Tabula Rasa

“You know what I think? I think the invasion of the Earth was the universe’s way of punishing us for Reality TV.” – Recon. Spec. Jennings.

NCsoft’s Tabula Rasa is a far cry from the original game designs. While certain elements have remained consistent, the game has morphed from a martial arts theme to a full-fledged sci-fi shooter. However, one cannot deny that the NCsoft trademark is still all over this game.

What trademark is that? Well, NCsoft is not afraid of taking chances and that often includes trying innovative ideas within the massively multiplayer online space. In that vein, Tabula Rasa continues the trend. This is a game that moves the space forward with solid AI, and a dynamic battlefield that can change quickly.

First and foremost, TR plays off a familiar theme – invasion of the Earth. In TR’s universe, the Earth was not only invaded, but defeated. The Bane are the world-hopping force that will subvert what it can, and destroy what it cannot. The governments of Earth saw it coming and though the world was lost, some were saved. You are one of the survivors. As part of the AFS (a rag-tag allied force of the survivors from conquered worlds; AFS stands for Allied Free Sentients), you begin the stand against the Bane on Foreas, a forest-covered world where the inhabitants lived in harmony with the land … well, until the Bane showed up. Now the pristine landscape is dotted with twisted shapes and blood-red vines. Even some of the tribal members are … well, let’s leave that for you to discover as you play the game.

You begin on Foreas, a human (the only playable race in the game), with the power of Logos inherent. As part of the backstory, there was a higher race known as the Eloh. They held powers beyond physical weapons. Some races have members known as receptors; in short, they can wield the magic power known as Logos. These special powers, which will grow and develop over time within the context of the game, are tied into the right mouse button. You can only have one active at a time. They can do a variety of things – like stun, damage, heal and the like. Some enemies will be resistant to damage, until you tag them with the power of the first Logos you learn. At that point, several things can happen – they take damage and are receptive to weapons fire, or they are stunned and look like a live electrical charge is dancing on their bodies. If the latter happens, and you are within melee range, chances are you are going to explode them. The special effect involved in this can vary, but each is satisfying.

In fact, there is something very satisfying about running about with a laser chaingun, playing tag with the enemy, then watching it jerk as round after round hits it in rapid succession. Of course, there are a variety of weapons and the enemies will have immunities to certain types, so knowing which weapon works best is key, just like having a full complement of weapons in your hotbar.

The evolving story and you …

After a brief intro tutorial that gives players an outline of the control scheme, you are off to Foreas. There are a variety of missions available right off the bat – from doing courtesy missions to get in good with the natives of the planet, to collecting DNA, to retrieval and message missions … well, there are quite a number and players can carry up to 20 active missions at any one time.

The land is divided into several zones, all with zone gates (read that as load times). Completing missions in one may not make you ready to advance to the next zone, but as you level, you will have access to new weapons and armor. You also get points you can drop into attribute areas and skills.

The nice aspect of the character system comes into play early. At certain levels of your development, you can select career choices for your character. However, you can also, prior to the choice, clone your character. This enables players to choose different paths without having to restart from scratch.

The game will also allow players to make moral choices as they move through the game. This affects the way people will react to you. Examples include a choice about turning in a Forean traitor (you have the choice of turning him in or allowing him to go free), or running drugs to soldiers on the front lines as opposed to turning it in to the commanding officer, who may have plans of his own. Not everything is black and white in this regard.

Another solid feature of this game are the dynamic control points. During the game, you may find that an area, with its control point, belonged to the AFS. The next time you log into the area, it may be Bane occupied. The fight is constantly raging for the control points and players would do well to keep an eye on their missions rather than jumping into every battle they see. Some missions have requirements and lingering to fight might be contrary.

Combat …

This is handled in a very straightforward manner. You use the tab to lock a target and then you can switch out weapons while moving about. However, if the enemy gets a target lock on you, it could be a tough day. Hot keys are divided into two sections – active weapons and skills.

There seemed to be a few problems – rare though they were – with hitting the button for one weapon and getting something else. And weapons are not operating with infinite ammunition. That part of the strategic element and money sink of the game. One might think that as a member of an allied force fighting the common enemy that ammunition would be supplied. Not so. You have to buy it, and that forces players into the economics of the game. You can sell some drops, or craft with materials found.

Generally, though, the game’s combat is familiar. Crouching gives you better success, but also, as an unmoving target, you are susceptible to more damage and easier to target.

