Last month, Editor-in-Chief Chris Tom got to experience some hands-on play time with Funcom's The Secret World. Find out his thoughts on this ambitious modern-day MMORPG!

Want to hear some astonishing numbers? During the hands-on experience, we had access to 112 unique abilities that we could mix and match as we unlocked them. Each weapon had two skill "cells," with four abilities and three passive abilities to unlock in ascending order per cell (omitting fists, of course). When TSW launches, the team plans to have 588 unique abilities available. After players make their way through the "sample" skill cells of a certain weapon, they'll be able to dump ability points into any of the seven 'advanced' skill cells for that weapon, with each cell focusing on a different specialty presented in the original two cells. 

This might sound a bit confusing, but in the follow-up interview (which will come tomorrow), TSW's Lead Designer, Martin Bruusgaard, gave the example that, if the Shotgun has a skill in the first two cells that deals blasting damage, one of the seven 'advanced' cells might contain skills that all focus on blasting damage or effects related to it.

From London, I was quickly introduced to the game's primary form of travel: Agartha. By accessing this secret world of tunnels and passageways, it's possible for players to quickly travel between cities and locations without resorting to more traditional "waiting for the ferry" systems. I'm in the process of finding out if more traditional travel methods will be explored for players who are weary of mystical paths, and I'll get that information to you when I can.

Regardless, I made my way through Agartha to The Secret World's starting zone, Kingsmouth. Here, through the game's introductory quests, I was able to pick up ability points at a decent rate, allowing me to unlock whatever abilities I wanted to. I decided to focus on Shotguns for a while, but as the skill point requirement for my later abilities grew higher (four for the last one), I decided to 'splash' some points into a secondary weapon to make up for my deficiencies. Since each active ability is tied to a specific weapon and players can only bring two weapons in addition to their seven skills, creating your perfect load-out is all about finding the two weapons with abilities that represent your combat style. I finally settled on a Rifle for its life-leeching abilities, and I also invested a few points in the Sword skill tree for some defensive passives.

Speaking of combat, auto attacking appears to have been banished in favor of a very active combat system based on combo "builders" and "enders." Certain abilities in each tree build "weapon resources," which basically act as combo points. There are also powerful combo-ending abilities that "spend" those resources. As an example, my basic Shotgun attack built both Shotgun and Rifle resources, so I used my Shotgun to build resources, while my Rifle was used for combo-ending salvos. As someone who's always on the move in combat, I felt right at home with TSW's unique system.

Beyond combat, TSW's adventuring content is unique in just how challenging it can be. I don't mean this in the sense that monsters can get too difficult to beat (if they are, it's remarkably simple to pursue other quests before returning with more skills), but that the quests themselves actually require players to pay attention. I'll admit that I can get as lazy as an MMORPG will let me, so I spent a good ten minutes trying to find a telephone book so I could look up the addresses of local stores. The quest text bluntly told me to find a telephone book, but instead of actually looking for it in the usual places, I ran around looking for something sparkly to click on. Eventually, Martin got tired of my pitiful whimpering, so he pointed out that phone books could be located on desks and in telephone booths. After easily locating one, it was here I realized that The Secret World wasn't going to be just another mindless quest grind. For players who want to pay attention, there's a whole world of detail here that I've never seen attempted before in an MMORPG.

We also had the chance to explore TSW's first dungeon, The Polaris, but I'd rather not spoil the story, aside from saying that the environment and mood is incredible. If the content quality of The Polaris is a good indication of TSW's later dungeons, I can honestly say that Funcom has some of the best visionaries in modern dungeon design. 

All in all, what has me most excited about The Secret World is just how much attention has gone into it. My big concern is that players who are coming from a lifetime of 'sparkly' quest objects and auto-moving quest trackers might get turned off by the level of immersion The Secret World will demand from its players. If, however, you're looking for a game to lose yourself in - to really be a part of a world - The Secret World is going to be the MMORPG for you. As for me, well, I was scheming the whole way home of the various ways a small, well-coordinated PvP squad could obliterate entire guilds with a perfect skill load-out. You've been warned.

Tune in tomorrow for ZAM's post-experience interview with The Secret World's Lead Content Designer, Joel Bylos and Lead Designer, Martin Bruusgaard!

Christopher "Pwyff" Tom, Editor-in-Chief.