quite well.
Your character appears in the opening cutscenes, which are cinematic- all of the cutscenes are. They are quite well-done, and give you good info on the setting and situation.
Depending on the faction you pick, you start out in London, New York City, or Seoul. The zones are very well-done and it looks like you're in a detailed single-player game setting. They capture the flavor of the cities they represent. The graphics look great, quite realistic. As in AoC, there are different phases or instances of zones to avoid overcrowding and lag. You can travel to the phase of your group leader at the click of a button.
Interfaces and menus are different than the run-of-the-mill MMO UI. And the maps are styled to fit their zones.
In a training instance, you actually can watch in-game video tutorials.
You travel between regions of the world by entering a mysterious region called the Hollow Earth and zoning through portals.
Kingsmouth is an early zone you are sent to by your faction master. Think of H.P. Lovecraft's creepy New England small town setting, taken over by zombies. Have I said that the cutscenes are great? Yeah, I have. They're occasionally funny and always atmospheric, and for mature audiences. Not your usual MMO stuff. The zones look quite detailed and lifelike- as if they were lived-in, not squeaky clean.
You have different types of quests to do- your main story questline, investigation missions, side missions, and so on. TSW is a skill-based game- there are no levels. As you advance, you gain ability points and skill points to spend. Your weapon specialty is where you gain your various abilities- for instance, if you select shotgun, you can invest in damage skills or support skills such as knockbacks and snares. There are also heals and lifetaps. By the way, you can specialize in 3 different types of magic, as well as 3 types of guns and 3 types of melee weapons. Combat, once you get the hang of it, is fairly straightforward. You purchase the abilities you desire the most from your pool of points that you gain by earning experience.
Here's the ability wheel, where you build your character's specializations.
Here's a mission where you have to hack into a computer database to gain information- you get hints to figure out the password. There are a decent amount of missions like this where you have to think a bit- or use the built-in game browser to search for info.
There are some really nasty creatures out there, with special abilities of their own.
Death is quite atmospheric too!
To sum up, I had a favorable reaction to the TSW beta. TSW has a good vibe, is for mature audiences- the New York City Illuminati like to drop f-bombs, and have a narcotic-loving doctor- it immerses you in a non-standard genre, and is not your typical hack n' slash MMO that you've seen a dozen times. Some quests even require you to think a bit. This game requires some attention and input from a player. Overall, this is not a generic appeal-to-everybody experience. Thumbs up for Funcom in going out on a limb a bit with this game. I'm seriously considering buying it and playing.
TSW is a contemporary/horror themed MMO- this is refreshing, because let's face it, fantasy is a bit overdone by now
. When creating a character, you pick 1 of 3 factions that are battling to guide the future of humanity. There is 3-faction consensual PvP too. The backstory is pretty cool. The game itself is full of mysteries, conspiracy theories, the unknown- it's a great vibe. Sort of The X-Files meets MMOs.
Character creation is well-done, and you can pick your clothing and accessories too. The characters look more realistic than idealistic, if you know what I mean.
The loading screens and the music are well-done. Everything is dark and mysterious, setting the tone for the game quite well.
Your character appears in the opening cutscenes, which are cinematic- all of the cutscenes are. They are quite well-done, and give you good info on the setting and situation.
Depending on the faction you pick, you start out in London, New York City, or Seoul. The zones are very well-done and it looks like you're in a detailed single-player game setting. They capture the flavor of the cities they represent. The graphics look great, quite realistic. As in AoC, there are different phases or instances of zones to avoid overcrowding and lag. You can travel to the phase of your group leader at the click of a button.
Interfaces and menus are different than the run-of-the-mill MMO UI. And the maps are styled to fit their zones.
In a training instance, you actually can watch in-game video tutorials.
You travel between regions of the world by entering a mysterious region called the Hollow Earth and zoning through portals.
Kingsmouth is an early zone you are sent to by your faction master. Think of H.P. Lovecraft's creepy New England small town setting, taken over by zombies. Have I said that the cutscenes are great? Yeah, I have. They're occasionally funny and always atmospheric, and for mature audiences. Not your usual MMO stuff. The zones look quite detailed and lifelike- as if they were lived-in, not squeaky clean.
You have different types of quests to do- your main story questline, investigation missions, side missions, and so on. TSW is a skill-based game- there are no levels. As you advance, you gain ability points and skill points to spend. Your weapon specialty is where you gain your various abilities- for instance, if you select shotgun, you can invest in damage skills or support skills such as knockbacks and snares. There are also heals and lifetaps. By the way, you can specialize in 3 different types of magic, as well as 3 types of guns and 3 types of melee weapons. Combat, once you get the hang of it, is fairly straightforward. You purchase the abilities you desire the most from your pool of points that you gain by earning experience.
Here's the ability wheel, where you build your character's specializations.
Here's a mission where you have to hack into a computer database to gain information- you get hints to figure out the password. There are a decent amount of missions like this where you have to think a bit- or use the built-in game browser to search for info.
There are some really nasty creatures out there, with special abilities of their own.
Death is quite atmospheric too!
To sum up, I had a favorable reaction to the TSW beta. TSW has a good vibe, is for mature audiences- the New York City Illuminati like to drop f-bombs, and have a narcotic-loving doctor- it immerses you in a non-standard genre, and is not your typical hack n' slash MMO that you've seen a dozen times. Some quests even require you to think a bit. This game requires some attention and input from a player. Overall, this is not a generic appeal-to-everybody experience. Thumbs up for Funcom in going out on a limb a bit with this game. I'm seriously considering buying it and playing.
