Delving Further Into The Secret World

Venturing into the Templar heartland of London, we sent Gazimoff on a mission deep into The Secret World. Find out what he discovered in this mysterious upcoming MMO, as he explored an abandoned amusement park.

Old Tricks and New Guns

It's this odd juxtaposition of fantasy arcana with a modern arsenal of weapons that gives combat in The Secret World a unique feel. This is made even more important through the use of the Ability Wheel - a disc of 525 unique abilities that can gradually be unlocked as you develop your character and progress through the world. 

This was also our chance to see the new deck system in action. Presenting so much choice to a fresh MMO player can be overwhelming, which is why Funcom created pre-defined ability templates, or decks, in order to help us configure our characters toward play styles that we're familiar with. The system still uses the role trinity of tanking, healing and damage, but the wheel provides us with vast flexibility on how we carry out those roles.

The build system is also a recent addition to The Secret World's Ability Wheel. It's now possible to save a pre-defined build using unlocked abilities, together with the weapons required to support that build. Swapping from one build to another is just a matter of selecting it from a list, with weapons, hotkeys and abilities being changed out automatically. In our case, we could swap from an AOE build ideal for dealing with hordes of zombies to a direct damage build perfect for boss fights.

The interface that overlays our window into The Secret World is a stark contrast to the ornate artwork of fantasy MMOs or the neon glows of Sci-fi fare. While it's a little unkind to describe it akin to Microsoft Kill Everything, the clean lines and slide-pop animations are similar to modern tablets and smartphones. It's everything you'd expect from an underground organization equipped with the latest technology.

Playtime’s Over

Walking toward the centerpiece of the park, a rickety roller coaster that has a tinge of lethality even without the ghostly goings on, we first made our way through Sideshow Alley. The central statue had a penchant for hurling fireballs; a weakness we used to our advantage when roasting yet more undead. The interface made it clear where the fire would land, so the fight consisted of luring in your unsuspecting undead before leaping out of the way as flaming death made an impact.

And the roller coaster itself? We're not ones to give out spoilers, but let's just say that not all encounters at the park involve combat. 

Atlantic Island Park contained a number of other attractions just waiting to be investigated, including a Lovers' Lake turned polluted swamp, and a haunted Big Dipper. All of the rides were somehow cursed, a thick purple vortex of Anima (magical power in The Secret World) rising from each of them, invisible to all except Secret Society members.

After taking in almost all the fun of the park, our day out finished at a stand for possessed bumper cars. This wasn't a time for crashes and cotton candy, as a chainsaw-equipped giant killer clown stood watch over the dodgems. Conquering this last ride took a coordinated attack from the three of us, as we dodged the malfunctioning cars while whittling down the clown's health. Victorious, we were able to report to our societies that the park had been investigated and our task complete.

As I pulled off the headset and stepped away from the keyboard, I felt surprised. The Secret World was an MMO that I'd seen little of, much like the secret organizations it seeks to evoke. Yet here was a mirror world that I was suddenly aching to explore, to discover their interpretation of cities like London and monuments like Stonehenge. Although some of us may be eager to pull apart the Ability Wheel, on a personal quest to build our perfect character, others will be excited by the lore Funcom has constructed.

Whatever your reasons, May 11th and Open Beta are just around the corner. 

Gareth "Gazimoff" Harmer, Staff Writer

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paranormal?
# Apr 23 2012 at 9:19 AM Rating: Decent
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654 posts
I thought it wasn't based on fantasy? Paranormal in real life has limitations placed by the laws of nature. How can a secret world be a fantasy without being fantasy? Sounds like another sci-fi/fantasy to me - just a different medium-- kind of like the x-files
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paranormal?
# Apr 23 2012 at 9:24 AM Rating: Excellent
By its very definition, paranormal means outside of the scope of the laws of nature, so the exact opposite of what you just said :) And here the definition of fantasy / sci-fi refers more to the setting, of which The Secret World is a real-world occult setting.
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