Its different yes, which also means that it does things differently.

So if you are looking for a new WoW clone, then look elsewhere - because this is just so much better than what you are looking for then. This game is among the best games i have played and it is also a solid MMORPG. For once we see innovation in the MMORPG genre and i like it. Graphics are crisps, no performance issues, solid questing system and better storytelling than any other MMO (Maybe SWTOR have better story, but then again that is more of a massive-single-player-RPG). And big thumbs-up for the monthly content updates and bug fixes. Unlike many other, FunCom is very dedicated to correcting and expanding the game. Already after one month old areas was worth a re-visit to see the new stuff. Try it - it is definitely worth your time!… Expand

The other best mmrpg out there. The best being Warhammer online, of course. Yeh, perhaps the density of monsters is too high in some areas, but altogether everything else in this game is right and might.

I was debating for weeks if I should get this game due to the reviews. I finally caved and bought it and am very glad I did. I played wow for 8 years and have been searching for a replacement for a long time. I tried countless other mmo's, and nothing could hold my attention for very long no matter how hard I wanted them to (rift, tera, gw2, swtor - the list goes on and on). The graphics, animation, combat, gameplay are all awesome. The weapon and ability customization is killer. The server I am on has tons of people, all with really cool and funny clothing (some even have dogs and cats), and the community is very helpful. Questing is a blast, more fun than I have ever had doing so.

There was a lot of people writing about puzzle quests. This is a very minimal part of the game, and being able to press b for the in game browser makes any quests you get stuck on easy as could be. Just press b, type in google: tsw and instantly the first result is a site that shows you exactly what to do, but like i said, you will not need it often.

If they keep adding on to this game it could easily become one of the best mmo's around. I would easily have paid a sub fee for this game. This is by far the most fun I have had playing an MMO. I like it so much that I was compelled to write a review for it - something I have never done before for any game, but I really wanted to get it out there to others how much fun it is.

So if you are sitting there like I was, reading 1000 reviews wondering if you should get it - do it!… Expand

The best MMO I ever played (I have long background in Legends of Mir, Guild Ways, SWTOR). Interesting storyline, quests that are so different from standard (go to location X and kill 100 worms), interesting combat and character upgrade system. Really worth checking especially since now it's B2P, you pay once and pay for ever (ok, later you may want to buy DLCs, but it's up to you like in GW).

Bugs.
More bugs.
Horrible controls.
Boring story.
Very limited BGM (Background Music) variety.
Too much grinding.
Way too much grinding.
Crapiest PVP system on earth. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

This is not a good game by any stretches of the imagination. It has appeal, but it's very limited and very niche. Your average MMO player I don't think will see much in this game at all or get much out of this game. I personally find everything about the game annoying, from the bad combat to the abysmal voice acting. Playing recently again, the first time since beta, it felt like self-flagellation I have to be honest. I enjoyed nothing about the game. To be honest I think there has been somewhat of a campaign on here to bump up the user score after Funcom blamed this site for it's initial poor sales. In general some people may like this game, but it's not a gamers game its a below average third rate MMO.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm totally enjoying this game and it's been well worth the money i've spent. If you like your MMOs with a narrative then this is the game for you. And now that it's free to play, there's no reason to not give it a try.… Expand

After shelling out 25 bucks for the game on steam and playing it for 30 minutes, I decided never to play the game again. It sucks that bad ! I got suckered into buying this game because of all the good reviews on here. Now I either think these people are personally insane that gave it a good rating or these are company employees posting. LOL Now after the game is supposedly free to play now with no monthly dues they still charged my credit card after I took the billing details off their website. Hands down one of the worst experiences I have had. Now I have to contest the charges on my card and all that jazz. Such a waste of time and resources for me on my end. Save yourself some time and money and DONT buy this crappy game !… Expand

I was not going to get this game...as I never got into the "futuristic" or "modern" MMO's, being a pure fantasy nut. SWTOR was just a reaffirmation of avoiding that.

Bored with nothing new out lately, I tried the 3 day trial and was blown away! For the first time I found an interesting story and the way the game handles quests is refreshing. Instead of the basic FedEx quests and Kill X creatures, you are have your choice of a vast number of types of quests. The puzzles are nice with the in-game browser, and having a great time.

Even though Funcom is doing poor, I am finding this MMO stirs something in my that I haven't felt since the days of AC1...something that may keep my interest longer than a week or two.

