the-secret-world-press-beta
Latest
Hands-on with The Secret World's Darkness War dungeon
What do Vikings, Excalibur, native Americans, and Mayan hell-beasts have in common? They're all part of The Secret World's Darkness War dungeon, of course. The instance's story setup is pretty slick, and I don't think we're treading too far into spoiler territory if I reveal that you'll be taking a peyote-fueled trip through time and memory to experience a traumatic event from the annals of the Wabanaki tribe that dwells in the game's Blue Mountain region. Earlier this week I took my own trip through the dungeon -- as well as parts of Egypt, Transylvania, and New England -- with a trusty Funcom guide and a pair of similarly enthralled game journalists. While it wasn't necessarily mind-altering, it was bizarrely enjoyable in a uniquely Secret World sort of way.
Raising hell in The Secret World's Hell Raised instance
Welcome to The Secret World's Overlook Motel, where the sheets are clean, the service is friendly, and there's an ominous doorway to Hell in every room. Such is the beginning of the second instanced dungeon of Funcom's upcoming horror-fantasy MMO, which sees players descending deep into the bowels of the underworld to put an end to a raging demonic war that's causing Hell to leak through to the real world. I had the pleasure of joining Funcom's Tor Andersen on a guided tour of Hell Raised, the first in a series of three dungeons that take place in the fiery depths, and boy did I ever have a hell of a time (sorry). If you're interested in finding out what awaits players of The Secret World in the depths of Hades itself, follow along with me as I give you the ins-and-outs of surviving a confrontation in the midst of an infernal warzone.
Hands-on with The Secret World's mission system
So The Secret World's mission system treads well off the beaten MMO path. It's pretty cool, actually, though portions of it may irritate quest-grinders who just want to blow through zones on their way to the game's equivalent of a max-level toon. For the rest of us, there's a nifty interface, some challenging puzzles, and plenty of well-written quest text and dialogue to keep us entertained for weeks at a time.
Hands-on with The Secret World's combat system
The Secret World's press beta hasn't been what I expected. To be frank, I'd say there are times I wish I didn't have to play it. See, my guild pals are on either the closed beta server or the public beta weekends server, both of which are quite crowded and therefore offer quite a different experience from the forlorn existence endured by my Massively Templar. There's also the whole I-don't-get-to-keep-this-character thing, not to mention the wow-this-is-cool-and-I-don't-want-to-spoil-it-for-myself-post-launch thing. On the other hand, I've had plenty of time to muck around with game systems and minutiae, something that my card-carrying membership in the crazy carebear immersionist secret society often precludes. For this week's press beta article, then, I thought I'd give you guys a primer on The Secret World's combat system.
Hands-on with The Secret World's Illuminati experience
Dark days are upon us, and I, for one, couldn't be more pleased. For the past few days I've had the pleasure of exploring the dark corners of the press beta for Funcom's upcoming horror-fantasy MMO, The Secret World, and now the embargo is up and I'm finally able to share my impressions with all of you. You may recall that I got some hands-on time with the title at PAX East earlier this year and came away from the experience fairly pleased. But that was an hour of playtime at the most, so how does the game hold up with extended play? I decided to hop into the (rather stylish) boots of an Illuminati initiate to find out for myself.
Hands-on with The Secret World's Templar experience
Believing in The Secret World takes a certain of amount of... faith. And I'm not just talking about Funcom's less-than-stellar reputation when it comes to bug-free MMO launches. No, the very foundation of this particular title rests on a narrative about things unseen, and that cryptic, otherworldly esoterica informed every moment of my time spent in the press beta over the last couple of days. The basic premise, of course, is that everything is true. Every myth, legend, and spook story that our rational minds scoff at has a place in this particular riff on reality. The Secret World is also quite heretical when it comes to gameplay. It eschews the tried and true class-based approach for a complex grimoire of a skill system featuring an ability wheel made of hieroglyphs and higher math (or so it first appears). To come right to the point, though, I bought into the game almost immediately. %Gallery-154922%
