Kotaku
The folks at Sony Online Entertainment are one of the few gaming companies who have a presence at CES, showing off upcoming wares like The Agency, the MMO that's heavy on action and light on grind. The development team walked us through a video demonstration of the game, one that was played live, but filmed from multiple perspectives and edited to show off the game's features, giving plenty of details on how the PC and PlayStation 3 game will work.
One thing's for sure, The Agency isn't even remotely attempting to attract lapsed Everquest or EVE Online gamers or anyone who feels that chopping virtual lumber is a fun way to spend a Friday night. No, The Agency is all tits, ass and guns, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. There are no bearded dwarf women or obese two-headed trolls to play, just foxy chicks in skin-tight outfits with overtly sexual walk animations and super cool, badass dudes that come in two flavors: sleek and burly.
That may sound like there's a limited character customization option, but it's actually quite broad, from what we've seen. It's just that everyone seems to be painfully attractive, as the game is striving to be the MMO equivalent of a Bond flick. Character design seems to have a bit of Team Fortress 2 aesthetic to it, with an emphasis on more caricaturist silhouettes. The two agency factions, UNITE and Paragon, will add more variety, as the former is more upscale with the latter more a gritty merc type.
One of the design decisions that will probably be welcomed by non-MMO types is that character creation doesn't lock you into a class, as the game is essentially classless. Your class is what you wear, so if you want to play as spec ops or a field medic, you'll have to deck yourself out in the appropriate gear.
The game is running on the Unreal Engine 3 and even in it's alpha stage, looks like a graphically competent shooter and a rather pretty MMO.
Being heavy on action as a shooter and a time-investment as an online multiplayer game, there has to be something to do between the bits of target tracking and large scale firefights. You won't be craft grinding, however, as NPC agency operatives will pick up the slack for you there—think 24's Chloe to your Jack Bauer or Q to your Bond. They'll not only help with tech, you can call on them from the field to support your stealth efforts. There won't be much in the way of blacksmithing or pelt gathering. Instead, the team has added things like casino games and intel gathering by taking photos, along with vehicle challenges, to spice up the gameplay. You'll also be able to play a game of Q*bert, should the mood strike you, as it's one of the included mini-games.
One of the more interesting aspects is The Agency's reach outside of the console or PC. The team is planning to feature SMS support in the final product, so, if you opt-in for it, you can receive text messages from your agency operatives with updates and story driving situations. Talk of PSP and Home support was mentioned, but given the vagueness of those plans, we'll wait for a future update before getting too excited about such talk.
It sounds like the gang at Sony Online Entertainment are trying to do something original with their latest MMO effort and the game seems to have a solid set of original ideas. Whether those disparate parts can come together to be an ultimately satisfying shooter and an online RPG remains to be seen, as the game is still early. We're looking forward to playing at least one of the betas, a time frame for which wasn't provided.
Comments
I watched the gametrailers videos of one of the developers giving a presentation of the gameplay and was very impressed.
But is SOE so you never know if its gonna be crap.
So i have to change clothes to change class? What if i lose my favorite pair of doctors gloves?
So it's basically a "noob fest"...I'll pass, when sex is used to sell something, you know it sucks...unless it's yknow actual sex.
Very excited for this. Possible the first Grind-light MMO in a world where MMO's are all about the Grind...
@Winterbringer: I doubt that all it is about, so don't knock before it comes out. After all ME made mentioned of the brief 5-seconds of nudity to sell the game and it was still an amazing one all around.
Still can we really trust soe? They say classes now but I am afraid they will pull another SWG and eff it over. However it is a cool concept despite the cartoonish looking style.
I guess I'll keep my eyes up for more news. At any rate thanks Michael for this tidbit.
I'm looking for a word about a hundred times as utterly indifferent as "meh." Any suggestions?
Looks awful from gameplay trailers I've seen.
This looks very fun
It sounds interesting, if it's done right I'm sure it could go very well with gamers. Maybe even draw in some XBox people.
@Moonshadow101: hmmm...not meh...
..mayyyybeeee, MEH!?
@Maiken: Yeah, you're always really rolling the dice with SOE and MMOs. As Mike from Penny-Arcade said, SOE is where creativity goes to die. I'd be especially wary when dealing with a shooter MMO, which will require some serious innovation.
I'm probably gonna wait to see what Bioware does with their new MMO studio before considering getting back into MMOs. I haven't picked one up since WoW.
I haven't seen any info yet on subscriptions. Is this one with a monthly fee or just an initial investment? I have been pretty interested in this, but I will probably never end up getting it, since I like to keep my commitments to games to a minimum so that I can play the field. Oh and Q*Bert? What?!?
Hmm, The Club, The Agency, what's next Ye Ole Group of Guys with Guns? Sony seems to destroy every MMO they inherit, but maybe something coming out of Sony itself might not be so bad.
if SOE can create non-repeptitive mission objectives in environments that don't feel like vacant no man's land facades... then this might not suck.
The idea sounds interesting. Let's hope it gets implemented in such a way that will make it worth playing.
If not, it'll pass under the radar like the billion other MMOs that are out, I guess. We'll just have to see, won't we?
I like the idea of it, as with all mmo's however, I'll leave my judgement until I play the final product.
I watched the developer walkthrough and it seemed pretty good, actually. Whatever happened to Huxley though? I haven't heard or read about that game in a while...