It is definitely worth trying out the trial...and you have to get into Kingsmouth before you throw in the towel and say it's not for you, as the starter area does not represent the game...… Expand

The style of character development takes some getting used to and some of the solo missions are a complete pain in the butt; however, it it turns out to be a very enjoyable game with great atmosphere and store lines.

I wish there was a better mechanism for finding groups, it feels very lonely for being a MMORPG. But if you manage to come with a friend or two of your own it is a lot of fun except those solo missions.… Expand

I really have to admit funcom aspires to make a great game. They try on a lot of fronts. But not on bugfixing. There are bugs in there - major bugs which exist already since beginning and there are a lot of people complaining about it. what do they do? put new clothes in the store that you can buy. really i mean. i see that it takes time to fix stuff, but forever? for that unbelievable bad service they do not deserve any points at all. that is just bland evil.… Expand

This game was a wonderful game for the first two areas to the middle of the third area. I was surprised by the game, I liked the model of the monsters, but not the character models (no matter how much you try it seems impossible to either make a good looking female character or a tough looking male character) - they all look weird and off. The game was intriguing and fun until Blue Mountain. The game soon became annoying. Your build begins to fall apart and even trying to take on two individuals on a mission labeled Very Easy becomes tedious and almost annoying. I can understand difficulty in a game, many of the investigation missions were fun and enjoyable until they become more of a problem than their worth. The investigation missions go from using wit, and intelligence to say "hey, this sounds like I should go to city hall to complete this quest" to "match the symbols". Mobs go from minor problems and quite fun play toys to annoying pests that make trying to walk on roads on a problem. Trying to flee will turn from an easy escape when you are overwhelmed to getting a small dose of hope before you essentially commit suicide because you know that when three regular mobs are on you... you are screwed. The Savage Coast was the most fun of the entire game I had. The mobs were diverse and fun except for the charging bug creatures. Blue mountain soon becomes cluttered and traversing an area without being attacked by any mob means you are lucky. The game has this idea that there are no level system but your level is basically determined by the quality level of your items. In the same sense that a level 1 will be devastated by a level 10 in other MMOs, a player with quality level 1 gear will be devastated by a mob designed to be attacked by a player in quality level 10 gear. I may have bashed the game severely, but do not get me wrong... I loved the game for a large portion of it and made me addicted to it. However, I have never played a game that made me so frustrated that I impulsively uninstalled the game and there have been games that have had me consider breaking my computer at the infuriating aspects.… Expand

It saddens me to see such a great MMO tanked by reviews from WoW fanboys and **** game review sites. I used to have respect for you G4, Yeah I'm talking to you! Especially as a large number of these reviews came from a closed beta that doesn't come close to comparing to the current product. Anyway, being an MMO gamer since the days of text based mud's and a huge fan of the Elder Scroll series, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across something new and quite refreshing. Everyone that says this game has bugs is right, but just about any large-scale MMO I've played at launch has had them. It's kind of a given when you're dealing with development on such a large scale where (from a coding perspective) everything ties into just about everything else. TSW has handled the bugs fairly well, though I'm not as much of a completionist as others. If I run across something that's not working at the moment, I'll just go back and do it later. No big deal.

The story and voice acting are superb. Best I've come across in a game so far. Many times I've been drawn in, laughed out loud, or cringed due to the quality of the voice acting in this game. It really is something else. The graphics are amazing. Coming from WoW and EVE, and then taking a break from both to play FPS's on the Xbox, I was really impressed. I had always thought EVE was the most beautiful game I had seen in a long time, and didn't think another game would come close in a very long time. I was wrong. The vistas don't quite have the scope of a massive world like WoW, but the details are incredible on ultimate settings. And I end up feeling like a dirty old man checking out the combat thong on the female character in front of me that is most likely being played by a dude.......I know........sad huh.

Watching the posts, likes, comments, and reviews on Facebook, and other review sites, I find a refreshingly large number of female gamers that have been drawn into the game. It adds a wonderful balance that I will not be likely to find anywhere else outside of the Sims, and Hello Kitty Palace. The multiplayer and storyline (PvE) portion of the game is really excellent. I find myself casually grouping with random players that I encounter as I ride solo completing missions and gathering loots. We don't even have to group up, we just end up helping each other and both get credit. It's a kind of cooperative play that is really enjoyable when I don't feel like grouping or being social. Especially when I'm only casually playing in bursts while doing other **** around the house.


