Anarchy Online Preview

Norwegian developer Funcom has been making games since 1993, and though it started out making 16-bit console games, it has continued to take on larger, more-complex projects. Most recently, Funcom was responsible for the epic adventure game The Longest Journey, GameSpot's Adventure Game of the Year 2000. But nothing the company has ever done can compare to its latest and most ambitious game yet: Anarchy Online, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Anarchy Online will be among the first of the so-called second generation of online role-playing games-- games preceded by the already-released online role-playing games Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call. Like other second-generation online RPGs, Anarchy Online will attempt to address its predecessors' problems, such as unbalanced player-vs.-player combat, overcrowding, and a static gameworld that quickly becomes stale and boring. But unlike other online RPGs, Anarchy Online will have a number of innovative features that'll distinguish it from its peers, many of which have already been implemented in the game's current state: the third phase of prerelease beta-testing.

One of the most distinctive things about Anarchy Online is its futuristic sci-fi setting--a setting that has been implemented extremely well and looks terrific, even at this early stage. The game takes place in and around a handful of settlements on a high-tech mining colony (known as Rubi-Ka), which has been bought out by a huge supercorporation; these settlements and their surroundings all look excellent. In the game, you can play as a character aligned with the company Omni-Tek; the rebel clan that opposes the company; or an independent freelancer; and you'll begin your adventuring career in a different city area depending on your affiliation. Each of the cities is already fully laid out, well designed, and thematically appropriate. For instance, the clan's Tir City is home to rebellious miners who secretly oppose Omni-Tek; Tir City itself resembles a converted residential area full of small houses and narrow alleys. In contrast, if you align your character with Omni-Tek, you'll begin your career in the sprawling city of Omni-1--a cold, sterile metropolis composed of wide streets lined with skyscrapers and brightly lit billboards that are marked with Omni-Tek propaganda.

Choosing your character's affiliation with Rubi-Ka's different factions is just one of the ways you can build and customize your character in Anarchy Online. The current beta build of the game already features the game's four different races, each of which is a subspecies of human: the well-rounded solitus; the swift and stealthy opifex; the intelligent nanomage, and the brutish atrox. Once you've chosen your character's race, you'll be able to further customize your character's appearance by choosing from one of about 20 different faces for each race, as well as choosing your character's height and build. Each of the different face choices has different hair and skin color, and between the different faces, heights, builds, and genders (all races except the unisex atrox may be either male or female), it's easy to create a distinctive-looking character.

About Your Character

Once you've decided upon your character's race and appearance, you'll be able to choose your character's class. The current build of Anarchy Online features all 12 of the game's character classes, and each of these already has many of its core abilities in place. The game lets you play as an adventurer, an agent, a bureaucrat, a doctor, an enforcer, an engineer, a fixer, a martial artist, a metaphysicist, a nanotechnician, a soldier, or a trader. Some of these classes seem comparable to stock high-fantasy character classes, but interestingly enough, every single one of Anarchy Online's character classes has its own special set of nanoformulas--the game's equivalent of magic spells. Nanoformulas are the result of extremely advanced technology and currently exist in the game as both general formulas that can be used to augment basic skills and specific formulas that pertain to a specific character class and that class's abilities. For instance, doctors have a specialized repertoire that focuses on powerful healing nanoformulas, as well as biotoxin formulas that damage their enemies over time, while wandering adventurers possess a well-rounded set of formulas that include the ability to shape-change into fierce wolves or swift birds. Other characters, such as metaphysicists, engineers, and bureaucrats, can recruit "pets"--non-player-character allies--by summoning them from the ether, building them from spare parts, or by briefly taking mental control of an enemy.

Many nanoformulas serve as powerful weapons that you can use to fight your enemies, but sometimes nanotechnology isn't enough. That's where Anarchy Online's arsenal of more conventional weaponry and armor comes into play. The cities of Rubi-Ka already contain merchants and vending machines that deal in melee weapons, such as exotic swords and heavy clubs, as well as ranged weapons, including pistols, rifles, shotguns, machine guns, and even flamethrowers--the latter requires you to carry ammunition (and plenty of it). Though certain types of weapons tend to be better suited to different races and classes--for instance, the stealthy opifex fixer is especially good at picking off enemies from a distance with rifles--you can train any character to become proficient with any type of weapon, thanks to the game's open-ended skill system, which lets you spend training points on any skills you like. And you can (and should) also equip your character with Kevlar vests, shoulder pads, and crash helmets to protect your character from harm.

Harm can come to your character in all sorts of ways, especially when you try to tackle the game's alien monsters to gain experience points so that your character can gain experience levels. You'll need your nanoformulas--and any other weapon you can get your hands on--to take on Rubi-Ka's dangerous mutants, hostile animals, and enemy agents. Combat in Anarchy Online is round based and, as with other online role-playing games, takes place in real time, but thanks to the many combat options that have already been implemented, you're not likely to simply stand still and exchange blows with your enemies. For instance, if you're playing a character that fights his enemies up close, you'll be able to supplement your basic close-combat attacks with special attacks, such as brawling and fast attack. If you prefer to use firearms, you may blast your enemies with your standard-ranged attack and also riddle them with extra bullets from fling shots, gun bursts, and the extremely damaging full-auto attack (which empties out a gun's entire clip). You might send your pet to attack while you hang back and fire shots or hurl damaging nanoformulas at your enemies; or you might do some combination of all of the above. Since Anarchy Online lets you spend training points on any skill, you may find that your gun-toting soldier benefits greatly from carrying a sword and learning how to use it, especially when he's fighting an angry mutant and his expensive submachine gun suddenly runs out of ammo.

More Than Just Fighting

Unlike other similar games, Anarchy Online won't be completely focused on players having to go out and find monsters to fight. One of the most important parts of the game will be its quests, or missions--the current build of the game already features a basic version of the game's mission system. Your character can accept missions from mission-generator kiosks in its home city and complete them for extra money and experience points. The current version of the mission system already features tailor-made missions that can be adjusted to be easier or more difficult and to yield either more experience points or more money. Once you accept a mission, your character will gain access to a randomly generated quest area and also receive any objects necessary to complete the mission. The current build of the game features missions that require you to deliver items, find certain characters, or assassinate key enemies, among other things, though the developer has explicitly stated that the final version of the game will feature many more in-depth missions. As you explore quest areas, you may find hostile enemies hiding out in the quest area, as well as small caches of weapons, armor, implants--items that your character can surgically add to its body to increase skills and abilities--and other items that you can use or sell for profit.

If you're not looking for a good fight or you aren't in the mood for a mission, you can always socialize with other players. The current build of Anarchy Online already features many different articles of clothing that serve no real purpose other than to make your character look distinct--and a hulking atrox character wearing a bright pink shirt and go-go boots will get anyone's attention and make for quite a conversation piece, especially when that atrox is also dancing the flamenco. The game already features dozens of expressive "emote" animations--from simple waving and bowing to back flips, kneeling, and dancing--all of which look great and many of which are quite funny.

All things considered, Anarchy Online seems extremely promising, even in its prerelease state. The game is currently scheduled for release later this year; we'll have more coverage of the game as the beta test progresses.