The Secret World
TSW is doing a free-to-all weekend, and I've played some. Not sure I feel the need to do much more with it, though. Started a couple characters, and while the flavors of the factions are different, things play out much the same, so there doesn't seem a whole lot of incentive to run alts. And playing for "depth" isn't going to happen in the span of a weekend.
Movement and animations are about what I've come to expect - jumping looks a little stiff, but things generally move okay and look pretty good. I still haven't seen an MMO where characters move as well as in WoW, but then the level of detail there is aging, so there's some trade-off. Combat seems to play out reasonably well, with positioning and facing mattering. Big area moves from opponents are telegraphed in a good, interesting way that shows the area about to get hit and effectively a timer on the ground. There's limited height in the game - some buildings have multiple levels and there are ladders to climb here and there, but you generally won't be running along rooftops and there didn't seem to be any falling damage. The point-based skill system is interesting - I don't know if it really functions that much better than levels, but it seems perfectly serviceable. Being able to combine two weapon styles is nice. I do sort of like that stats are all associated with weapons and talismans rather than the clothes you wear, the latter being purely cosmetic. I didn't see a whole lot of options to get a unique look I liked, but I know some options are purchased, some earned through faction rank, and some through purchasing specific arrangements of skills ("decks") that serve as sort of loose class archtypes.
The atmosphere and setting are good, and I wanted to learn more. But on the flip side, having a silent (and barely responsive most of the time) character really took me out of a lot of the cut scenes. In the realm of mostly-text (like WoW), I could better instill my own thoughts. In the world of voice-acting... a silent protagonist is sorely lacking. I want some sort of reaction to a manic dude showing up on my doorstep and offering recruitment among the Illuminati. Even if there was only one choice, that'd be something. SWTOR pulled off the illusion of choice in reactions a whole lot better - not perfect, but waaaay better.
At least early on, it looks like the factions can work together (yay!) and get basically the same quests and areas to work with (boo!), so the game appears at a glance to be group-friendly, but not so alt-friendly. I know there is PVP too, and I'm not sure how things play out later on.
Overall? Interesting. At this time, though, it doesn't seem worth a subscription to play to me.
Movement and animations are about what I've come to expect - jumping looks a little stiff, but things generally move okay and look pretty good. I still haven't seen an MMO where characters move as well as in WoW, but then the level of detail there is aging, so there's some trade-off. Combat seems to play out reasonably well, with positioning and facing mattering. Big area moves from opponents are telegraphed in a good, interesting way that shows the area about to get hit and effectively a timer on the ground. There's limited height in the game - some buildings have multiple levels and there are ladders to climb here and there, but you generally won't be running along rooftops and there didn't seem to be any falling damage. The point-based skill system is interesting - I don't know if it really functions that much better than levels, but it seems perfectly serviceable. Being able to combine two weapon styles is nice. I do sort of like that stats are all associated with weapons and talismans rather than the clothes you wear, the latter being purely cosmetic. I didn't see a whole lot of options to get a unique look I liked, but I know some options are purchased, some earned through faction rank, and some through purchasing specific arrangements of skills ("decks") that serve as sort of loose class archtypes.
The atmosphere and setting are good, and I wanted to learn more. But on the flip side, having a silent (and barely responsive most of the time) character really took me out of a lot of the cut scenes. In the realm of mostly-text (like WoW), I could better instill my own thoughts. In the world of voice-acting... a silent protagonist is sorely lacking. I want some sort of reaction to a manic dude showing up on my doorstep and offering recruitment among the Illuminati. Even if there was only one choice, that'd be something. SWTOR pulled off the illusion of choice in reactions a whole lot better - not perfect, but waaaay better.
At least early on, it looks like the factions can work together (yay!) and get basically the same quests and areas to work with (boo!), so the game appears at a glance to be group-friendly, but not so alt-friendly. I know there is PVP too, and I'm not sure how things play out later on.
Overall? Interesting. At this time, though, it doesn't seem worth a subscription to play to me.
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