Character customization could be expanded. I'd love to see more options, and I'm happy to know that more will be added over time, especially as this is a new game. And I can add or tweak my customization any time I want with the soon to be added plastic surgeon and tattoo artists. TSW's only real flaw at this time is the PvP. Unfortunately, there is NO OPEN WORLD PVP. Shame on you Funcom......shame. Way to cater to the carebears. The current PvP arenas are extremely engaging at first, but end up getting repetitive over time, and don't offer the same adrenaline and challenge of open world PvP areas that I have quite enjoyed and lived in on other MMO's. I do have high hopes though as the game is still in development and I have my fingers crossed that one of these days some open world PvP will finally be added.



Overall this game will be able to keep you engaged for quite some time. Especially if you're not the achievement hunter type that tries to rush through everything to get maxxed out as quickly as possible. It's staying power is a bit lacking, but that's also something to be expected of a newly launched game as more and more content will continue to be added. I am comfortable with the fact that if I do get bored and decide to hop back on the xbox for a little while, when I come back to TSW, there will always be something new for me to explore and return to. Even without added content, the current content is engaging enough for me to repeat many times over before needing some "fresh meat" so to speak.

While PvP can lose its luster over time, it does take a while for that to happen, and new stuff is already being added to the mix.

I'd like to deduct more for lack of open-world-pvp, but TSW makes up for it in so many other areas. Goodbye EVE Online, it was nice while it lasted. I have found myself a new playground.… Expand

As a veteran of many MMO over the past 10 years, I find TSW to be one of the most unique and entertaining. Its story telling and use of voice acting is top notch. Its atmosphere as a Horror MMO is also top notch. Its investigation missions (puzzles and research based) are innovative and never seen in any of the MMOs in my experience.

More importantly, The Devs and GMs are dedicated to refining and making TSW a long lasting experience. GM support in-game has been excellent. Some of the bugs (non of them Earth shattering in my opinion) have addressed, while others are being worked on. New content has been added and will be added for the game's first two months.

9/10 in my book.… Expand

Pretty much everything has already been said by others, but my main reason for giving this a full score is that it's just so refreshingly different and deep. Yes, there are a few mission bugs, but most are fixed now, and they are only minor problems. Graphics are great if you have the computer to run max (as with all other games...), music/sound backs up the mood and setting, developers are listening, communicating and fixing. It can be a bit difficult and challenging, but come on - you cannot blame a game for not letting you cruise through all the content! Join a good Cabal that will help you if stuck, team up, try another approach.
This game is not for anyone looking for an easy game, but if you value a bit of challenge, like to think a little in your games, enjoys great stories and characters - you HAVE to at least give it a try. You can sign up for free tryout if you hesitate spending any money.… Expand

I think that much of the negative press that this game has received is due to the critics having to pay the game for a few days and write a review about it. This works for some the less complex MMO's where it is easy to set up a cookie cutter character that is the same as 10,000 others in the game, and do just fine. The Secret World actually requires you to experiment and think for yourself when building a character and that same complexity is going to be a turn off to the instant gratification segment of players.

If you give this game an honest chance and are not the type of person that wants a strategy guide to build your toon for you then TSW is a very fun game with some amazing depth. It still has som glitches and issues that the folks at Funcom are working to repair, but I would rather play a game with some problems and great potential than another WOW clone designed for 2nd graders.… Expand

The Secret World is not a game for everyone. Its a thinking person's game. Personally I find the setting, the art work, the cut scenes and voice overs to be FANTASTIC. This is a game that will challenge you and will challenge most gamer's perspective - because it is not a simple game. It is not like the thousands of Ever Quest/Ultima Online spawn that has been on the market for over a decade. Its unique with some HUGE changes to the genre.

If you like adventure games, brain teasers, really tough boss fights, a literate community - then TSW may be your game. If you like to sign on, have your hand held and given loot easily, you will find TSW an unappealing game.

If you like The Longest Journey or Dreamfall, Ragnar Tornquist's games or Deus Ex or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, then you would like this game. If you like games by Blizzard or Arena Net (NC Soft) then this game may not be appealing.

