One of the first games to grab my attention as I walked around the demo floor of E3 was Tabula Rasa.  Being an ex-UO player, I have been waiting years now for Richard Garriott to revolutionize today’s stale MMO market with something fresh and groundbreaking.  Tabula Rasa is supposed to be that project.  I sat down with one of the games rep’s and played for about an hour.  My initial impression was that the game looked great, crisp visuals and a simple unintrusive UI.  There were a few things I definately enjoyed about the game.  Before I go any farther I gotta  say I am a hardcore gamer, I loved the open ended freedom Ultima Online offered.  I love risk and reward.  First and foremost I judge a game based on how challenging it is and how potentially challenging it can be for each individual player.  There has to be much more to game than visually impressing the gamer or simplifying cumbersome game mechanics. 

Tabula Rasa’s strong point is definately its “Hey dont worry ill show you what to do” interface.   The markers and minimaps are abundant.  If you ever find yourself lost when you first log on to an MMO, that really shouldnt be a problem with Tabula Rasa.  Following the standard MMO quest system, npcs are easily located by using the games built-in map system.   After a few minutes of running around the starting base, I used the map to exit the city in search of some hot Mob action.  As I was on my way to pwn some NPC face, the rep sitting next to me explained the games “Logos” system.  Simply put, as you journey through the games instanced dungeons, and world locales, your player collects Logos.  Think of them like Spell recipes.  There are literally hundreds of Logos scattered around the world.  The reward for collecting these Logo’s is access to high level spells.  Say you are max level from grinding, but you have done no farming or questing, chances are you wont have access to some of the games best abilities/spells.  Once you have acquired the appropriate Logo’s combinations however, you will be able to train said uber ability.

Onto Combat.  Being now an expert on the Logo’s sytem, I finally arrived at the battlefield.  Third person shooter.  Best way to describe it.  I attacked the first NPC i saw with complete disregard for my inexperienced Tabula life.  Of course being so pro in FPS, I totally owned the unlucky NPC with tactile strafing and merciless mouse 1′ing.  Nine seconds later the suckers loot was mine.  Now for you noobs out there, fret not, the combat isnt all skill-based.  In an attempt to quell my awesomeness, the rep explained there is a dice-roll system working in the background.  The game uses typical RPG elements to determine your hit and miss ratio.  So aiming alone isn’t going to determine how often you hit your target.  Though it is required you actually aim near the desired target versus just having him on screen and pressing your attack hot-button.   Which is nice.  The interface again is very simple, and you do most of your fighting with two keys.  The left and right mouse button.  Left mouse triggers your attack, Right mouse triggers your Spell ability.  “Q” and “E” cycle through Attack and Spell presets in your hot bar.  Making for easy mid-combat access.  All in all the combat seemed neat, blending action and rpg nicely. 

Now, to the reason why I won’t ever play Tabula Rasa.  I know that sounds like a harsh turn around.  As the rep explained to me, the game is completely instanced.  Dungeons and PVP battlegrounds are all completely pre-built instances.  Also the PVP is purely consensual, there isn’t even plans for a PVP server.  I just don’t understand why this approach would be taken by the guy who founded open end gaming.  The greatest thrill you will ever find in an MMORGP comes from the unexpected and unknown danger.  Walking out into a world where you know you are in no immediate danger from player attack, and that you are guarded at all times, just ruins the excitement in my opinion.  Gone are the days you will see a player on screen and wonder what deviousness he may be up to.  Unfortunately this is the case with Tabula Rasa, the great game mechanics and pretty interface don’t mean shit when the gameplay depth is waist deep.  I’ll be busy playing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars this summer instead of paying monthly for my FPS fix thanks. 

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