Games of E3 – Sony's MMO Spy Thriller 'The Agency'
At last, a decent MMO without any elves
By Adam Hartley
The main thing that puts me off massively multiplayer online gaming is elves.
This is not to knock anybody who gets their kicks from living huge swathes of their lives in the polished fantasy worlds of World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, it's more a personal matter of taste. As a kid I used to love reading Tolkien, but as an adult the movies and games derived from his fantastical imagination tend to leave me somewhat cold.
For this reason more than any other, I was genuinely thrilled to see Sony Online Entertainment’s upcoming spy-themed, first person shooter MMO, The Agency, due for release on the PC and PS3 in 2008. It's mainly because, as an adult, I’ve still not outgrown Ian Fleming’s world of James Bond. Spies are cool, glamorous and sexy. Elves are none of these things.
In The Agency players will choose a character from one of two factions - UNITE or paraGON. UNITE is formed of suave, martini-sipping James-Bond types using flashy high-end spy-tech, while paraGON is a collection of Jack Daniels slurping mercenaries making use of whatever is to hand. The two agencies are not opposed to each other or fighting each other, but operate together as ‘friendly rivals’.
The traditional (and, in my opinion, tedious) class system of a traditional MMO game has also been radically rethought for The Agency with a far more user-friendly 'You are what you wear' system deployed. Depending on what equipment you are sporting, you could be a combat, support, or stealth specialist. Easy and fun! Not complicated and dull. See what SOE did there?
The Agency is also being touted as, first and foremost, a shooter – albeit one set in the persistent world of a massively multiplayer online game – and as such is bound to appeal to the hordes of FPS and spy-genre fans out there who have perhaps never before considered getting stuck into an MMO. At least, this is SOE’s hope for the game and I, for one, think they just might be on to something here…
Check back soon for our full preview of The Agency and interview with SOE Seattle’s studio manager, Matt Wilson. For now, feast your eyes on the latest screens and art from the game right here.
The main thing that puts me off massively multiplayer online gaming is elves.
This is not to knock anybody who gets their kicks from living huge swathes of their lives in the polished fantasy worlds of World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, it's more a personal matter of taste. As a kid I used to love reading Tolkien, but as an adult the movies and games derived from his fantastical imagination tend to leave me somewhat cold.
For this reason more than any other, I was genuinely thrilled to see Sony Online Entertainment’s upcoming spy-themed, first person shooter MMO, The Agency, due for release on the PC and PS3 in 2008. It's mainly because, as an adult, I’ve still not outgrown Ian Fleming’s world of James Bond. Spies are cool, glamorous and sexy. Elves are none of these things.
In The Agency players will choose a character from one of two factions - UNITE or paraGON. UNITE is formed of suave, martini-sipping James-Bond types using flashy high-end spy-tech, while paraGON is a collection of Jack Daniels slurping mercenaries making use of whatever is to hand. The two agencies are not opposed to each other or fighting each other, but operate together as ‘friendly rivals’.
The traditional (and, in my opinion, tedious) class system of a traditional MMO game has also been radically rethought for The Agency with a far more user-friendly 'You are what you wear' system deployed. Depending on what equipment you are sporting, you could be a combat, support, or stealth specialist. Easy and fun! Not complicated and dull. See what SOE did there?
The Agency is also being touted as, first and foremost, a shooter – albeit one set in the persistent world of a massively multiplayer online game – and as such is bound to appeal to the hordes of FPS and spy-genre fans out there who have perhaps never before considered getting stuck into an MMO. At least, this is SOE’s hope for the game and I, for one, think they just might be on to something here…
Check back soon for our full preview of The Agency and interview with SOE Seattle’s studio manager, Matt Wilson. For now, feast your eyes on the latest screens and art from the game right here.
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Comments
Joji 17 Jul 2007 13:03
1/7
Cool looking game and one of my reasons to get a PS3. No good til that price comes down though.
deleted 17 Jul 2007 13:14
2/7
sounds interesting, but rememeber sony this will have to be a world minus the churches.
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OptimusP 17 Jul 2007 13:39
3/7
Now this does sound like a real fresh take on the MMO-genre, to bad i think the monthly subscription is such a rip-off...
Ohyeah, Elves are glamorous and sexy too! :(
Ohyeah, Elves are glamorous and sexy too! :(
deleted 17 Jul 2007 13:46
4/7
OptimusP wrote:
Ohyeah, Elves are glamorous and sexy too! :(
you dont know what your on about Optimus, i dated an elve once and it wasnt glamorous or sexy in fact it was just one big nag, she was always at it with the "why are ageing so quickly" and "my last boyfreind could hear doorbell from his works why cant you hear it when your in the shower", and it even got to the point in winter she would bollock me for leaving imprints in the snow fss!! i sacked that one of fast, the fact her dad didnt approve of me because [/sarcasm] i couldnt fire 3 bows at the same time. [/sarcasm] helped and to top it off when ever we went to a club shed be like "you cant talk to me like that my boyfreind will kick your arse", Dont try to kick an orges ass.
Joji 17 Jul 2007 14:11
5/7
Stuff like the Agency is what MMOs need. I've never played one yet, because they are all dumb fantasy rpg hokum. When they diversify more like this, then I'll consider playing. Problem is that they need to be free to play once you've purchased the game, as paying monthly is the very thing that puts people off of playing MMOs.
What's the point in a free online service if you have to pay for you MMO gaming monthly?
What's the point in a free online service if you have to pay for you MMO gaming monthly?
tyrion 17 Jul 2007 17:53
6/7
Now then, haritori, that was one of the funniest things I've read today, if not this entire week!
deleted 17 Jul 2007 18:22
7/7
i try :-)