Tabula Rasa

I bought this for my son after he found & read the reviews for it and it looks good. However, THE MAKER PULLED THE PLUG ON REGISTRATIONS in Feb 2009, leaving anyone who buys this holding the bag. Can't register to complete the install, can't update, can't get to anything inside to even look at. This also explains why a fairly recent game was available on Amazon for only $4. I hope that anyone reading this does so before they buy so that the aftermarket discount sellers can keep what they hoped to pawn off to unsuspecting buyers. It's not their fault, but consumers on Amazon shouldn't have to shoulder the load for an unusable product that the manufacturer has pulled offline.

I have been playing Tabula Rasa (TR) since its launch on the 2nd November. TR is a Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO) with a science fiction setting. Earth has been destroyed and now you fight Earth's destroyers, collectively known as "The Bane", on faraway planets.

When you first enter TR you start in "The Wilderness", the starting zone. TR uses a tier system not a class system. Everyone starts in the same place as a recruit. At level five you reach your first tier and can choose to become either a Soldier or a Specialist. At level 15 you again get to choose a branch. Soldiers have the option of becoming either Commandos or Rangers. Specialists choose either a Sapper or a Bio-technician. When you hit level 30 you get to make your final choice. Each time you gain a level you get points which you can allocate to whichever skills you have, making them more powerful. You can also neglect skills altogether if you like, giving you more points to allocate in your favourite skills. You don't learn knew skills every time you level. The only time you learn new skills is when you reach a tier.

The world itself looks good, though it does seem rather depressing and desolate. Being in a perpetual state of war there are wreckages lying around and burnt out areas. Nothing particularly beautiful about the graphics but they are good. There are no big cities such as Ironforge in World of Warcraft or Qeynos in Everquest 2. Instead there are bases scattered throughout the land. You can travel to bases you have already visited using waypoints and dropships. You access other planets through wormholes.

You level your character by doing missions which you collect from NPCs. You can in fact solo all of the missions with the exception of the instanced dungeons, where you will need to enter as a squad. You can have six players in a squad.

The UI is easy to learn. You can have five weapons and five skills (think spells). The magic in this game is called Logos and that gives you attacks and buffs etc. Combat in TR is fast and furious, particularly in squads and the instances. As usual you are at the mercy of squads, some are good and others are bad.

Graphics: Graphics are nice but the world itself isn't beautiful so you won't be awestruck by sunsets or large cities. It looks like a warzone.

AI: The AI in the game is good with enemies trying to flank you and enemy dropships arriving randomly to drop off reinforcements.

Combat: Hectic and fun for the most part. A bit of strategy is required. Crouching improves the speed with which your target reticle locks on and also increases damage. Crouching behind sandbags, rocks, and other cover reduces the amount of damage you take.

Instances (dungeons): Are a mixed bag. Instances (meaning each squad has its own dungeon) have missions and are more difficult, requiring a squad. The only problem with an instance is that once you have completed the instance and the missions, there is no reason to ever go there again. Like any game, doing and instance with a terrible group can leave you frustrated and angry, and I think I've had more bad groups then good ones. At this stage I'll put that down to the newness of the game and it's players, with players not having tried other classes and knowing what's expected of them.

Classes: I personally like the tier system, though the gap between level 15 and level 30 is a long one. The classes are unique to each other and all classes can solo. The final tier classes fall into the classic Tank Healer DPS variety, but they are different enough from other games to feel new. All classes use weapons unique to them such as grenade launchers, laser rifles, leech guns and so on. There are different damage types and certain enemies are vulnerable to different types, so switching between weapons is a necessary part of the game.

Overall: Had I written this review in the first week of release I would have rated it highly. The game looks great and the early worlds were polished and refined. From my experience any faults are picked up quickly and the developers are working hard to release patches to fix issues. Currently there is a patch due out which makes the Specialist line, particularly Medic, more viable and fun to play.

The game does get repetitive quickly. As I mentioned earlier, the gap between tier three and four, levels 15 to 30, is a long one. Waiting 15 levels before you get to try new weapons and skills is a long time. Player controlled vehicles are set to be introduced in the first expansion but whether people can wait that long is another thing.

Tabula Rasa is a fun game to play, and it caters nicely to the casual gamer. It's easy to log in and do a mission, or fight for a control point. At the current shelf price and the standard 30 day included play it's good value and I recommend buying it.

An update to my previous review.

Well ive run the game up to lvl 32, gotten my final class( Sniper and i have a Spy clone ).

My previous review I was in the early stages of the game. I've spent quite a few more hours playing and my enthusiasm has waned quite a bit. I've accually canceled my subscription and will be moving on to something else( probly Age of Conan when it comes out ).

I'll explain - 1 BUGS - Once i got past the 1st few zones you start to see lots of bugs, zone bugs, chat bugs, quest bugs and interface bugs. The game at this stage feels like I'm in an early beta. They should have waited another year before releasing this game. 2 no mail or auction system, although an auction system should be out very soon in an update. 3 when i hit 30 and started playing as a sniper, the game lost all its fun and im not the type of person who will reroll even with a cloned 30spy and run the same quests over agian. Theres no alternate zones to bring up new caracters, you have to run the same zones. ( I realize this is a personal choice some ppl will have no problem at all with this. 4 There's no way to reset your skill points as you grow and learn more about your caracter, you can clone them if you have a clone credit but getting those is quite an ordeal. 5 The Tabula Rasa website has no official forum which makes me think these developers have no interest in there community.

All that being said, the game still has a fantastic combat system but i feel this game has been doomed because someone ( developers or corporation? ) Didn't want to take the time to get things working smoothly before the release.

end of update.

I've been playing since launch day( i didn't play the beta ). My impressions of the game are mixed but im overall enjoying the game.

In my opinion the best part of the game is its revolutionary targeting system, no more auto aim here. you acually have to aim yourself. each target has a circular reticulator that provides you with information on the damage youll be producing, the closer to the center the higher the damage output. It also provides you with info on how vulnerable you are and how much of a damage reduction you'll see if your hit. Being partially hidden reduces the damage you take under fire. So the feature is nothing short of brilliant and fresh in the MMO world. I only hope i see more of this in future games.

Another great aspect of the game is the pace, much faster pace than any other MMO i've experienced. My next favorite thing are the instances. I'm only lvl18 so we'll see what higher levels present, again very fast paced, but the best part is the intelligence and realism of the fight huge mobs come charging at you from great distances, they dodge and sidestep and flank like no other. The experience is not unlike a rollercoater at an amusment park you cant stop riding.

The graphics are good, especially you toon models.

Now, what i don't like!

1st i miss loot based instances like in WoW. These are all quest based, you do get your rewards but mostly from quests. The quest based instances actually work for this type of game. But i always liked that feeling after downing a hard boss and someone getting a good roll and a good reward. It's a fun part of the game.

2nd the chat system in TR annoys me it needs to be much more extensive and capable in providing info about other players and what the wearing and using etc...

that's it, overall i would reccomend this to anyone who enjoys MMO's and might be looking for something new.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 35 reviews  3.3 out of 5 stars