Tabula Rasa and Hellgate: London

Tabula Rasa

Release Date: Oct. 16
Platforms: PC
Publisher: NCsoft
Developers: Destination Games

Description: Richard Garriott has been threatening to revolutionize the MMORPG scene for several years now but the long overdue Tabula Rasa is finally coming to PCs this October. The MMO market just gets more crowded every year and World of Warcraft continues to dominate the subscriber numbers. Yet, Tabula Rasa offers an opportunity to try something other than orcs, elves, sword and shields. Richard Garriott’s new foray into online role-playing arena is a science fiction-themed MMO with a bit of a shooter vibe to it.

Richard Garriott returns with the sci-fi MMO Tabula Rasa.

Tabula Rasa takes place in the far-flung future when an aggressive alien race known as The Bane are threatening the destruction of life as we know it. What sets TR apart from other MMOs out there (save maybe Garriott’s previous entry Ultima Online) is that players aren’t forced to pick a class right off the bat. The game encourages experimentation in the early levels and allows players to settle into whatever role they prefer. After gaining a few levels and a better understanding of the game, players are presented with a choice between two trees: the Soldier or the Specialist. As they progress in their career they are capable of further specializing into deeper classes with more abilities. The cloning option allows players to try new careers without having to wade through the low-level content again. Tabula Rasa’s combat model is similar to other MMOs in that it uses hidden dice rolls to figure hit-and-miss probabilities but it adds a shooter component where you can use the environment to your advantage. Things like crouching and taking cover can affect how much damage you do and how much damage you take. It wouldn’t be an MMO without a magic component and the Logos system in Tabula Rasa fulfills that need. It remains to be seen how "revolutionary" TR really is but a sci-fi MMO is a welcome change.

PC Requirements: Minimum requirements include Microsoft Windows Vista / XP, 2.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent, 512 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, 5 GB available hard drive space, ATI Radeon 9600 or Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 series video card with 128 MB of RAM. Recommended requirements include Microsoft Windows Vista / XP, 3.5 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent, 2GB of RAM, DVD-ROM drive, 5GB available hard drive space, ATI Radeon x1800 or Nvidia GeForce 7800 series video card.

Related Articles and Videos:
Tabula Rasa Intro Movie
Tabula Rasa Image Preview

Hellgate: London

Release Date: Oct. 30
Platforms: PC
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developers: Flagship Studios

Description: The announcement of Starcraft II was reason to cheer but a contingent of gamers was secretly hoping the new Blizzard game would be Diablo III. Titan Quest may be doing its best to keep the Diablo fans appeased but Hellgate: London from Flagship Studios - the game developer started by Diablo producer and ex-Vice President of Blizzard North Bill Roper - may steal the Diablo III thunder all together. Hellgate: London is an action RPG set in a post-apocalyptic version of London circa 2038. You’ll play as one of three classes - the gunslinging Hunters, the spell-throwing Cabalists or a mix of both with a touch of old-school melee as the Templar - in this hack-and-slash adventure that utilizes dynamically-generated levels, monsters, items and events guaranteeing almost infinite replay-ability.

It’s not Diablo III, but Hellgate: London stills looks promising.

As an action RPG, the combat in Hellgate: London is fast and frenetic with swarms of enemies attacking at once and players carving a swath of destruction through endless piles of demons and devils. The characters have access to a host of spells, weapons, and armor that mix medieval stylings with the trappings of technology and magic. The game can be played from the third or first-person perspective and promises to employ the fanciest tricks that DirectX 10 can provide.

The title doesn’t really qualify as an MMO since the world isn’t persistent but, like Diablo II, Hellgate: London features a huge multiplayer component. Players can start for free out of the box and still game cooperatively over the Internet, join guilds, trade items and utilize all the community features without a subscription. Those that do opt to subscribe-the price is approximately $13 a month right now but that could change for the release-will enjoy access to new ongoing content updates, such as new character classes, areas, monsters, equipment, raid content, new game modes and additional character slots. With Diablo III nowhere to be seen on the horizon, Hellgate: London will provide the demon-smashing fix for PC gamers.

PC Requirements: Unconfirmed.

Related Articles: Hellgate: London Image Gallery

Join our discussion on this topic