Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The Secret World
- Thread starter NateEssex
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I was excited to read about this game a few months ago, will definitely try it out when I get my new mac.
And its windows only, so bootcamp.
And its windows only, so bootcamp.
I've been playing it since open beta and I'm in the 3rd zone right now (Blue Mountain). Most people either love the game or hate it and are waiting for GW2.
I love the game. My favorite things about it
- Best questing/PVE I've ever seen in an MMO. I haven't played through GW2's dynamic events so I can't compare but until it comes out, I don't think there's a better PVE experience on the market.
- Well written dialogue and cut scenes. SWTOR I'd hit escape during the cut scenes because they were so damn dry. Here they actually have witty writing and it contributes to the atmosphere instead of just telling you why you have to do a quest.
- The whole horror atmosphere is pretty effective. Ambient sounds, the way missions are laid out, NPC dialogue all contribute to a feeling of dread. I rolled an Illuminati and the first faction mission had me going into a pitch black parking garage. I find a helmet light that I'm supposed to use to light the way so I don't run into zombies. After a couple floors, the helmet light burns out and the only way I can see is by chucking flares that illuminate a small area. Another mission had me investigating a haunted house. Halfway through the door suddenly shut and the house tried to gas me to death.
- Real World setting. After a decade of MMO's based on elves or spaceships, it's refreshing to see things like cellphones, cars, computers, NPC's talking about Google and Youtube, etc. You walk through London and you see a coffee shop, record store, a nightclub, clothing store, etc
- It's a mature MMO. It's refreshing to hear NPC's cuss every once in a while.
On the flip side, PVP is weak, there are still some bugs, and a few quests are so poorly designed it felt like they were bugged. But I think it's worth the money. Between this and GW2, I don't see a reason to play WOW anymore.
I love the game. My favorite things about it
- Best questing/PVE I've ever seen in an MMO. I haven't played through GW2's dynamic events so I can't compare but until it comes out, I don't think there's a better PVE experience on the market.
- Well written dialogue and cut scenes. SWTOR I'd hit escape during the cut scenes because they were so damn dry. Here they actually have witty writing and it contributes to the atmosphere instead of just telling you why you have to do a quest.
- The whole horror atmosphere is pretty effective. Ambient sounds, the way missions are laid out, NPC dialogue all contribute to a feeling of dread. I rolled an Illuminati and the first faction mission had me going into a pitch black parking garage. I find a helmet light that I'm supposed to use to light the way so I don't run into zombies. After a couple floors, the helmet light burns out and the only way I can see is by chucking flares that illuminate a small area. Another mission had me investigating a haunted house. Halfway through the door suddenly shut and the house tried to gas me to death.
- Real World setting. After a decade of MMO's based on elves or spaceships, it's refreshing to see things like cellphones, cars, computers, NPC's talking about Google and Youtube, etc. You walk through London and you see a coffee shop, record store, a nightclub, clothing store, etc
- It's a mature MMO. It's refreshing to hear NPC's cuss every once in a while.
On the flip side, PVP is weak, there are still some bugs, and a few quests are so poorly designed it felt like they were bugged. But I think it's worth the money. Between this and GW2, I don't see a reason to play WOW anymore.
worthless... I'm too busy to play around their schedule, they need to do at least a 7 day free trial when I can choose my own week.
Beggars can't be choosers.
There'll either be a solid trial or pure F2P option within a year regardless of its sustained success - or 6 months if it flops.
Funcom is the one who should beg for subscribers, like any other MMO creator whatsoever.
2 days demo - especially when they are giving you 2 specific days - is not that great offer if you are under busy daily schedule and try to fit this in your free-time window.
In any case, if there's a chance to run under wine/wineskin I might try it. Bootcamping is out of question for me.
2 days demo - especially when they are giving you 2 specific days - is not that great offer if you are under busy daily schedule and try to fit this in your free-time window.
In any case, if there's a chance to run under wine/wineskin I might try it. Bootcamping is out of question for me.
