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Think of an MMO, any MMO, and I am willing to bet the first thing to jump into your head are visions of orcs, knights and legendary swords. While the MMO market has been dominated for most of its existence by medieval fantasy worlds, a few have tried to break the mold and try something different. While this usually involves replacing fantasy elements with sci-fi, SOE is taking a completely different route and bringing MMOs into the world of espionage with The Agency and comic books with DC Universe Online.
The Agency is an online first person shooter where you take the role of either a mercenary or spy as you compete against each other in a persistent world. The game isn’t an MMO in the context that typically comes to mind, though it will offer plenty of opportunities to hook up with fellow agents and take on rivals.
The overall goal in The Agency is to establish your own agency, though to do that you first need to start as a recruit in either UNITE, the spy agency, or ParaGON, a mercenary group. Missions are largely instanced and story-driven, which should give players their own personal James Bond adventures. Adding to this feeling are “Agency Moments”, which are cinematic moments where you complete a goal using stylish or imaginative ways. These play out like those moments in movies where the character does something completely out of the ordinary to accomplish a goal, like Bruce Willis using a speeding car to take out a pursuing helicopter. Completing Agency Moments will reward you with special bonuses.
Games will usually involve picking up a mission and figuring out how to best complete the task at hand. Like any good spy, mission preparations begin before you even exit the secret headquarters of whatever clandestine agency you happen to be working for. The Agency uses a special class system that is based around the gear you choose to outfit yourself with. Stealth gear gives you stealth abilities, combat gear gives you combat abilities and so forth. You even have the choice to disguise yourself and blend in with other NPC, avoiding detection by various henchmen and other thugs-for-hire.
As you progress through your chosen career path, you will unlock various weapons, outfits and allies. You can also unlock NPC operatives who you can put to work in your personal agency once it gets up and running. Once in your employ, you can task them with various activities like researching new equipment or gathering intel for your next big mission. These activities play out in real time, so if your operative tells you he’ll have something done in a week, expect to wait a week. Adding to the game’s immersive feel, you can maintain contact with your digital operatives using your email address or text-messaging service. You won’t be able to chat back, but they will let you know when tasks are completed or other happenings of interest to you.
If you want to test your skills against other players, The Agency will feature several PvP arenas.
DC Universe Online, which is being helmed by comic book legend Jim Lee, lets players create their own superhero or villain and rub elbows with the DC Universe characters like Batman, Superman and the Joker. So far, only a short teaser trailer has been shown, but what was shown looks promising. The visual style has a great comic book look and the game will utilize a physics-based combat system, allowing you to turn objects in the game world into weapons.
The Agency should slip onto the PS3 later this year. No official release details have been given for DC Universe Online. |
