The Secret World

[Artful-dodgeR]

Nice work Patty!

[Marius]

And here are the details of the first of the game's free content updates: http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/the_ ... _unleashed

Basically, a bunch of new missions, new end game modes of two dungeons, the auction house is being enabled, and a bunch of other, unspecified stuff. Half the missions are investigations, and those usually take a few hours to solve.

[garamel]

And here are the details of the first of the game's free content updates: http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/the_ ... _unleashed

Basically, a bunch of new missions, new end game modes of two dungeons, the auction house is being enabled, and a bunch of other, unspecified stuff. Half the missions are investigations, and those usually take a few hours to solve.

Nice the investigation missions are a lot of fun, very different to the usual MMO quest.

The only real issue I'm having is the usual finding a group to run dungeons with but I read they're working on a LFG tool. The support is also surprisingly good I sent in a ticket regarding a bugged mission and actually got to talk to a real person 2 hours later, amazing!

[Village idiot]

Downloaded, patched up and ready to play....

... Now I just have to get home and get a child to go to sleep...

[Marius]

Oh and here's my aforementioned review of the game, just in case people aren't checking the front page.

http://games.on.net/2012/07/review-the-secret-world/

[Artful-dodgeR]

Totally missed it, thanks Marius.

[spawneh]

Oh and here's my aforementioned review of the game, just in case people aren't checking the front page.

http://games.on.net/2012/07/review-the-secret-world/

So much easier to miss news / reviews with no automatic forum threads.

[Dexterian]

So can anyone tell me how this game stands out from other games?

I've seen screenshots and videos - and I've played many MMO's but none seem to be able to capture my attention for long enough - I gave SWTOR a good run and even that's sorta died for me

Though this game piques my interest but I'm worried it'll be same same.

[garamel]

I think the biggest difference for me is the way the game 'feels' with no levels Ive yet to feel like I'm grinding my way to end game. The missions tend to be far more varied and involved than most MMO's, you still get the 'Kill x number of mobs' quests but they're pretty rare and generally only one part of a larger quest chain.

The dark atmosphere is actually dark without being cheesy except where its intentionally so.

It does take a little while to get a grip on how things work, you really do have a lot of choice in how to play your character, I ended up switching weapons after spending almost 200AP in one but this isn't a problem since all I had to do was run a few (or a lot) of extra missions to catch up the points in my new weapon.

Probably the biggest thing to remember is it's still an MMO, Tanks, Healers and dps still exist. Unlike GW2 they haven't tried to completely reinvent the genre just mix it up a bit, evolve things rather than spawn some weird mutant like I worry GW2 may become.

edit: I played SWTOR a fair bit and even though your character never talks in TSW the story is a lot more compelling, I think because its set in an alternate of our world its a lot easier to connect. The voice acting is waaaaaaaay better as well surprising given how much Bioware spent on theirs.

[frigidhell]

One thing that really stands out for me about TSW is the setting - it's 'real world', it's mature and it's actually interesting and with a point of view. I think it's fair to say that on the cliche-ladder of video-games MMOs usually fall near the buttom rung. Fantasy, shiny knights and all o' that, the world and the people in it seems at best an afterthought.

For me, TSW really breaks the mold in the scope and ambition of the story-telling and does so with innovative mechanics. There's a bit of Cthulu, a dash of Stephen King and pinch of myth and legend. It's something a lot of people are reacting to, so I was a bit surprised not to hear you talk about it much. I wonder if you have any thoughts on that aspect of the game?

[garamel]

Oh I absolutely agree I probably should have mentioned how different and impressive the story and atmosphere is. I think you summed it up really well.

The more you can relate to a story the easier it is to loose yourself in it and TSW whilst still having monsters and the such is very close to the real world. It really is just this world but all those weird and wacky stories and superstitions are true. Even your toon helps to draw you in, the clothing options are incredibly varied but you wont see a single set of six foot shoulder pads anywhere.

Probably something that should be mentioned which relates to the setting is graphics performance. I have a reasonably good system (GTX580) the game runs fairly well at max settings but it can run into rough patches. Unlike many recent MMO's the system settings are extensive so it should be possible to find something that works with a little tweaking.

Really I think the biggest thing with TSW is its potential, when I was playing SWTOR it was fun but I really got the feeling that this was all it could be, sure they could add more flashpoints but it would just be more of the same. TSW just feels like it has so many directions it can go.

[Village idiot]

The voice acting is waaaaaaaay better as well surprising given how much Bioware spent on theirs.

Agreed. I find the cut scenes and chat dialog (you can keep talking to characters to find out more info after the cut scene) is some of the best ive ever heard. I think it helps that its in a modern setting, as you can connect to a degree with the dialog. I have found myself having a laugh quite a bit at some of the one liners that are thrown in.

I quests are really well done too. It is quite a throw back to the old school MMO's where you arent hand held as much in quests and have to think to a degree. It still places map markers etc where you should head, but you will find that you will consult he google gods a bit on the investigation missions - and i like that. Its been years since an MMO has made me crack out the notepad and pen to jot down a few things in a quest that i shouldn't forget, but ive been doing it a bit in TSW.

Look, i dont know how long this game will keep me. Im still in the first zone and have that kind of lost feeling with my character ever now and then in relation to where he is heading. Im not one to theory craft a lot for the best builds, i just want to get in and play so i jumped in a bit blind with my weapon skills etc. That said, im still really enjoying it and as a 'completionist' (if i stick with the game) i love the fact that i can unlock every skill on my character.

[Marius]

The thing I love about the missions is not the cutscenes in themselves, but how no one asks you to do anything. You basically just listen to them go on about something, and the decision to help them is yours. They don't say "Please find the jade monkney". Rather, they'll say "The jade monkey is lost, get out before it's too late."

Here's a good example:

[Marius]

Oh and something else worth mentioning... yesterday I encountered a quest bug, so submitted a petition. Got a reply from a GM within 2 minutes. I didn't really address bug issues in my review because support so far has been so good.

There are some bugs, but they're either fixed quickly in patches, or quickly by GMs.

[Artful-dodgeR]

That's VERY impressive. Unlike WoW, where I submitted a bug, 2 weeks later they acknowledged it, 3 months later it was still in the game (minor bug to do with AI pathing, still annoying though).