I wanted to like this game but ultimately, it was a huge let down. I started in the closed beta and played up until about a week before the actual release.
The animation was sloppy and reminds me of the star wars MMO. I hated that my character could hop from the ground to the roof of a truck and look like they're hovering ala Matrix style in the process. Combat was boring the time I was playing it. You build up combo points and use a combo finisher over and over again. There is no mana or anything like that where a person has to conserve or choose thier abilities, they just spam attacks over and over again. The hot bar also only allows you to equip 5 skills if I remember correctly. The graphics are terrible for a modern game. I realise that MMOs need to make the games accessible to a wide variety of people, but not everyone is still running P4's with 256mb video cards. Everything on high was disappointing.
I love the atmosphere and the story. This is one of the only MMOs where I stopped to read the quests and such. I lover the horror genre and the close connection to the Lovecraftian mythos that I experienced while playing. That's why I wanted this game to just be awesome, but the short comings of the actual game play were so bad that I couldn't get past it to enjoy the setting of the story. Maybe one day someone will do it right, but The Secret World definitely isn't it in my book.
The animation was sloppy and reminds me of the star wars MMO. I hated that my character could hop from the ground to the roof of a truck and look like they're hovering ala Matrix style in the process. Combat was boring the time I was playing it. You build up combo points and use a combo finisher over and over again. There is no mana or anything like that where a person has to conserve or choose thier abilities, they just spam attacks over and over again. The hot bar also only allows you to equip 5 skills if I remember correctly. The graphics are terrible for a modern game. I realise that MMOs need to make the games accessible to a wide variety of people, but not everyone is still running P4's with 256mb video cards. Everything on high was disappointing.
I love the atmosphere and the story. This is one of the only MMOs where I stopped to read the quests and such. I lover the horror genre and the close connection to the Lovecraftian mythos that I experienced while playing. That's why I wanted this game to just be awesome, but the short comings of the actual game play were so bad that I couldn't get past it to enjoy the setting of the story. Maybe one day someone will do it right, but The Secret World definitely isn't it in my book.
Too bad they didn't release a Mac version. I would have been interested in that case. Oh, well. Fortunately, I still enjoy WoW.
Personally, I am looking forward to The Elder Scrolls Online and further out, Blizzard's Titan as the next MMO's I'd be interested in and they both will have Mac versions.
Personally, I am looking forward to The Elder Scrolls Online and further out, Blizzard's Titan as the next MMO's I'd be interested in and they both will have Mac versions.
I read about TSW's premise, saw some media and it did not sway me from GW2. I really happy that both GW2 and Planetside 2 (2013) will not be based on subscriptions. I think this is the way of future MMOs, even for Blizzard.
Yeah, those 2 along with this one were the 3 I've been looking forward to. I never thought subs were a deal since I've been subbing to these games since 2000 but it looks like it's a dealbreaker for a lot of people here.
And from what I've read, going subscription-free has saved a couple of them. For GW2 or PS2, I have no idea what kind of fees they will try to fit in. My understanding is that GW2 will have vanity items for sale. I might actually pay for something like that on occasion.
And from what I've read, going subscription-free has saved a couple of them. For GW2 or PS2, I have no idea what kind of fees they will try to fit in. My understanding is that GW2 will have vanity items for sale. I might actually pay for something like that on occasion.
If the game is fun, I don't mind at all. I've probably spent around $30 buying keys in TF2.
The good news from what I've heard about GW2 is that only vanity items will be sold. My impression is that speced items will not be sold. If you can buy your power, that would be a bad imo.
How does well does The Secret World run at Retina resolution? I'd hope for High settings although the game appears to be poorly-optimized so I'd settle for a medium/high mix.
Is the game suitable for the touchpad? I remember PVP in Funcon's previous MMO Age of Conan being quite horrible although these sort of games I prefer to play with the touchpad so I don't want to die too much.
Is the game suitable for the touchpad? I remember PVP in Funcon's previous MMO Age of Conan being quite horrible although these sort of games I prefer to play with the touchpad so I don't want to die too much
.