The Secret World Open Beta (2012) (PC) (Funcom Productions)
5Funcom and its creative director Ragnar Tørnquist certainly have come a long way since The Longest Journey, and since I'm not normally into MMOs I haven't kept up with their games after Dreamfall. However, with its modern setting and classless character development the developer's latest online RPG The Secret World (which has been worked on since 2002) seems to provide a slightly different take on the genre, so I decided to check out this week's open beta via a free code offer courtesy of GameSpot. I've only played some tutorial bits so far, and although the combat doesn't seem very memorable (except for the inclusion of modern ranged weapons) I appreciate the contemporary/supernatural theme which contributes to an unusually strong atmosphere for an MMO. There's a World of Darkness-esque vibe to it all that reminds me a little bit of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, and that's always a good thing...