To me, this is the best MMORPG on the market and I am very happy with my Lifetime Subscription.… Expand

This is the best MMO right now..Wonderfully handcrafted masterpiece..Such a joy to play ..
Combined with great atmosphere, great action filled combat and one of the most thrilling dungeon bosses created for an MMO..

The quests in this game is also very innovative, sure you have "classic" ones but even with those there is innovation. But the quests actually forces you to think, some are hard, some are VERY hard, but they still doesn't become frustrating,,… Expand

Excellent game - the investigation missions are particularly fun, but it contains all the good Funcom trademarks - well supported guilds ('cabals'), immersive storyline, etc. The only thing preventing a 10/10 are the character graphics which - especially on lipsync mode - are not as smooth as they could be.

Interesting world, intriguing backstory, fun quests, smooth launch... what's not to like ?

This game is a very welcome deviation from the 'lets dumb it down to appeal to the masses' trend many other games employed lately... and, while is does have its silly points here & there, you definitely won't find any giant pandas... ;)

Im LOVING The Secret World. I have encountered only a few minor bugs. The story is GREAT and the open builds for the characters is really a fresh idea.

Truly a next-gen MMO, Funcom has taken a lot of chances and broken away from the old formula that current MMOs copy and paste from. Everything from the setting to the character building is a breath of fresh air.
The combat, which seems somewhat simplistic at first, evolves into something spectacular. It is very common that my group will hit a wall on a dungeon boss, and many times rethinking our strategy and retooling our builds (choosing from 500+ skills, editable on the fly) gets us past it. Huge bosses and movement in combat makes things a lot more actiony than most MMOs.
It didn't take me long to buy a lifetime membership to TSW, and I don't seem myself regretting it. The first content update and the upcoming monthly ones all seem to give more of what the players love about the game.… Expand

Wonderfully refreshing MMO in a market saturated by WoW clones. Funcom dared to be different with The Secret World. Excellent modern-horror story. Well-written voice acted missions, to the extent that it is easy to become invested in the outcome. Open-ended ability progression with near limitless deck combinations. Give the trial a go, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Good Graphics, Quests are the best that I have played in a MMO, Voice acting is spot on, the mood the game sets is truly amazing..it sucks you right in and keeps your interest. The skill wheel allows for freedom to overcome most things ingame which I have never seen anywhere...no alts required. The overall story is just engrossing, you just want more and more. The community is very helpful and mature, none of that barrens chat. Definately one of the better MMOs I have played in a long time. The critic review based on a beta version seems to be way off.… Expand

Positives: 1) The world and atmosphere is beautiful. TSW takes place in a modern setting, running with the idea that all myths are routed in truth. There are 3 main areas (Solomon Island, Egypt and Transylvania) each with 2-3 sub regions. Each zone just looks amazing and I think really captures different horror genres. 2) The system is classless and level-less. As you gain XP you unlock AP to buy more abilities and SP to improve your weapons/armour. This lets you change your character on the fly provided you have enough abilities unlocked. In a dungeon and need more healing? Throw on some healing abilities. Need to do more damage damage? Change to do magic damage. Now while the system is effectively level less, areas are balanced you having a certain gear level, so there still restrictions in place on what you should be doing. 3) The game really forces you to think. There are 3 types of quests you can get
a) Action quests, these are your standard do this or kill that
b) Sabotage quests, go here try to avoid mobs
c) investigation quests, like playing an old school adventure game mixed with an ARG.
So investigation quests give you puzzles ranging from solving this encoded transmission, to solving riddles to translating Hebrew to looking up the wife of a worker off a fictional company website. To help you solve these Funcom has armed users with a browser in game. Now a few of the sabotage/investigation missions I find can be solved in a few ways, though I found a few that seemed like they required just brute force guess work.
4) The story and NPC's are pretty interesting. Funcom wanted everything to tie together and did a good job. For instance at the start of Solomon Island you quickly learn there is a zombie problem. After doing a few missions and talking to a few NPCS (which actually say useful and relevant stuff mixed in with the fluff) you start to figure out why there are zombies and what they are being used for, There not just there to be annoying to players, Funcom actually wrote in why and how they are there.

