Wow, did Anarchy Online stink this time last year. I mean yuck, like yesterday's sushi. But all that has changed...
The basic premise of the game is unchanged. You are a colonist on a budding new planet which is cultivated and owned by a giant and somewhat evil corporation, Omni-Tek, some 25,000 years in the future. The story of the game follows the struggle between employees of the Omni-Tek company and rebelious clans of anti Omni-Tek colonists. You choose which side you're on, and join in the fray with your team mates. That's pretty much it for now, although FunCom (the maker of the game) is developing new in game story lines and an expansion for the game world to spiff up the sort of weak story line.
What has changed is the gameplay. This thing used to be unplayable with unbelievable lag, incredibly slow frame rates (even on the beefiest video hardware), and inexplicable crashing. No more. Framerates are smooth, lag is rare (all Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games suffer from this from time to time), and crashing is a thing of the past. All of this means that you can finally get to the enjoyable part of the game: actually playing it!
Anarchy Online is quite an original concept in this genre of video games. When someone mentions Role Playing, you tend to conjure up images of Conan the Barbarian fighting Merlin the Wizard in Evil King So and So's basement. Of course, that's because 98% of RPGs so far (electronic or otherwise) have been medieval affairs, with swords swinging, spells flying, and dragons belching fire. This has especially been the case with MMORPGs, first with Ultima Online, and then with Everquest leading the market for a couple of years and many game publishers trying to copy its successful formula. The people at FunCom had another idea....
With Anarchy Online you can choose from several different player classes, some familiar (Nano Technicians are suspiciously Wizard-like, and Soldiers take on familiar Warrior duties), and some are very original (Fixers are like mobsters, Agents are snipers and spies, Traders specialize in... trading). There are many classes to choose from, allowing you to assume just about any personality that you might be feeling at the time. All of them are decidedly futuristic, and at no time do you ever get the feeling that you're playing Dungeons and Dragons while wearing a Buck Rogers mask.
Weaponry is quite diverse. You can fight with anything from a dried up worm carcass to nuclear blaster thingies that are as large as your character, and everything in between. Of course, some classes are specialized toward specific weapons (Soldiers to full auto assault rifles, Agents to sniper rifles, and of course the Fixers like to bash kneecaps with something blunt...) Overall, the use of non-magical ranged weaponry is a relatively new concept to the MMORPG genre, and Anarchy Online does it very well.
There is no magic per se, but there is plenty of technology. In fact, there is something very spell-like, but not mystical in the least, called "Nano Programs". Running a Nano Program is like casting a spell; you "memorize" a program, run it, and it drains a little of your "Nano Energy" as it runs. The program is executed by Nano Bots, which are microscopic robots (duh), powered by a natural energy source only found on this planet. The neat thing is that anyone can use these programs, but of course some character classes are specialized toward their usage.
The whole Nano Bot technology idea provides a venue for terrific innovations. One of the neatest features of the game is that, if you die, you don't have to recover your corpse. You go to a Reclaim Booth (readily available), where you'll find everything that your previous body was carrying, without having to waste game time corpse hunting. Another great idea is fast, long distance travel via public transportation or privately owned vehicles, eliminating the need to waste hours of paid-for gaming time walking across the landscape to get somewhere. Step into the "Whom-pa" teleporter, and you're thousands of miles away. Get good at your profession and earn some money, and you can buy spaceships, watercraft, cars, etceteras.
Of course, what would an MMORPG be without player interaction? You have options here, which is refreshing. The first few levels there really isn't a point teaming up with people until you figure out the game's controls and dynamics (rather steep learning curve). After a while, you'll find that you need to team up with people to do all the fun things, and that's where it starts getting interesting...
Gaining experience primarily revolves around completing missions. You can accept and carry out missions on your own, or in groups. On your own, missions are tailored toward your skill level and character class. In groups, you can accept really tough missions which reward excellent items and lots of cash, which are both necessary to make it far in this game. Team missions are a blast (no pun intended). Send the Agent sneaking into a building to scope it out, with the Soldiers and Doctor bringing up the rear in case there's something ugly. Spot an enemy, the Agent gets his attention with a damaging long range shot while the Soldier prepares to give it a lead shower when it gets up close....
The graphics are well above average for this genre, but not necessarily ground breaking overall. Sounds are likewise. Definitely leaps and bounds beyond Everquest and the like. Ambient sounds thicken up the believability, while small details like insects crawling on the ground make things interesting. Overall, very very nice.
If you're a fan of Science Fiction, Online RPGs, or just looking for something different, you should check this stuff out. There are tons of things to do in this game, many places to go, and endless playability. The fun factor gets better the more you play, unlike a lot of these games. Words really can't describe it. If anything, FunCom has a free 7 day trial on their Anarchy Online website (http://www.anarchy-online.com), and that's definitely enough time to get hooked. Give it a try, you know you wanna....
Explore a world of unknown technology, corrupted creatures, and destructive conflict 20+ new playfields; 2 new professions; hundreds of new monsters w...More at Amazon Marketplace
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