Thats actually pretty fascinating--the alternate reality gaming aspects to it. If they pull that off, they might get me to check it out, even though I'm only mildy into shooters, at best; I appreciate innovation, even when it fails.
the gameplay video didnt really have anything that wow'ed me. Id like to see what else they have in store besides going around in a socomish spy scenario thirdperson shooter
Any idea how this might integrate with Home? Seems like there could be some interesting crossovers.
that sounds like a lot of fun
@Winterbringer:
It's a spy-type MMO. Sex is one of the spy genre's biggest characteristics. If anything, the game would be out of character if it DIDN'T include sexing-up the characters.
While I'll admit that this game isn't for everybody, it's definitely tailor-made for me. It has everything I like about MMORPG's and a few genuinely intriguing features that seem, for lack of a better term, really cool.
To be fair, I've only ever played one MMORPG consistenly: Final Fantasy XI. I know that it isn't exactly revered as the finest in the genre, but for about 8 or 10 (or 15... or 20...) months it absolutely ruled my life. That said, there were things I absolutely hated about the game, like the fact that certain classes were completely dependent on groups to level up, and how easily you could be ostracized for choosing a job that was too weak, or if your level was too high/low, etc.
Anyway, it seems that this game has eliminated a lot of the aforementioned frustration by abandoning traditional MMORPG elements for features that are not only more practical, but a lot more fun (looking). Can't wait to get my mits on this one.
@Winterbringer: Most of the time that sucks too.
I don't see how anyone can think this looks bad from the new gameplay trailers. And I am comparing it to other MMO's. How are none of you sick of the grind? This actually has enemies that die in a couple shots. First Person gameplay that actually looks like a shooter.
@Winterbringer: real sex can suck some times too if you get my drift
I like the ambition, but honestly wonder if the game will actually turn out to BE different.
And I also wonder if the engine/graphics will be good enough in such a game (MMO) for the console crowd. Will this have a 30gig system load???
Why has nobody asked why there's a screenshot of a lost area from Crackdown there?
I saw that screenshot and thought it must be Realtime World's ABP or a Crackdown sequal. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING about that screenshot screams Crackdown (which is a good thing if it plays half as well).
Hell, they even call it The Agency, the force you're on in Crackdown.
Eww, you got Ps3 in my PC shooter!
You got PC in my Ps3 MMO!
This is neither chocolately nor peanut buttery. Pass.
Watching the gametrailers interviews and footage, this looks great. Basically guild wars with more defined objectives and spies
No classes? Bah, I like a bit of diversity, not being the idiot who's running around with the flavor-of-the-week equipment.
this actually intregs me a FPS/3rd Person Shooter MMO
@GorbyGipper:
When I first read the headline I thought this was about a crackdown sequel.
Now Im wondering what the hell the Agency is.
@Moonshadow101: I'm looking for a word about a hundred times as utterly indifferent as "meh." Any suggestions?
Halo? ;P
I'm vaguely interested in this, but it's definitely a case of "wait and see".
As others have said, SOE have had very mixed results with MMOs. I loved EQ1 until the POP expansion, and then everything when to shit. The beta turned me off SWG before it was even released. I'm currently enjoying EQ2, and it seems to be getting better (at least for my play style) with each expansion.
Don't they realize the Halo crowd is a bunch of mindless Sony-haters? (Don't confuse this remark with Xbox crowd necessarily)
I keep hoping this game will be like an MMO version of No One Live Forever.
I'll pass and wait for APB (the MMO by Realtime Worlds, the developers of Crackdown). I'd rather wait for the NCSoft games for the PS3 if I wanted to play an MMO.
if they can pull it off, this game (as advertised) will be fantastic. I'm looking forward to it.
@Winterbringer: I wouldnt agree. I would say more than 90% of arcade pinball artwork has some form of suggested sexual material right in your face. And most pinball games are great.
@Winterbringer: I'm pretty sure the biggest marketing scheme for WoW to date is still NightElf women.
An MMOFPS? Can't be any worse than Planetside I guess.
For quite some time, I've been waiting for a MMO like this. Stuff like WoW might hold onto me for a month or two, but after that I just don't feel compelled to keep playing. All the grinding starts to feel like a chore instead of an addiction, and I'm left wanting a battle / level-up system that's more intuitive and doesn't involve pressing several buttons and leaning back as your character does a minute of fighting on your behalf.
Of course, I'll have to wait until I see the final product to decide whether it fits that image in my head, but at the moment my hopes are high.
I've been looking to at least beta test this ever since I first saw the video a while back. I doubt I will end up playing it though, since I've not been "WOWed" by an MMO ever since the original EQ, which I regrettably still play.
@Moonshadow101: I think you need "meh" in a tiny little font.
First time I heard about this, I didn't care a rat's ass, but after seeing one of the developers in a video I saw explaining how it plays, It became one of my to get games.
With SOE, what could possibly go wrong!
But, no, seriously. It's nice to SOE sticking with it's "mindless, generic action" ideal here. That's worked wonders for them in the past. Plus, with SOE, you're at least guaranteed that the game will be around for AGES after the playerbase has been bent over, the staff has all moved on to other projects, and the gaming world forgets about it.
This is what Shadowrun for the 360 *SHOULD* have been. In that alternate universe FASA might actually still be alive.
Also, I am buying a PS3 for this game, its over.
It sounds interesting but I'll wait to play it for my final verd