Dark Horses of 2010

THE AGENCY

Sinan Kubba says:
Saying The Agency is an outside bet to be one of 2010’s best games is pretty far-fetched, and that’s before you start talking about what’s actually in it. Will it even come out this year? It’s now ten months since GDC 09 and the declaration of an 2010 release, a declaration that’s looking increasingly fuzzy. Actually – will it come out at all? Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has twice had to deny cancellation rumours, the second time after several senior SOE members disconcertingly jumped ship, including the influential Matt Wilson. I doubt the cancellation rumours surprised the many cynics . After all, here’s a game attempting to blend the style and stealth of James Bond with the intimate, squad-based shooting of Counterstrike, all in the MMO sphere, and on both PlayStation 3 and PC, no less. Certainly a tall order, but it’s that ambition that gives The Agency the potential to be spectacular.

Optimism comes from the concepts SOE has outlined so far. The game takes place in present-day America and Europe – no times of legend or galaxies far, far away here. No straightforward good or evil either; you can be a smooth, stealthy agent of U.N.I.T.E or if you prefer your Stallones to your Brosnans, a hard-hitting ParaGON mercenary. However, the kind of agent you are isn’t restricted by your agency, or even by a permanent class you choose upon creation. You can change your role simply by changing your clothes. Just put on a cocktail dress and become a sexy, refined spy or throw on a bulletproof vest and launch yourself into the frontline.

The familiarly modern setting, the first and third-person shooting, the James Bond-esque espionage; it’s the summation of these concepts, all of which are unusual for a MMO, that translates into a fantastic variety of missions on offer. Cause carnage in an all-out gunfight, negotiate the undercover infiltration of a casino, survive a hectic car chase, it’s all there in The Agency. All the missions are instanced with small squads of players involved, an intelligent design that should ensure lag isn’t a problem. Another smart choice is to make combat real-time and without any RPG element, as would have been tempting to include in a MMO. Then there are the ‘Agency Moments’, instanced scenes within the missions that mimic the grand set pieces we’re used to seeing Bauer and Bourne in. And they should look great in a modified Unreal 3 engine as the game looks sharp enough in screenshots, although the PS3 version’s graphics haven’t looked up to scratch compared to the PC version so far.

If The Agency can hit in 2010, then the timing is just right. MMOs on consoles are the next big thing, Daniel Craig has made the old-school spy cool again, and the PS3 is coming into its own in the market. If SOE Seattle deliver on but half of their promises, get anywhere close to realizing the exhilaration and finesse of James Bond, and even include shooting mechanics which are only solid, then The Agency could be great. Add in cross-platform play (not a certainty) and the actual-reality features hinted at, like mission updates through texts, and we could be talking about the next big MMO. Okay, not the WoW-killer because that’s WoW 2, but undoubtedly something special. But with staff losses, perhaps too much ambition, and not forgetting a somewhat mixed history with MMOs – The Matrix Online, anyone? – SOE is a long way from proving that its strength of concept can become reality. Still, The Agency is certainly a dark horse worth backing – here’s hoping it’s neither shaken nor stirred.

Jennifer Allen says:
Another MMO? Haven’t we already got enough of those? Cynicism aside, I quite like SOE’s MMOs, except The Matrix Online of course, but everyone’s allowed a monumental cock-up from time to time. I think the real decider for The Agency will be how it fares on the PS3. The PC has enough MMOs as it is, but a console MMO could be something truly special if it’s done well. Considering PS3 owners don’t have to pay for their online service, hopefully they’ll be accepting of a monthly fee in a way that 360 owners would feel excessively hard done by. It all just depends on if The Agency is actually fun, though. It sounds fun, but I’ve got a bad feeling it’s just going to end up feeling rather routine. Assuming it actually shows this year, of course…

Martin Gaston says:
SOE have the right idea: in order to compete with World of Warcraft in the massively multiplayer market, you need to create something fundamentally different to Blizzard’s virtual crack den. Plus, spies are brilliant. I could feel like James Bond! Though I have no interest in playing this on the PC – I’d rather play EVE. On the PS3, however, it could be magical: if Sony sort out Party Chat in PSN, don’t ask for too much money to play and can personally guarantee it won’t be disaster of MAG proportions, I just might consider giving it a go. And I swore I’d never play another MMO ever again.

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