Combat

We had a chance to take in some of the game's combat while we were there and while we didn't get a hands-on demo (they're just not ready yet to let us get our grubby paws on the game), we did get to see some pretty extensive recorded gameplay, mostly centered around combat.

The combat that we saw was extremely action-oriented, giving the impression of twitch combat. That being said, we were flat out told that it wasn't twitch based but is designed to move quickly, requiring players to be paying attention to what's going on in order to execute the correct powers at the correct times. This, we are told, is going to be key.

Mechanically, combat is broken down into powers. There are two different types of power: passive powers, which augment stats or powers and are consistent, and then you have active powers, which are your classic press it and something happens kind of abilities. Throughout their careers, players will advance and collect these powers which will run the gamut of what you would expect to find in a class based MMO, from healing abilities to spellcasting-like abilities to tanking abilities. In the end, it's up to each player to build the kind of power set that he or she wants.

While you can eventually collect them all, only seven of each type (active and passive) of power can be active at any given time meaning that players will have to make wise decisions about the powers that they have before they enter combat (choices can't be altered in-combat).

State System

When powers are used, they will sometimes put enemies into a "state." In these states, the enemy becomes vulnerable to special combo moves that can be activated either on your own, or with the aid of your group. It's an interesting feature that allows a little bit more versatility in team play and should keep players actively engaged.

Other

Having seen the game in play, and talked to the developers about it a little bit, we can start to put together a number of facts about the game that don't necessarily fit into any specific category. The first is that the game is designed to be solo-friendly, but in order to get through some of the boss encounters you really need to be able to work cooperatively with others and think strategically.

There is a lot of variety in the enemies that the players will encounter playing The Secret World. As was mentioned above, each region that players will visit is designed to be interesting and unique. While we've seen the zombies and some of the other creatures that currently inhabit Kingsmouth, we should expect to see different baddies in other regions. If, for example, the game takes players to Egypt, there might be a few ideas about what they might be facing there (especially given the cool mummy-like creature we saw in early trailers and art).

While in the demo, we were also told that most of the game's missions will actually take place in the open world rather than in small instances. That being said, we were told that the developers weren't afraid to use instances where they're appropriate. So, you can expect at least a few of the larger boss fights, for example, to take place in smaller instances.

Guild style players won't be disappointed by The Secret World as literature that we've gotten our hands on states that the game will have player made organisations called cabals. Players will be able to create and decorate their own headquarters and rank their cabals against those of other players.

Worried PvP won't be making an appearance? Well, rest easy as Funcom has announced PvP in the form of a battle for what they call "Hollow Earth" where players fight for something called anima which is only found deep under the Earth but promises great power for its owners.

Finally, on top of the game's three player factions (Illuminati, Templars and Dragon), there will also be a number of NPC factions, which promises to make unravelling the game's story that much more interesting.