Now the negatives
1) Cost. TSW is the most expensive MMO on the market. It has a full game box price, a monthly subscription (even more if your not from N America) and a cash shop (where stuff is bought PER CHARACTER not account).
2) TSW's combat can best be described as boring and out dated. While choosing and building your decks is fun, combat itself is not. Combat in TSW uses a tabbed based targeting system with some attacks building resources and others consuming them. Most combat can be broken down to: use your builder 5 times, use a finisher for weapon one and a finisher for weapon 2., rinse and repeat. If you see a white circle, move; if you see fire on the ground, move. Personally I find the tabbed system makes all weapons feel the same, it doesn't help that a lot of animations are repeated so not only do they feel the same, they look the same.
3) While Sabotage missions are a very cool idea, lack of real stealth abilities make some of these the most frustrating things you will ever attempt. Since there are no stealth abilities and the AI in TSW is standard MMO level of stupid (or Doom 1 like AI) Sabotage missions tend to break down to avoid all guards since they will 1 shot you, and sometimes hit the glowing yellow object to distract said guards. Personally I found the sabotage missions at the start had some interesting mechanics like stealing uniforms and causing more distractions, a lot of them just involve memorizing guards and preying you get lucky, You have to start to wonder after nameless grunt #1033 catches you and throws you in an easily escapable box why they aren't out saving the world and instead leaving it in the hands of the PCs. 4) The game has a lot of bugs. Chat breaks pretty consistently which at times leaves you with no way to communicate with users. Some missions break down from too many people trying to do them or certain mobs don't spawn making them impossible to finish. As well as the bugs there some pretty bad design decisions. For example if your watching a cutscene and a mob happens to aggro you somehow you can die in the middle of said cutscene. For non main story/investigation missions this could mean having to wait 1-3 days to resee the cutscene, for story or investigation missions this means you now need to search youtube preying that someone recorded the cutscene for you to watch. The cutscenes also give you important missions hints/clues.

Over all I would recommend trying to TSW. The unique setting and investigation missions are a ton of fun and a breathe of fresh air in a rather stagnant (imo) market. Over all though I don't think TSW is a perfect game and has more than its fair share of problems. At times the game really seems to want to be a 3rd person action game, but had to make numerous unfortunate compromises… Collapse

I have no clue why this game got so low of scores. It is a solid game with a fresh take on all the mmo worlds You also get tons of fun conspiratorial view points.

I didn't expect much from this game, and that's what I got. Stiff animations, boring story, and cooldowns on shotguns? Really? TSW tries, but fails to entertain me. A game can't survive on cut scenes and dull combat.

I found the game fun but not worth paying for. The action gameplay style and skill based combat concept is nice but the game itself doesn't grab you by the face and draw you in. Instead it plops you down and tells you good luck follow the butterfly.

So a few things about this game that set it apart from other MMOs: Investigation Missions, which require the player to put some thought into quests (unless you look up spoilers); you will be required to use clues, and put 2+2 together to solve a mystery or puzzle. Sabotage missions: these quests typically involve stealth and non-combat to solve. There is no "stealth mode" so it means actually having to sneak by guards without fighting. No levels or classes: characters have access to every skill, ability and weapon in the game. As you progress, you eventually will have ALL the skills, weapons and abilities; the tricky part is to find the right combination of weapons and abilities that will allow you to beat a particular type of creature. You build multiple decks that can be swapped in and out as the situation requires. Lovecraftian, modern day setting: it's a mix of X-Files, Poe and Indiana Jones -- the atmosphere is just great. Because it's modern day, you have access to devices such as cell phones and a browser within the game. Story and personality: All the missions have great individual stories, and they all tie together into a larger story as you explore. Fantastic cut scenes and great humor -- the NPCs are truly inspired.

Fun, challenging dungeons: the dungeons don't have lots of trash, but they DO have great settings and very interesting mechanics. They are a bit on the difficult side, so figuring out how to tackle the big bad is always challenging and fun.

Separation of gear from clothes: you can look however you like since clothes are completely independent of the gear (talismans). Some very nifty clothing options, and cool uniforms you can unlock as you open decks on the ability wheel.

Great community: one of the friendliest, mature and most helpful I've been around. Lots of opportunity and support for RP, including pubs, a nightclub and an in-game theater stage for plays.

Downsides : PvP is still a work in progress (it has its dedicated followers), animations are a bit lackluster, and not as many facial and body type options as I would like. There's little in-game hand-holding, so the learning curve can be a bit steep, especially with the ability wheel and decks. Still, the community helps here. There are a few niggly bugs still hanging about.

