Secret Agents, Man
We finally get our first look at SOE's upcoming spy MMO, The Agency.
Published: May 22, 2009
Sony Online Entertainment has been doing this whole massively multiplayer online role-player game... thing for quite a while now, and for good or ill, they've pumped out more games and collected more experience and data on the successes and failures in the genre than any other pub/dev house. Numerous genres have been tackled under the SOE banner; high fantasy (EverQuest, the original MMO darling and source of digital crack), sci-fi (Star Wars Galaxies, The Matrix Online) and even stabs at burgeoning new approaches, such as with the promising but ultimately flawed Planetside, a never-ending, massively multiplayer first-person shooter.
They've got quite a bit going on with consoles, too -- most notably DC Universe Online, but there's another release looming on the horizon, something we've been curious about ever since the initial announcement of a spy MMO. The Agency is... well, we're not entirely sure what it is just yet, mainly because it's a massively multiplayer online game where we were shown... about 15 minutes of the game, which included a pair of missions.
Luckily, what we saw thus far -- which included clients on both the PS3 and PC running side by side accomplishing the same missions in tandem (and yes, of course the PC one ran with a marked improvement over the framerate of the PS3 version, but the games otherwise looked more or less the same) -- showed plenty of promise. In fact, we were so taken with the concept that we were itching to see more. Alas, we were only allowed to look, but not touch (not until E3, anyway). Curious what we heard and saw, then? Good, because we were all but force-fed a history of the studio, the concept, and, yes, the game.
In the interest of keeping this preview about the game itself, we're going to dispense with the back story that we got. For a bit more back story on the folks making the game and the genesis for it all, check out our interview with the team in a few days. Actually trying to figure out where to start as we stare at pages of notes and more than a few minutes of recorded audio is a bit daunting, so we may as well start where the game starts: at the beginning.
You are a spy. You live the life of glamour and intrigue the most men (or, yes, women) only get to see in movies or novels. You're suave, dress for the occasion (more on that in a second), and can effortlessly mingle with strangers in social situations one moment and throw down with a variety of firepower or top-secret gadgets the next. In short, you're a badass, and in The Agency you are what you wear.
No matter which of the two main spy agencies you opt to work for -- be it for the mercenary outfit ParaGON or the more sophisticated U.N.I.T.E. -- simply throwing on an outfit in one of the six different classes will allow you to use those skills. Feel like playing support? Go Field Medic. Got the itch to set up emplacements or repair heavy armor? Field Tech for you. Run-n-gun the flavor of the day? You're a Weapon Specialist. Wanna pick locks and disable that security camera? Spec Ops time. Don't feel like taking the time to pick a lock? Cool, blow the door open as a Tactical Specialist. If you'd rather mess with people's heads, you can always don Psi Ops gear.
They've got quite a bit going on with consoles, too -- most notably DC Universe Online, but there's another release looming on the horizon, something we've been curious about ever since the initial announcement of a spy MMO. The Agency is... well, we're not entirely sure what it is just yet, mainly because it's a massively multiplayer online game where we were shown... about 15 minutes of the game, which included a pair of missions.
Luckily, what we saw thus far -- which included clients on both the PS3 and PC running side by side accomplishing the same missions in tandem (and yes, of course the PC one ran with a marked improvement over the framerate of the PS3 version, but the games otherwise looked more or less the same) -- showed plenty of promise. In fact, we were so taken with the concept that we were itching to see more. Alas, we were only allowed to look, but not touch (not until E3, anyway). Curious what we heard and saw, then? Good, because we were all but force-fed a history of the studio, the concept, and, yes, the game.
In the interest of keeping this preview about the game itself, we're going to dispense with the back story that we got. For a bit more back story on the folks making the game and the genesis for it all, check out our interview with the team in a few days. Actually trying to figure out where to start as we stare at pages of notes and more than a few minutes of recorded audio is a bit daunting, so we may as well start where the game starts: at the beginning.
You are a spy. You live the life of glamour and intrigue the most men (or, yes, women) only get to see in movies or novels. You're suave, dress for the occasion (more on that in a second), and can effortlessly mingle with strangers in social situations one moment and throw down with a variety of firepower or top-secret gadgets the next. In short, you're a badass, and in The Agency you are what you wear.
No matter which of the two main spy agencies you opt to work for -- be it for the mercenary outfit ParaGON or the more sophisticated U.N.I.T.E. -- simply throwing on an outfit in one of the six different classes will allow you to use those skills. Feel like playing support? Go Field Medic. Got the itch to set up emplacements or repair heavy armor? Field Tech for you. Run-n-gun the flavor of the day? You're a Weapon Specialist. Wanna pick locks and disable that security camera? Spec Ops time. Don't feel like taking the time to pick a lock? Cool, blow the door open as a Tactical Specialist. If you'd rather mess with people's heads, you can always don Psi Ops gear.
