A game that tries to push MMO's out of the Everquest-style of gameplay and into a new age of MMO experience.
User Rating: 8.5 | Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa PC
Tabula Rasa doesn't strive to be revolutionary, but it does succeed in breaking away from the terribly boring gameplay offered by EQ, WOW, AO, and DaoC. The combat system is more involved then other MMO's I have played. Before, I attacked by tapping a single button, then unleashed the occasional special ability when it seemed prudent, players grinded away at the game in order to even have fun with all the late game content. It isn't so in Tabula Rasa, combat requires your constant attention as there is no auto-attack and auto-loot functions. You have to aim, draw a bead on the target, and snap off your shots while doing your best to find cover behind anything from sandbags to falled trees. The Bane don't just appear, but they arrive via dropship or, in some cases, fall from the tree limbs above to get the jump on you. You will constantly have to adapt your tactics to deal with mobs of different enemy types, droids and cyborgs will fall quickly to EMP and Pulse weaponry but your rank and file Bane Trooper won't be killed by it, instead you have to switch to weapons such as Sonic or Laser to finish them off. Some of the bigger threats on the field like the Kael aren't phased by normal weapons but Sonic weaponry will put them down quickly. You can choose from shotguns, pistols, rifles, chainguns, propellant guns, polarity guns, rpgs, rocket launchers, hyper velocity torqueshell weapons to bring down your enemies. But what is the most important to a gamer such as myself is the simple fact that the game is fun. Too often MMO's ask you to dedicate ridiculous amounts of time to them before you can raid or experience the real depth of the game, with Tabula Rasa, you start having fun the moment your boots hit the field. While the game launched without things like an Auction House or player-controlled vehicles General British understood the necessity of an Auction House to MMO's. AH's help to create a more involved community of players and achieve greater interaction between them. Already the General has promised that future patches will include an AH system and vehicles. Even now you can see the future home of the AH in the Wtin Pillars outpost, and in divide empty vehicle hangers await the arrival of the promised wheels for the AFS. Adding further to the game is the Cloning system. No longer will you have to constantly level up another character in order to experience the different classes in Tabula Rasa, before you commit to a profession, simply make a clone of your character. Now you can save yourself the hassle of constantly starting up new characters to experience the different classes in Tabula Rasa. - While TR is not necessarily a WoW killer, it certainly represents the progression. Tabula Rasa is a clean slate, a fresh start for MMO's. Hopefully more game studios will look at Tabula Rasa as a symbol of change, and change is exactly what MMO's need right now to escape the current status quo of online games. 
