Real-Life

It doesn't matter one iota what I had planned to talk about today, regardless of how phenomenal it may have been. The fact that The Last Train to Cairo has pulled into the station means I'm hopping on it! Yes, The Secret World's latest update hit this week with barely a day's warning and (thanks to my lifetime membership), I've been sinking my teeth into it since last Thursday.

However, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I have not boarded the actual train part of the adventure. I had no interest in blowing through the new content in just a couple of days; I prefer to savor the new goodies. But I have delved pretty deeply into it and have a experienced a fair share of Issue #6. So how's the ride so far? Keep reading for a test drive, then come watch as Creative Director Joel Bylos joins me for a livestream tour on Thursday, March 21st at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Massively TV.

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Warstory: Europe in Flames is one of those deceptively simple MMOs that makes me feel a bit lost for most of the week that I look at it for this column. It seems as though I stumbled into a game that features not only a time-limited server but one that is about to restart once the capital city of Berlin is taken by either the Russians (my side) or one of the other Allies. The goal is to race through content until Berlin is finally nabbed. I was even able to roll a new commander on a new server, but that game was far enough along to convince me that I really need to play in a brand-new game to see what happens from the very beginning.

I am getting ahead of myself, though. How about we talk about the gameplay and how it all feels? Then I'll allow myself to scheme about my possible glory.

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This week I thought I'd travel to Hong Kong as an undercover cop, infiltrate the Triads, enter a few street races, sing some karaoke, and generally kung fu fight my way through another jewel of an open-world sandbox actioner.

You're welcome to come with me, but you'll need a copy of Sleeping Dogs to make it happen. Square's 2012 gangster opus got a new DLC injection this week, but it'll be a while before I can report on it since the rest of game is so large and involving.

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If you've been waiting for a chance to grab The Secret World and delve into the realm of Templars, Illuminati, and Dragons, now's a good time to go for it. Amazon.com is currently offering the digital download of the conspiracy-laden game for $19.99, a $10 savings off the original price.

However, the deal gets even sweeter -- the purchase includes 1200 bonus points (the same amount members receive each month). These points can be used to obtain the new Issue #6 The Last Train to Cairo DLC that becomes available to non-subscribers on Sunday, March 17th. The DLC costs 1200 bonus points for non-members, 1080 for members, and 960 for grandmasters (lifetime subscribers). Members and grandmasters can purchase and access Issue #6 now.

Folks who don't prowl around on the likes of Twitter may have missed out on a juicy little tidbit -- namely, that The Secret World's next update is coming tomorrow, March 14th. At 8:00 a.m. EDT, servers will go down for a scheduled three-hour maintenance, at which time Issue #6 The Last Train to Cairo will be patched in. Once the content is live, players will be able to add a whip to their weapon collection, dive into the new PvP ranking system, and revel in all the other assorted goodies coming their way.

Previous announcements have noted that paid subscribers will get to access the content before others can purchase the DLC in the store, putting the launch for free players on Saturday the 16th Sunday the 17th.

[Update: Funcom announced members will have a three day headstart instead of two; the launcher notes non-subscribers will be able to buy the DLC at 10:00 a.m EDT on the 17th]

If your Secret World adventures have thus far only entailed playing through the main story line, according to the latest dev blog you are missing out! The post plumbs the depths of TSW's character development and progression system (the endgame, if you will), detailing what lies in store for players after they turn that last page in the story.

With such a variety of situations and so many different builds to tackle them with, mastering TSW is a very lengthy process. Part of that process entails honing skills and collecting gear by moving to successively harder dungeons. Beyond just acquiring gear, players must also augment their arsenal with crafted kickbacks, stimulants, and pure anima potions. Then there is obtaining glyphs and knowing which one to use when for the best effect. And don't forget about getting ahold of powerful signets that can be added to weapons and talismans.

Of course, with the game's flexibility, there's no one "right way" to do things, so there are plenty of ways to experiment. Want some hints to use on this path to mastery? Check out all the details in the full post.

OK, so I openly admit that the title's reference probably predates the majority of you (unless you've happened upon the Facebook puzzle game, which apparently there is one!), but sometimes oldies are goodies. Or they just have catchy theme songs you can't get out of your head no matter how many decades you try...

So what does the older game featuring the notorious Carmen Sandiego have to do with The Secret World? For starters, it involves solving clues to complete the objective, just as investigations missions do in the newer game. Basically, both involve using your head to continue in the story. And both also use various locales around the world as the backdrop for the adventures. It's this last one specifically that my mind has been mulling over for a bit, especially in light of recent changes.

You see, even with the roadmap sketched out for the release of the next six updates (including Tokyo, woo!), some folks are worried about TSW's smaller centralized team. There is concern that there won't be enough resources to devote to the game and that it will languish. This is so where I come in. Instead of seeing the negative, I see opportunity: Iin order to free up more developer time and energy to focus on the nuts and bolts of creating the game, I'll provide the team with new ideas for future issues. This week, let's see where in the world we'll go.

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If you're turned on by augmented reality gaming or games that occur at least in some part within the real world, then you have probably heard about Google's latest experiment, Ingress. Google has been in the MMO game before. Years ago the company created a sort of social sandbox called Google Lively. It was a very interesting project, but its disappearance did not exactly fill me with confidence that Google could pull off another one. Still, this is one of the country's largest experimentation-driven companies with some of the smartest people and greatest access to information, so an ARG might just be the perfect fit.