Overall, though, a fantastic game, if something of a sleeper. Heartily recommended.… Expand

A very well thought out, complex game, that continues to be enjoyable even after launch. Excellent Sandbox MMO. End game is starting to come around, PvE is fun and makes you think to solves puzzles. PvP is challenging but still fun.

This game tries so hard to emit the creepy, eerie feeling of a classic horror story but it just fails to do so in any convincing manner. Within the first few hours of this game I was already turned off by the narrative, the presentation and the general vibe of the game. Possibly the biggest problem I have with this game is the story, if you've ever read or even casually flipped through a Lovecraft novel you'll find this games attempts to present a dark atmosphere laughably poor. The quests seem to go on forever but with no real purpose, I felt no interest in anything, even though I was trying. The only time I remember actually feeling a twinge of dread was when I remembered how much I had spent on this game.… Expand

This game definitely is different in all the right ways, but the same in all the wrong ways to other MMORPGs out there. The mobs in this game are repetitive and annoying. While you do get different weapons and equipment than a standard MMO, it plays out the same. So you get a book instead of a staff or a gun instead of a bow, but you're still mashing the same attacks and doing the same damage. The UI is not intuitive is hard to customize and there are still quite a few glitches in the game. The community is hard to get involved with. One thing I hate about this game is the zones. Everyone is segregated into whatever zone they are in at the time, and it really makes it hard to have any lasting friendships made in-game and social aspects are not there like in other games. Zones can take hours to go through and have many quests, but once you move on, odds are you won't want to go back.

I did like the story, and the cut scenes, and the voice overs and the environments. But I could get much better stories, cut scenes, voice overs, and environments playing a solo RPG. The reason I wanted an MMORPG was so I could have social interaction. Since I didn't feel this community in The Secret World, the game boils down to a lackluster and glitchy low-end RPG game with mechanics that do not do well for solo play.… Expand

Featuring original content, a rarely seen modern theme and a gaming experience that is both engaging and thought invoking, The Secret World really does bring a lot to the table. This game will push you more than most western MMOs. Messing up a puzzle could mean the difference between life and death and combat even against trash mobs is intense to the point that it really makes it clear that it's a MMO meant to be just that, playing with other players. Not only do I highly recommend this 20 dollar AAA title, I give the game a full 10/10 for its bold decision to not be another clone of a generic grinder. Once again Funcom has created a great MMO experience unlike any other for the time.

Also, I wanted to note that some 'professional' reviews have been ridiculously PMS over the game while they reviewed it in a limited closed beta test phase with nearly no content. No really, read the review from G4 and it's clear that the reviewer decided that limited closed betas are good enough as full releases and the game does not deserve a proper review... Real professional indeed.… Expand

TSW is different than most MMOs thats a fact. Some things are good, some not though. The settings, environment, sound are great, especially at first areas. But Look of characters and animations arent good. Combat is nothing special. Quests can be good or very frustrating. End game below average. PvP is bad. Zones are few and small compared to other MMOs. Overal its saving grace are the 3 first areas, they are amazing and you forget the negative parts. But then the magic slowly fades. Still i d play it just for those beginning areas.… Expand

Unlike others below, this game convinced me to give up on Funcom. It's incredibly buggy, incredibly exploited, crashes...often...Did I say that it's heavily exploited? A few minutes in the battle grounds and you will understand ;)

What does it have? Nice graphics and character customization options...but that doesn't make a game. The battle grounds are hit and miss on whether you will enjoy them, or fall asleep. As I learned, falling asleep with your head on the keyboard will get you banned...roflmao. Other games solved that problem eons ago.

Issues after months of "fixes":

Dragging items in your inventory takes a graduate degree. It's perhaps the sloppiest code ever written. The possible results range from it moves where you wanted it, it moves somewhere completely different. the game tries to (or succeeds) at destroying it, or (for consumables) sorry sucker you just drank it.

It's also a massive grind fest. In standard Funcom tradition, they are incapable of either creating in-depth content, or scaling the availability to their desired investment...you will grind and grind, and grind. But don't worry, almost every quest is repeatable (brings back memories of Age of Conan back). Yes, you will need to repeat them...forever. Good luck on new content. They fired most of their programmers months ago.

