Hate "The Secret World"? Then you hate great gaming.

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Created on Monday, 26 November 2012 05:29

Written by Scormus

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I'm going to make this as simple and clear as I can: "The Secret World" is the best MMORPG on the market today, and it isn't even close.

Now there are a variety of reasons that lead me to this conclusion, and I'll discuss each one in turn, but it comes down to the fact that TSW does so many little things better than your favorite MMO does them. Funcom has made a game that is simple to play and yet difficult to master, that makes you think and pay attention to your surroundings, is genuinely challenging (something you rarely see in MMOs anymore), and in doing so they took a huge risk by setting this game in a modern horror world, something no other AAA MMO company had done before.

But how did I come to this conclusion, in specific? I didn't play "The Secret World".

I beta tested TSW from the start, and bought my Grand-Master Pack (with Lifetime subscription) when I pre-ordered the game two days into beta. I absolutely loved the game, because it was challenging, innovative, and told a compelling story. Plus, zombies. You can't go wrong with zombies. But it wasn't long before "Guild Wars 2" came out and distracted me, as I wanted to play that game where my old guild-mates from "World of Warcraft" were reforming the old guild, and when that game couldn't hold my attention I went back to "Rift", because "Rift" is awesome.

In short, I pretty much lost my way with TSW. It wasn't because the game was bad, though, I was simply inundated with good games!

But this morning I logged back into TSW, not as I usually do to record a segment for my podcast, but to sit down and play. I loaded up some podcasts into iTunes, as I often do when I'll be playing for the long haul, and got down to business. And it didn't take long to remember exactly what I had been missing:

1. The Skill System. No other MMORPG that I am aware of allows you to learn every single skill in a game, and build your character the way you want. This is a truly Classless set-up, where how my character plays depends solely on what skills I choose to develop, and which particular abilities learned there I choose to carry on my taskbar.
2. The Setting. There are some MMOs on the market besides TSW that call themselves Horror-based, but they are either cheap, browser-based games or are fantasy games that have no business labeling themselves Horror. "The Secret World", on the other hand, is a true Horror game. Of this, there is no doubt. This is not a game that just throws zombies, werewolves and vampires at you, and says that justifies the label of Horror, although you will face those monsters and more. No, in TSW Funcom has built a world that holds a mood of creeping dread, where one walks through the fog in London and begins to wonder what might be hiding in the shadows just out of sight. And this dread only heightens as you move further into the world.
3. The Character Graphics. I have shown TSW to my friends and family, and one of the big complaints they had was that the character models were "ugly", and to be honest, they are just that. But rather than having "pretty" characters and NPCs, like you see in most modern MMOs, in TSW you get characters that are in my mind more realistic. This makes the world feel more real. But at the same time, the models also look rather plastic, and this lends to a bit of Uncanny Valley, which only enhances the creepiness of the game.
4. Puzzles, Investigations and Traps. While of course there are quests in TSW that involve killing mobs, the majority of missions you get involve solving puzzles, doing investigations, and sometimes avoiding traps... with some requiring you do all at the same time. This is a game where you need to pay attention at all times, looking for clues (often in things you'd normally overlook), and watching out for traps (especially in dungeons). Furthermore, TSW is rather unforgiving of those who don't read missions or only glance at clues that are found, because that information might be needed at a moment's notice... and the situation may require you to react immediately or get knocked out and find yourself in need of starting over. Like I said, it's a truly challenging game, which I believe has lead to many players leaving for greener, more forgiving pastures. They simply can't handle a game that makes you think and look stuff up.

Honestly, I feel bad that I have frankly wasted so many months this year playing other games, when I could have been playing "The Secret World"... especially the time I have played "Guild Wars 2", which is an infinitely inferior game. Seriously, it is inferior to TSW, and as I said before, it isn't even close. Both are innovative, both are fun to play, but TSW does all the little things right. But I suppose if you want a game where the most difficult puzzles you have to figure out are platformer-style jumping puzzles to get to a Vista, and you don't mind playing in yet another generic fantasy setting, then GW2 might seem like the better game to you. "The Secret World" is beyond you.

But for those of us who are real gamers, who want a real challenge, and want something different than the norm, "The Secret World" is the best, hands down, no contest.

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