Anarchy Online Hands-On Preview

Funcom's Anarchy Online might just seem interesting because it'll be the first online role-playing game of its kind to use a futuristic sci-fi theme. But it will have a number of extremely intriguing gameplay features as well, many of which are clearly designed around solutions to the shortcomings of previous online RPGs. For example, the game presents a fairly elegant solution to the seemingly age-old problem of player-vs-player (PvP) combat. There won't be different servers for PvP; instead, there will be different zones in the game world; in the relatively safe cities of Anarchy Online, no fighting whatever is permitted; just outside the city limits, you'll be able to find alien monsters to fight against, but you won't be able to fight other players. A bit further out into the wilderness, you'll be able to engage in team-based PvP combat; the game has two major political factions (the OmniTek corporation and the Rubi-Ka rebels), and players from either faction may attack players from the opposite faction. And even further away from the cities are the wildlands, where anyone can engage in free-reign PvP fights. In addition, the game will include a full subway system between cities; not only to reduce tedious travel time, but also to make sure that players with less powerful characters (and players who have absolutely no interest in PvP) can travel in complete safety.

One of Anarchy Online's most distinctive features will be the way it will dynamically add content to the game on the fly. For instance, to combat "camping," the practice of sitting in one area and waiting for monsters with desirable loot, or who yield substantial experience-point rewards for fighting them, or both, Anarchy Online will let you take on randomly-generated quests and areas to explore that you can customize based on your character's current level, and on whether or not you'd like to explore the area with a group or attempt to conquer it alone. In addition, you yourself will be able to create your own quests and adventures for other players (for which you can offer your own rewards) on the fly, using "references" - snapshots of your own memories that can be transferred to other players - to set up quests with varying goals, like finding a particular item, giving something to a particular character, or hunting down and killing a certain character. This sort of player-created quest will likely make things much more interesting among other players; you might use reference snapshots of a particularly dirty player-killer (PK) who double-crossed you earlier, then create a quest for other players to hunt that character down. This sort of quest system seems like it will let players establish real reputations for their characters - reputations that will help their characters distinguish themselves from other characters.

Though Anarchy Online is still in its early stages, it looks excellent. We saw several wilderness areas, as well as an industrial city and a dance hall; all of these environments were extremely detailed. We also got a look at how the game's different characters will look: There are four playable races in the game and eleven available professions. In addition to simply customizing your character's face and hair, you can also buy and wear different types of body armor and ornamental clothing (that provides nothing in the way of protection). Anarchy Online will have entire in-game clothing stores devoted to nothing but superficial garments, which will help players make their characters look distinct. In addition, the game will feature a fairly complex skeletal animation system that will seamlessly integrate different sorts of movement; characters can walk, wave, (or perform any one of the game's emote animations; there are currently about 55 in the latest build) with no breaks in their animation.

Anarchy Online is currently scheduled for a rigorous beta test this summer, and is scheduled for release towards the end of the year. The game looks extremely promising - and is definitely one to watch.