Last night I sat down at my computer to finally get my chance to dive into the Halloween story. Nevermind that it’s past Halloween now, it’s always Halloween in The Secret World. Or at least it feels that way. So I logged Penny in and hit the button to get it started. Wow do I regret that.
Before you start getting the wrong idea let me be clear. I started playing late at night, wind was blowing some of the construction material from next door around making some creepy sounds in the dark. A cat found its way into our yard, yes it was black though I’m not sure that matters. And from time to time we have birds come up and tap on our windows. So, why do I regret starting The Broadcast? That first phone call. Oh man, can we say creepy? Yeah, I just turned the game off after that. Noooo way I was going to tackle that in the dark. Not even with all the lights on in the house and my husband sitting next to me. Nope! Just nope. All of the nope even. Call me a wimp if you want, but I’m glad I didn’t go through with it.
It really is that sort of thing that keeps me coming back. My computer doesn’t exactly run the game the best, in fact it’s likely easy to see that I’m on the lowest graphics settings possible. But oh the stories. I’m not a fan of horror, again that much should be obvious by my wimpy nature. But the story almost demands to be played. I have to know what’s going to happen. I also have to wait until it’s daylight and I can safely walk through my house.
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So that’s what I did. I finished listening to that first phone call. It would be rude to do otherwise. And then, almost as if they were waiting a small horde of zombies jumped out at me. I may have screamed like a little girl…maybe. Fast forward to a less socially acceptable hour to get scared out of your pants and I was on my way.
The Secret World has ruined me for other voice acting in MMOs. They’ve set a standard so high I don’t think any can match it. This really shines through in The Broadcast. Dave Screed is voiced by André Sogliuzzo who amazingly also voices Moose, and many others. The voice acting in The Broadcast is perhaps some of the best in the entire game. You can feel the terror in his voice. You believe for a moment that there really is someone out there on the other end of the phone. Someone who is calling you in a panic and needs your help. This is also a fantastic opportunity for players to meet Dave Screed. You only really get to know him if you roll up an Illuminati which of course many of us at MMORPG has done recently for Murphy’s Lawbreakers.
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I won’t go into any of the details of The Broadcast, just in case anyone hasn’t had a chance to play it. It was released rather late for a Halloween event. But it was completely worth the wait. And the good news is they’re keeping it around longer to make up for it being delayed. With The Broadcast stretching half way into November it will make it seem like Christmas is here even faster this year. Nevermind the fact that I’ve been seeing Christmas things in stores for over a month already.
Halloween in The Secret World is not something that should be missed. Of course if you do miss it you don’t have to worry too much. Funcom is awesome enough to make sure everyone will get the chance to play it by bringing the event back again the next year. This means that every year the event grows with only a small bit of new content added. It also means if you’re sick one year or too busy with work or other games…not that I recommend other games, the content will still be there. This is something that surprisingly not many MMOs do. To me it just seems like common sense. You put a lot of work into making something? Get the most bang for your buck and keep bringing it back.
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There’s also lots of things available in the Item Store this Halloween. The most controversial of which are two of the three Halloween Loot Bags. These loot bags are required for achievements which has caused a bit of a discussion on the forums. Though it looks like Funcom may have seen that it may not be a popular choice so it will be getting changed. I’ve not yet sat down to read the 17 pages of discussion on the topic yet but I plan to just after this. There are also a variety of items you can buy in the store, including a pretty awesome hat. And just in case you forgot be sure to apply the code HALLOWEEN2014TEE to your account for a free t-shirt that quite adorably says “When you solo, nobody can hear you scream.” Maybe this needs to become my new motto.
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Before you know it the Halloween event in The Secret World will be over and all our thoughts will move on to other things. So be sure to grab all that lore you missed from years gone by. And get all the achievements for running this year’s event. Find yourself a buddy who will laugh at you while you scream in terror, just make sure they won’t laugh too hard. The Broadcast is out there, playing right now, waiting. Waiting for you.