While the game does have a lot tied to the keyboard, you will need to employ the mouse as well. Left clicking fires a weapon; right clicking activates special skill. You can jump, dodge, roll and generally make yourself a hard target to lock on, and fighting as a member of a team is also a very good thing.

TR does a good job in allowing players that are not part of a group, to move through as a unit and get common credit for kills each participates in. As you kill, you get XP (experience points). The more people that kill a mob, the less XP each receives. If you go on a kill streak, you will start to earn bonus XP in terms of percentage XP (like 125% XP, or 150%, and so on). Looting is also handled in two ways. You can hit the T key to interact with the target or simply run over the corpse to loot it. The latter is particularly handy when in battle.  

In addition to the open areas in the world, missions will also lead you into instanced zones. Progress within these zones is saved. If you go in, destroy almost everything and wipe the zone clean, the next time in, you will see signs of your passage.

Crafting …

TR does have a very nice crafting system. Items with special abilities (like, say, a 15% defense against electro-magnetic pulse weapons) can be decrafted for rare or craftable parts. As your journey, you will pick up recipes and items that can be used in crafting. You target a crafting station (spread across the world in bases), and then work through the instructions. This is very player friendly and easy to use.

Graphically and sound …

The game was started on the default settings, but having a bit beefier graphics card onboard the host machine allowed the graphics to be cranked up and wow! what a difference. From the environmental nuances of ships overhead, moons and stars, to the details on uniforms, TR is a very good-looking game. There are a few minor mishaps, like a Forean guard walking around cradling a non-existent rifle, but generally the effects and animations are very well done.

The camera can bump along over the environment, but it is generally locked into a low isometric vantage point. You can zoom in and out, but generally the camera stays in the third person.

The sound also provides a solid supporting member. There is a very good musical score running under the action, and you will get radio crackle, explosions, the voice of the Bane (which basically can allow you to hear them before they see you), teleportation sounds, the roar of ships and so on. This is an audio treat so turning it up is a good idea.

The package …

Tabula Rasa may be a bit of a niche game in that it is a shooter within the science fiction genre. But it is also a fast-paced action-oriented game with a vast world to explore, filled with things to discover and enemies to fight. Seeing your character evolve in terms of armament is a very cool aspect and you will appreciate the little things, like cloning (you have 16 character slots) as you move through the game.

Richard Garriott, Starr Long and Destination Games have had a long time to work on this game – in terms of development time from the game’s inception – but that was not idle time. The game has made some solid strides forward and is rather entertaining. Whether running with a group of warriors, or trekking alone, TR has a very nice pace that will keep players on their toes and checking their ammo supply. This is not to say that the game is perfect. While the dynamic control points do create a living battlefield, the game itself can feel rather repetitive in that you are constantly running through the world, making your way from one mission to another (nice map features, by the way) and doing the same thing over and over. There is not a lot of variety in war, and TR may suffer slightly from that aspect.

Gameplay: 8.3
Some nice cut scene materials leading into instanced zones, a control scheme that is easy to learn. However, there are some error messages that pop up (like when you die trying to fight to the Pravus Research facility – your choice of respawn point is graveyardlanguage ID 19 language) that should not be in a final release. Also, when you open a window, it locks the camera perspective.

Graphics: 8.7
A few problems here and there, but generally this is a very well done game with solid graphical elements and a nice diversity, for the theme.

Sound: 8.7
Very nicely done, both in terms of the battlefield sounds and the way the music underscores the action moments. Ambient environmental effects are also well handled.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5
Earth invaded is not new, nor is fighting a hostile alien race. TR does have some nice MMO innovation, though, in terms of the dynamic battlefield, and the character cloning options. The game has an intelligent career path selection and players can customize their avatars if they plan and think about choices available and upcoming.

Multiplayer: 8.8
Give props to the community. Ask a question a couple of times, in the right channel, and you will have it answered. You can team up, form clans and even duel if the inclination grabs you.  

Overall: 8.6
The game is not without its faults. Weapons jam faster in an instanced frontline than when you are fighting off half a dozen Bane in the open country. If you are locked on, you can’t use cover – the missiles will go right through anything that might shield you to hit you. Of course the opposite (when you are shooting) is true. Still, Tabula Rasa provides an entertaining action shooter experience that does bring some very good ideas to the fore. There is innovation here and entertainment.