The Secret World

[Morgan Shackelford]

I do get a few questions about this, so I thought I'd share the trailer - it might clarify a little bit what the game is about.

It's a very different type of mmorpg. To give an idea, I can tell you that one single mission I accepted took me 3 days to complete - and not for what would be considered typical reasons. I didn't have to engage a single enemy during that mission.

Another mission had me decoding a message from Morse. Yet another mission involved solving a series of mathematical logic puzzles.

All this is set amid the modern day world, couched in true life mythology and horror.

[Cleo Mavendorf]

Wow...aside from the fact that I am far too stupid to solve those sort of puzzles it looks quite interesting

[CAPT Huckabee]

yea it does look really cool. I would maybe try it, but I've done got MechWarrior set for my next game I'm goin to do.

[Morgan Shackelford]

Looks like its free this weekend, if anyone wanted to see what it's about:

http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/celebrate_the_first_live_month_of_the_secret_world

[Mystrandir]

If you want to try something a little different, I recommend giving it a look see. The investigation missions can get very difficult. I have bypassed a couple myself, no way I'd complete them. Also, they are in the minority in terms of quantity. You can still find the standard kill or deliver missions, plus missions that might involve some platforming skills to navigate a room and turn off a security panel. I found that to be a nice change.

The open skill system lets you play any role once you have a good base of skills bought up. You can shift builds relatively easily, the associated equipment not so much as it stands now. They went with many mini-hubs for mission givers. The idea being, you take a couple missions here and where you finish up puts you near a few more. Doing those missions brings you near some others, etc. Leading to your covering the whole map eventually.

One aspect I have enjoyed is they remove the training wheels for some missions. You get it and the rest is up to you. No circle on the map to hint at an area, no long exposition in the mission description, sorta like the old days. I remember one that was, break into this place and get me some info on such and such. Pretty much all you had to go on.

[Christian M. Hanson]

patching it now. One of the better game trailers that i've seen..

update: Played the game for a few hours, it was okay.

[Morgan Shackelford]

Christian M. Hanson wrote:

patching it now. One of the better game trailers that i've seen.. update: Played the game for a few hours, it was okay.

I would say that on many levels, it's not necessarily different than other MMO's. Strip away the theme and setting, and you're still just a character running around an area fighting things.

What sold me on this game - and I mean sold me - I bought the LTS before it even launched, which something I didn't even do with STO - was a mission called 'The Kingsmouth Code.'

Go see Henry Hawthorne at the church in Kingsmouth; he gives the mission. It is a special, unrepeatable mission called an Investigation.

It took me 3 solid days of gameplay to complete, and the feeling of absolute accomplishment you get from finishing it is what made me open my wallet. Not enough games - MMO or otherwise - do that anymore.

Don't look up walkthroughs, or spoilers, online. Don't ask for help in chat or on the forums. Figure out the mission on your own. At the end of every step you figure out, you're going to get a sense of accomplishment. You're going to pat yourself on the back and applaud your own skills. It is by no means an easy mission; it requires critical thinking skills, inside, and outside, the box. You'll stare at your screen for minutes, passing into hours, sifting through clues, racking your brain, following up on leads, eliminating dead ends, until you have that 'Eureka' moment. And when you do, you'll see what sets TSW apart from other titles.

It still may not end up being your cup of tea, and I would certainly respect that - but I just wanted to share with you (and all) what set this game apart for me; because I would think it would do the same for everyone.

[VADM JT Kerry]

Looks like a cross between Neverwinter Nights meets Night Of The Living Dead meets Grand Theft Auto.
JT

[xivim]

It is a great game. I beta tested it for a few months, and loved every minute of it. I would be playing it if i had the money to buy it, but alas...

[Captain Talbot]

what server are you on?

[Morgan Shackelford]

It's essentially one big server. You choose a 'shard' when you create your character, but you can meet up with people on other shards and play with them. So it's exactly like STO - just the instances have names.