As for the story. Nice idea, very badly implemented. Despite a plethora of cut scenes, they just did a poor job of developing their story. It was a great disappointment after Age of Conan's beautiful lead in (AoC died late in the leveling scale but at least made it through a few levels of play prior to that).

Ah yes, let's not forget that this is really AoC with a new skin. Yes kiddies, its the same crappy resource hungy, unstable, gaming engine. Indeed some of the oldest bugs are still there. Just crank up the details and especially the shadow details, and you will see large patches of the world that don't quite work right. Indeed, even on low settings, I found an entire region that became unstable (as in most of it disappeared and I was left staring at the subterrain) during one of the quests.

Can it be enjoyable. Yes. Can you have fun? Yes. Is it worthwhile to play given the many alternatives? Given a choice between TSW and WoW, I would go read a book, watch a movie, or perhaps watch the birds as they fly past my house going where ever birds go this time of year.


Other issues,… Expand

Seriously disappointed in this game. After just a few hours it's still a confusing mess to figure out. The interface is the most unintuitive in existence. The starting zone is the hardest of any MMO. The quest system is clunky and confusing. The game looks quite good, the story is excellent as well. But navigating through the interface and quests logs is more challenging than doing a 25 man raid in your underwear. The learning curve is steep and I'd rather like to be able to learn how to play the game while playing the game instead of having to spend a couple of hours trying to figure the interface.… Expand

The game's topic is fascinating, some of the cut scenes are OK, and the combat system is interesting. Unfortunately, for a secret societies / end of the world game, it does not have any suspense or horror feeling.

Expect to start playing the game either with heavy support through game chat, or by searching the net for hints, as both the user interface and the quest design often is lacking. The community is nice and helpful, though, compared to other MMO communities, so getting started is not too bad.

I cannot imagine that a developer studio that has quite some past experience with creating and running MMOs produced such an obvious B title on purpose. My impression of the game is that it was shoved out the door both regarding design and implementation, before the funding ran out, hoping to fix some of the design errors later. "Later" never came, as many customers these days rather spend their money for finished games, having enough MMOs to choose from.… Expand

Very under rated game. It's one of those games you can put endless amount of hours into it. There is so much to do and explore. Quests are fun and they don't feel repetitive. Developer is active and always adding new free content. I would have never tried this game if there was a monthly subscription and I'm glad. My only complaint is some of the riddles are too difficult but you can always cheat. Highly recommend it for anyone looking for a new game to get into, riddle fans or RPG fans.… Expand

The title and boxart made me think this was some crappy Asian import. (Boy was I wrong.)

This is a game for people that enjoy depth and complexity. The writing is phenomenal. The class(less) system is extremely complex. This game is a hidden gem and there's no monthly fee.

Everything you would expect from an MMO in this genre, which is saying A LOT because I'm not aware of another MMO that uses the supernatural/X-files/Grimm genre, dark humor included. The UI is ridiculously well designed and intuitive. The Graphics are top notch, while Funcom's Game Engine is the most advanced, and has been for a long time. The questing system flows so that you are rarely without something to do, either solo or with friends or pick-up group. dungeons are boss only, no trash mobs, or very little. Crafting is intuitive. landscape is incredibly well done, and attention to environment detail is ridiculous. PVP is great for all levels, and you can theoretically do all your leveling and buy all your gear from pvp'ing. Armor is replaced with Talismans, that are fully customizable and upgradable repeatedly, where a new upgrade just pushes out the old one. players are rewarded for being versatile and experimenting with their setup, and punished for being lazy and trying to be a one-trick-pony. you can save dozens of different setups and switch to them on the fly. Weapons can be skinned, modified, upgraded or even built from scratch and then broken down again when you are done with it. playfields are huge in scope, while the compass system and maps are well done and easy to follow. teaming is easy. dimensions are broken into shards, where anyone from any server can team up with anyone from another server, great if you want to farm an area and its already full. transportation in tsw is fast and convenient. there is little penalty for dying, except that you can either run back and find corpse or Resurrect elsewhere at a well of your choice, or when in a dungeon fighting boss. if you die fighting a boss in a dungeon, you are locked to an anima well, but you can click the camera option and get a birds eye view of the fight from any teammate still in the fight, which helps to learn the tactics if you die and are new to that boss. ----- In conclusion; this is the best MMO in history for those that love the genre, and just hate grinding. you will meet some of the most fleshed out characters in this MMO, characters that remind you of real people. All voice acted. You will constantly be rewarded everywhere you go, and experimenting with weird and uncanny builds will only serve to benefit you in the long run. If you haven't bought this game yet, do it. just be warned: you will not be able to stop playing.… Expand

Its a strange game but very interesting.I don't know what to make of it yet but it's definitely got something.Great settings and exploration so far.Combat is a bit odd though.

