Wednesday 21 April 2010

'Global Agenda' (7.5/10)



Ah Global Agenda. After the disaster that was me being an early adopter of Fallen Earth and me almost tried the failure that was Aion (thankfully my caution after Fallen Earth saved me from that). I swore off all MMOs (other than Hellgate) without first trying the game out via a demo or something (to ensure the game doesnt have magical aim). Global Agenda seemed neat in that it was an attempt at mashing together several different genres:
  • HUB based MMO
  • Shooter (First and Third person)
  • RTS
  • RPG
For those familiar with Hellgate, it can be summarized as a mashup of the Hunter and Templar classes  shoved into a post-modern espionage environment. The player assumes the role of a genetically engineered agent working against the government entity, 'The Commonwealth'. (insert standard totalitarian/repressive government backstory here). For those interested in the actual backstory, there is a whole lot of it.

The player choses from one of four classes: medic (healer/poision), assault (heavy weapons/tanking), recon (stealth/sniper) and robotics (turrets and drones). The game splits into three portions: PvE, PvP and AvA. The first two are pretty standard staples of MMOs. The last, Agency vs Agency is the attempt to blend a persistant world and long term strategy i.e., you and your Agency (the equivalent of a Guild), try to capture/control/own territory which in turn, gives resources/research for better equipment etc.

The game has free-to-play and subscription modes (although for now, all content is free to play). I dont think I'll be paying for it anytime soon though: it's a bit too hollow/mechanical to be worth monthly fees (I play mostly PvE). That being said, I quite enjoy the light-RPG elements and the greater emphasis on tactical awareness than your usual MMO/RPG where it comes down to either [a] better gear or skills or [b] just having a higher level number (aka Borderlands).

Both-ways-points:
  • Armor is entirely cosmetic and has no stats or anything. This is slated to change in the upcoming patch with the introduction of statted armour but for the time being it's a nice change from having to worry about loot and it's more of a player-skill thing. Of course, it kind of saps away the appeal of playing the game if there is no loot to farm or get excited over. The game does have an independant upgrade element (conveyed in the form of neural implants and such) which lets the user have upgraded stats and such independent of the armour (so no more worrying about picking better vs prettier armour)
  • Skill points can be freely reset. This is nice if you play both PvP and PvE and it's great for beginners looking to try different builds and different skills and such. Down the road though it kind of takes away from the attatchment the player might have with the character if it's so brainless to respec.
Strong Points
  • Unreal Engine 3. The game looks fantastic. The aiming mechanics are decent (sniping is a bain in the butt as bullets arent hit-scan ... the delay is about 400ms give or take)
  • In addition to the standard guns and such, each class has melee weaponry -- and the game encourages you to use it as it doesnt drain energy/ammo, generates morale boost twice as fast (the equivalent of Limit Breaks) etc. Definitely adds a different take to the game
  • Get up and go. Gameplay is very straightforward (on paper). Since the elements are mostly cosmetic, there's not as much of a need to sit around and choose gear etc (although different gear options are available, the player is aware of all of them at the very start so they can be ready for it)
  • Self-healing is a very conscious decision. Each class has the ability to self-heal. When triggered, the player will (over a brief period), recover all hitpoints but at the cost of a much slower movespeed and no energy/ammo regeneration. Makes players think before mashing the heal button (which also has a cooldown).
  • Jetpacks. The ability to fly is awesome --  doubly so when it has tactical merit and isnt just for show (ahem, Aion).
  • Class distincion. The classes are exceptionally well thought out: each class has it's own very specific role to play in the group. There isnt the problem of one class ninjaing everything, because it's just not doable.
Weak Points
  • No loot! This totally takes away from gameplay as there's much less of a reason to come back again and again on quests
  • Quest queing. It's somethign I dont understand - you cant just go and play solo (in fact, you have to play with 3 other people... ugh... humans). A friend of mine tried to explain it to me: the reason for queuing is because the servers cant handle thousands of concurrent instances firing up (which I guess is also why you have to play with 3 other people - it drops the server load by 75%). Ugh. Get a bigger server.
  • Little UI bugs and issues: so many of them to name, while the overall look and feel is done up well and the glitches are minor, they really chip away at the overall polish
  • Stupid players. Nuff said.
All in all, a damn fine start. Needs some work to polish it up but worth the money. If you were on the fence, go try the trial out. Bottom line: 7.5/10.