By Jason Van Horn

I hate The Secret World and I say that with nothing but the utmost respect for the game. MMOs too often use the same fantasy or sci-fi trappings such as elves, dwarves, humanoid robots and aliens. The Secret World is a game grounded in reality, however, and focusing more on lore, mythology, literature, and real-world philosophies and theories and conspiracies more than any other game in the genre that I've played. The storytelling. The character building. An atmospheric world I want to delve into and unravel the secrets of until the final thread is pulled free. If it weren't for my computer I'd be able to experience the game to its fullest, which is where my hatred comes in. I hate the game for making me want to upgrade my rig in order to properly play it.



Players begin by choosing their faction/ideology: the Illuminati (all about holding power and influencing people), the Templars (the righteous protectors of all that is good), or the Dragons (bringers of chaos in order to shape the world into something new). Unlike some games where the factions are always at war, in The Secret World the three learn of a common enemy, so people you quest with or find yourself helping or being helped by out in the field are not necessarily going to be from your faction. The only time you'll actually be fighting members of the other factions is in the declared PVP zones. With that said, it's still interesting to see how the different factions are approached and how their missions are changed depending on which one you're a part of in the game. The bulk of my time was spent with the Dragons, who are a terrorist organization of sorts, but one focused on chaos theory, the butterfly effect, and how even little changes can make big impacts. So you won't be exploding buildings, but rather the simple completion of quests will lead to changes simply by you doing them. There is a whole discussion on chaos theory during the beginning portion of the game and an exploration of enlightenment and how said player reaches it in the game (definitely not for the kiddies that method isn't) that is truly fascinating and made me actually go look up chaos theory for more information on it.

You'll be able to customize your character once a faction is selected, but sadly the options aren't as deep as in some other games; choices are made through pre-set options, so you'll pick which face number you like the best, which nose, and so on until you have their look down. Besides picking their physical features, you'll also choose their starting clothes that they'll be wearing initially in the game.
As you can see I haven't mentioned anything about classes and that's because there are no pre-defined rolls that players have to be tied down to while playing the game. While in a dojo of the Dragons, I made my first character decision when it came to choose my first weapon in the game, which boiled down to choosing between either one of three magics, one of three gun types, or one of three melee weapons. Players can choose between weapons such as blood magic, assault rifles, shotguns, hammers, and swords. As you play the game you'll earn both AP and SP, which you'll use to buy new abilities, passives, and unlock weapons you didn't initially pick.



You'll then freely use these points, allocating them into areas you determine, in order to build a character and class that truly behaves however you wish. You can learn every weapon, but you can only have two weapons in use at once, so your hotbar can be a mash-up of say assault rifle and sword abilities, but you can't include hammers unless you remove one or the other; finding that perfect synergy and a combination of weapons and abilities that work well together is the name of building a successful class. If you find all the options too daunting, however, you can choose to focus on building "decks," which are what you would consider regular game classes or those the developers have said, "Well hey, if you don't know what to do, these aren't bad options," so it's nice to have a guideline to follow or get suggestions from. You can buy anything you want as long as you've followed the progression and have enough points, as more powerful abilities cost more points to unlock. As you unlock abilities, your character is ultimately defined by the seven active and seven passive abilities that you've chosen for that "build."

So what's this mean? Well it means there are no levels. You'll still have to beef yourself up with weapons, armor, and the proper abilities, but there aren't cases of players having to be a certain level in order to partake in a quest. As described to me during a game tour, progression doesn't happen vertically as it does in most games, where everything is defined by your level such as new content or abilities only happening when certain levels are met, but rather character progression in The Secret World happens horizontally. It's a lovely philosophy and one I found worked quite well during my alone time with the game and on the tour.



Combat is a mix of real-time and "dial an attack" like most games - think of the movement and dodging of TERA, but with the power functioning of World of Warcraft. Players focus on an enemy by tabbing them and then attacks can be used by pressing one of the seven hotkeys. Unlike World of Warcraft, however, you're not tied to standing still, as you can melee, shoot guns, and cast spells while on the move. So yes, there are abilities or spells that aren't instant and need to be channeled, but you can do these on the move, and they are only canceled if you dodge roll or an enemy breaks it with a particularly powerful attack.

