When
you spend almost an entire week running through mobs (no, I'm not
talking about the ones that give xp), sweating from every pore in your
body, feet throbbing, and dehydration a serious issue, it's nice to be
able to find an oasis of sorts. An oasis was exactly what we found,
too, when we stepped up to Funcom's business booth at gamescom this
year. It was in the style of an English pub, equipped with leather
chairs, stools and beer. It was a place to relax, but moreso, it was a
place to find out more about href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/265"> style="font-style: italic;">The Secret World,
from the Norwegian MMOG developer that brought us href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/40"> style="font-style: italic;">Anarchy Online
and href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc"> style="font-style: italic;">Age of Conan.



First
we were introduced to the social hubs of the game. In particular Funcom
highlighted London, which is the main city of the Templar faction.
Each faction will have its own variation of social hubs, but none will
be as large and as welcoming as London. The city will offer players of
all factions a place to meet other players, dance, party, and
socialize. It's not all fun and games though, as we were told that
London will have its own series of secrets for players to uncover.



The
second highlight Funcom introduced us to was the new player experience,
known as Tokyo Future. This area will be a training area of sorts to
introduce players to the darkness of the story of the game. Themes of
the main story of the world will be introduced and in Tokyo Future
players will learn the basics of playing the game. As this area is an
important part of the story and as involving and as veiled in secrecy
and mystery as the rest of the game, Funcom points out that it is not a
tutorial of the game, but rather an introduction into the horrors and
thrills that form The Secret World.



Lastly, we were told about
The Crucible. This area will be available to players to learn and train
new skills. They'll get a chance to try out variations and combos while
at The Crucible, but once they leave their decisions will be final. One
could conceivably liken it to The Powerhouse in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/co"> style="font-style: italic;">Champions Online
as it serves the same purpose and try-before-you-buy philosophy.



For more details of style="font-style: italic;">The Secret World
reveals at gamescom this year be sure to check out our exclusive video
interview below.