I was just given access to the current stage of the game; be aware that everything I talk about or show you is most likely going to change over time.

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A few weeks ago The Secret World offered musicians the chance to weave their original melodies into the fabric of the conspiracy-laden game. Many heeded that call and over 300 submissions were received, some containing multiple compositions.

Instead of the originally intended five, 11 selections were chosen for inclusion in TSW. The winning music -- with titles like When Scouts Go Bad, I'll be the Death of You, Save Me, and The Zombie Stare -- will be introduced in Issue #7. Players will hear these pieces played on different radios throughout the game, such as those at The Ravens Knock and Susie's Diner in Kingsmouth, PC Bang in Seoul, and London's The Crusades nightclub. Congratulations to all the winners!

[Thanks to Samantha for the tip!]

Talk about timing.

Recently, you all voted that I continue my adventures on my Templar. The timing was impeccable because right in the middle of that vote, The Secret World's next issue was announced. And where will this update be focused? Why, in Egypt -- right where my Templar just so happens to be! Fortuitous for me, to be sure. So I have been (mostly) happily blasting my way through the desert with a shotgun at my hip and a rifle slung across my back, enjoying new-to-me content and anticipating the upcoming new-to-everyone goodies.

But not all timing has been good. As mentioned, I've been mostly enjoying my tales in the desert. Why the caveat? There's a bit of an infestation in Egypt, and I am not talking about the beetles that want to devour Said. The place is crawling with bugs! Besides swarming with giant locusts and their tentacled proboscises, Egypt also appears to have a higher prevalence of glitches. I have never encountered so many bugs in all of TSW as I have in a couple of days in that zone. And all at a time when the dev team is dealing with relocation and hasn't been able to jump right in and douse the area with a giant can of Raid.

The timing is particularly bad because it's unfortunately right when all eyes are turning to Egypt on the eve of Issue #6. How this release plays out will have lasting affects on the game and how folks view it.

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We all love video games, right? I mean, you wouldn't be here if you didn't, would you? Of course not. But you know what else is pretty great? Books! But who said you needed to choose between the two? Thanks to up-and-coming writers like Genese Davis, you can have the best of both worlds.

Genese is the author of The Holder's Dominion, a novel that follows protagonist Kaylie Ames as she and her friends delve into the mystery of the fictional MMO Edannair, where the enigmatic Holder, leader of an in-game organization known as Sarkmarr, has begun sending his disciples on dangerous real-world missions. It's up to Kaylie and company to figure out who this mysterious Holder really is and foil his (or her) nefarious schemes. And as it so happens, we had the opportunity to take an advance look at The Holder's Dominion and pick Genese's brain on the MMO industry, girls in gaming, and much more. To find out what she had to say (and believe us, you want to), head on past the cut and check out the full interview.

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When Issue #6 Last Train to Cairo was announced for The Secret World, a new PvP ranking system was briefly touched upon. In today's dev blog, system designer Tim Donks goes into more detail about this new feature as well as the matchmaking system.

In response to player requests for PvP rewards, Issue #6 is introducing Battle Ranks. By gaining PvP experience (which is shared among all group members who are present and alive at the time of the enemy kill), players can climb the ranks of PvP prowess, earning special tokens along the way to spend on various PvP rewards, including uniforms that are automatically equipped when entering PvP. An important note about PvP experience: Less XP is earned for each subsequent kill of the same player within the battlegrounds, Fusang, and the fight clubs until nothing is gained. This diminishing rewards system resets for each new trip into a PvP zone.

Once the update hits, players will also be able to queue for multiple battlegrounds at the same time. Also expected in Issue #6 -- or shortly thereafter -- players' wins and losses in PvP matches will be tracked to improve the matchmaking mechanic.

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It was a pretty close vote there at the end, with folks rallying to their factions, but the Templars ultimately won out. I have to say, I am kinda pleased with the result. It's not that I was rooting for any one faction over the others; I was quite sincere in requesting direction in my The Secret World adventures. It's just that with Issue #6 The Last Train to Cairo coming out, my Templar is my only character in Egypt and in the perfect position to partake in all the new stuff. And am I excited for the new stuff! Among the new missions, the veteran reward system, and the PvP ranking, my all-time favorite weapon is coming to game. Squeee!

Join me in eagerly anticipating these new adventures and offering the devs a round of applause.

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It's been a while since I visited Remanum, an interesting trade-based MMO brought to us by Travian Games, the same studio that brought us Travian and other interesting titles. I was initially turned on to the game's non-combat options simply because combat is used so much that many of the current combat systems are outdated or just plain boring. Non-combat, or optional systems for play like trade and exploration, are the hope for gamers like yours truly who cannot stand to play a game as though they're clocking in to work.

The only problem with Remanum? I suck at, well, trading. I know that I can grasp the principles of "buy low, sell high" and other market staples, but I simply can't grasp the finer nuances of buying and selling. I have a brother who seems to have a natural way with numbers, but I've always been more of an artist. Numbers and me just sort of stare at each other from across the table.

So why do I like Remanum so much?

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