The combat in this game is quite possibly the worst experience you could have in a game. If you are looking to buy this game for it's combat, buy something else. The environments and detective quests are surprisingly enjoyable, but still I always find myself asking the same question; why couldn't they have put more effort into the combat? In my honest opinion, there are better games to waste your time on.… Expand

Ok first off I have no respect for the company who make this game which is a bad start. I will keep this short is this a Good game? Unique game? Worth your MOney? IMO No,No,and No.
If you still wish to play the game wait a month or two it will be free to play as Funcom already have the tooling to make it so. For those who bought Life subs I am sorry for your loss, but same happened to me in Lord of the Rings Online when the shaft3d me and went Free to play leaving Life subscribers like me with no value for my money. I learned my lesson accepted my loss and moved on as the free to play version of Lord of the Rings Online was completely useless. So hang on play for free well not really free cash shoppy but you know what I mean soon.… Expand

The game is very mixed: a great levelling process followed by character progression that is purely gear related. It was so close to being a good game, but at the end of the day, it's one for the grinders only.

Best MMO out of the market atm. The stories the community and developers are first class. The developers have delivered over and over again with regard to updates and quality, you are genuinely doing yourself a disservice if you don't pick this up particularly now it is Buy to Play.

So I just took my first look at "The Secret World" I figured no sub, one time buy... why not? I have to say that I am torn in whether liking it or totally hating it. I lean more towards the total hate side. The trailers and description are total eye candy... However as we all know the trailers will show the best the game has to offer and not the worst, similar to a photo album... All you will see is smiling faces in the pictures. The game itself has a terrific storyline but the game play just does not match it... It almost seems they put more time into the "lore" if you will then the actual game itself... I like the fact that they took a step away from the traditional MMO's that we see so often now a days but I would be lying if I said they took a step in the right direction... If a game becomes a job then there is no point to it, and many of the problem solving aspects of this game is damn near like a job... Kudos to the developers for doing their own thing and not following "the scene" but as far as a semi-hardcore players view it is lacking immersion, basics and excitement.… Expand

This is a great game that many would find fun, but it wasn't for me. It looks good, and lets you freely mix and match skills. Unfortunately, aside from the occasional puzzle to shake things up, it pretty much plays like every other MMO. 1, 2, 3, 4, mob dead, next mob. For contrast, something like DDO (DDO.com) lets me, as a mage, use spells that will clear an entire room at once, with one spell. They give me the flexibility to have truly powerful and unique abilities something TSW simply doesn't provide, as far as I've seen. The story is interesting, the class system is interesting, but ultimately the game plays pretty much the same as every other MMO. Sad, really, considering the high hopes I had for the game after my first few hours of play.… Expand

I loved this game.. almost all the other MMO's are super boring to me and I literally was about to give up on them all togeather until this game came out. You always have something to work toward in this game with the unique skill system. I love being able to work on a tank set, then go for a melee dps set, or healer and can switch between them whenever I want. The story is awesome and I love the Templar faction. Only real complaint is some of the bugs and the PVP.. I can literally toss some tank gear with some dps and troll people with AOE skills. Other than that, some of the battles for the factories in pvp are legendary. I highly recommend the game.… Expand

Amazing game do not be fooled by the low critic review this game has a great modern day world to explore, tons of interesting quests, this game is worth the 30 dollars hands down.

Amazing game. The combat is very fluid, but it there's a higher than usual learning curve on making a build that flows well. The lore is engaging. Unlike another fully voiced MMO we know, the questing feels a lot less pointless and I found myself trying to clear every single quest in a zone before moving on. Haven't really run into any serious quest bugs, but a lot of the investigation missions are quite difficult and may lead many to think they're bugged.

TSW is seriously underrated by critics, but if you look at the user scores you'll see that it's very high in comparison to that of other MMOs. There's no more subscriptions, but if it weren't for the misleading reviews at release, I totally would have bought a permanent subscription.… Expand