It's hard to get a good gauge of the combat early into the game, as many enemies just run up to you and attack you with regular close swipes. As you continue to advance and come across stronger monsters and bosses, more interesting mechanics are displayed and combat becomes actually a really fun treat. During my tour, we got to take part in a dungeon called Darkness Wars, which acts like dungeons in other games, but yet didn't at the same time. The Secret World's dungeons do away with pointless trash mobs and instead focus on storytelling and those mini-bosses and final bosses that make dungeons fun to play in the first place. During these boss battles you'll often see glyph-like marks appear on the ground - these indicate an area that is soon going to be hit by an attack. Since you are able to freely move about, it's up to you to jump in close, get some distance, or dodge projectiles as they come. If a circle appears right around an enemy, you know they're going to do a ground pound. If a conical glyph appears, you know to move to the side. The glyphs are a subtle hint that some would call cheating, but just because you see them doesn't mean you're in the clear, as you're still going to have to act fast enough in order to avoid the attack. Unlike a lot of MMOs I've played recently, I really found myself connected to the combat during these skirmishes and battles actually felt action packed and kept me involved. I wasn't just dialing in attacks, but rather actively engaging, feeling a part of the game, and feeling a sense of thrill as a particularly hard boss was toppled.



I also really like how The Secret World is handling questing, as there are no major hubs where you can grab a bunch of quests, head out, and then return and get your rewards for them. Quests in the game are more natural feeling and while you are led along to some quest NPCs, others aren't as easily found; such is the way of the game's lore and mythology, which players will find scattered about in fragments and pieces that need to be fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Personally, I'm a big fan of storytelling (as long as it's good storytelling) and I like that the bulk of the game's story is told through actual in-game cutscenes whenever you choose to accept a mission; some people will naturally just care about being the most powerful player and skip by these, but they'd be doing themselves a disservice as I was quite engrossed in the story and fundamental ideas at the heart of the game.

The Secret World also streamlines questing in some clever ways that make it fun and not a bore. One feature I like is that once you've finished a quest, you don't have to run back to wherever the quest NPC giver is, but rather you use your cell phone, call them up, and from where you ended the mission you can grab your experience and rewards; anything that keeps the action and experience flowing is a plus in my book. Another questing mechanic (arguably my favorite one at that) that I enjoy is the idea that everyone is sharing this world and working together, despite the fact that factions have different motives. If you've ever played an MMO, I'm sure you've had to "wait in line" for your turn at a quest or monster, sitting there waiting for a spawn to happen and have it be your turn or else all hell breaking loose and people fighting to get the first hit so they get credit. The Secret World has done away with this because now, as long as you've helped, you'll get credit for that progression. The game has basically taken a solo experience and made it into a communal joint effort that rewards you for helping other players and getting involved without the need to necessarily put people into groups.



After you finish your faction's opening area, you'll next find yourself questing in Kingsmouth, which is a dark, gothic landscape with creatures, lore, and mythology centered around literary tones/authors like Stephen King and Lovecraft (probably the biggest inspiration for this area in particular). The whole world isn't built around this style and tone, however, as you'll soon land in Egypt and then Transylvania. Egypt is all about mummies, plagues, and curses while Transylvania is focused on things like werewolves, but primarily vampires and Dracula himself. The trick is that while The Secret World may use things that we're familiar with, it does so in a way that's still fresh and unique to the game's mythology. Dracula, for example, isn't the Bela Lugosi Dracula one might think of, as it's rationalized that this version of the character is more a farce and cover for who/what Dracula really is in "the secret world" that rests underneath the one we think we know. So it's great to see the game use some material that genre fans should know, but at the same time give them a spin so it's not exactly the same and there's still something to learn and experience even if you "think" you know all there is about Dracula.

So there you have it, a taste of The Secret World to hopefully whet your appetite for the game when it officially launches, and why I now find myself in the position where I'm scrambling to upgrade my computer so I can partake in and truly appreciate the game to its fullest. Thanks Funcom for making me spend money, but by what I've seen and experienced, it looks like the upgrade will be worth it in the end.

http://www.thesecretworld.com/