14 DAY TRIAL // 
Out of a time when multiplayer online games were still synonymous with MUDs comes Anarchy Online, the science fiction MMORPG from Funcom. Released in June 2001 the game stands out as being one of the first popular MMORPGs to use a Sci Fi setting as opposed to the more common fantasy worlds used by its Final Fantasy, Acheron's Call or Everquest contemporaries. The game is set in the years following June 29475, on the harsh desert world of Rubi-Ka.
Story
The story of Anarchy Online revolves primarily around two factions, the Omni-Tek Mega Corporation and the rebel worker caste, the Clans. These two factions are fighting for control of the distant desert planet Rubi-Ka. In addition to these two factions there is a third faction of Neutrals, people who have decided to take neither side in the conflict. The war has been going on for centuries, in addition to the larger conflicts between Omni-Tek and other corporations over the control of Rubi-Ka. The seemingly unimportant desert planet gained its ill begotten fame because it's the only known source of notum in the universe. Omni-Tek was eventually granted exclusive rights over the entire planet and began exploiting its resources. Over the centuries, Omni-Tek's policies began to degrade, so approximately 500 years after the planet was first settled, a significant number of poorly-treated colonists rebelled and secretly began to trade stolen notum to a rival corporations. This led to a series of wars between Omni-Tek and the colonists, thus The Clans were born. Ragnar T?rnquist wrote a book based on Anarchy Online's proto history, entitled "Prophet Without Honour".
Gameplay
Out of the four races of Rubi-Ka, the balanced Solitus seems to be the favored one by far. The strong, mono sexual Atrox, the magical Nano and the agile Opifex are no match for the massive 50% popularity of the Solitus. Fourteen professions further complement character creation, with jobs like metaphysicist, adventurer, engineer, soldier, keeper, shade, fixer, agent, trader, doctor, enforcer, bureaucrat, martial artist, and nanotechnician. There are no forbidden combinations limiting the gaming experience. While some skills will advance faster depending on profession, no skill is denied outright. Breed primarily determines how expensive it is to raise the character's basic stats and how much each of those can be raised. Profession determines the improvement cost and maximum value of the character's skills. Nanoprograms, the equivalent of spells, are also directly and uniquely linked to professions. Each character will be heavily using nanoprograms throughout the game as they define a profession's play style more than any other game element. As stated before, the major factions involved in the power struggle on Rubi-Ka are the Omni-Tek and the Clans. However, some characters decided not to join either party and remained neutral. Faction influences a player's costs and profits when using vendor terminals and can change several times with minor gameplay consequences.
Character development is skill-based. As in many MMORPGs, characters in Anarchy Online gain levels, through accumulating experience points by defeating enemies and completing missions. There are a lot of equipable slots, 15 for each of the three: utilities, armor and implants. Not to mention the huge skill tree that will keep you busy for a long time. There are 85 improvable skills and the use of most equipment is restricted via minimum skill requirements. It's still a handful later on, but when you start the game, insane clicking will surely ensue since you need about 40 different skills and attributes boosted on each of the first level ups.
Although there are virtually an unlimited number of missions to take on, Anarchy Online is basically a grind fest. Grinding gives the most experience and money, yet some of the best weapons and equipment is only obtainable by completing missions. To this end, mission terminals all over the land provide players with randomized quests. Static quests are also available through NPCs. Let's say you need a certain weapon, you can receive it as reward by going through the appropriate type of quest. There are third party programs to show you exactly what kind of quest you need in order to get that reward, as well as search engines that will decline quests until you find the one you're interested in. This does require large amounts of cash though. At least AO is designed so that low level players cannot "power level" by grouping with high level players, having them do all the work in killing creatures. If two grouped players have too much of a level difference between them, experience cannot be gained by either player.
Unfortunately Anarchy Online still has a lot of crashes and bug reports. No one can fundamentally change the game engine once a game is released, and basically the 5 year old world just can't take it. Zones sometime crash and players can get disconnected when too many characters are in the same area. For instance, there is major lag in the cities when too many characters are in view, yet there are no problems with the same amount of people while inside a shop. The GUI is fully customizable and gives room for flexibility according to your play style. Moding for Anarchy Online wasn't all that popular in 2001, so the developers made sure you could move game statistics and information boxes at will without extra help from third party programs.
Concept
The game does get harder with your progress through Rubi-Ka, but level ups are rather linear in their disposition. The current classes are exploitable; in fact Anarchy Online is one of the few games I've seen that actually says a class is easier to play than another. It's only natural that eventually harder to play classes break this expectancy and become stronger than the regular ones. For instance, once Engineers get massive buffs from higher level players, with the right skills are able to create robot minions that can take on entire dungeons by themselves. Just like that, free experience and loot, in blatant disregard for the difference between monster and player level.
The standard means of transportation on Rubi-Ka is presented by The Grid. Advanced nano technology features bodily dissemination at designated entry points and re-materialization at terminals even half the planet apart. The Grid is dependent on the traveler's Computer Literacy skill. There are 3 types of destinations available, depending on skill and to enter at a basic point, a value of 75 in Computer Literacy is required.
Within Anarchy Online PvP is restricted by the so called gas levels. The 100% gas areas are considered safe; at 75% gas players may attack NPCs including mutants or aliens. It is at 25% gas that Clan members can attack Omni-Tek employees as expected due to their different mind frames in areas labeled as challenged on a political level. There are no rules in love and war, particularly true in 0% gas areas where total mayhem ensues. There, players can engage in combat regardless of faction. Characters can be saved at insurance scanning terminals since death penalty carries the remnants of MUDs. It's not nice when you lose items on account of death.
As an established title, Anarchy Online has its share of expansion packs, with Notum Wars (2002), Shadowlands (2003), Alien Invasion (2004), each heralding important changes in the games story. Lost Eden is the working title for the upcoming addon, expected to be released in 2006. This expansion will focus on PvP elements and is expected to add player controlled battle mechs, space stations that factions can strive to control, and artillery fired from orbital cannons.
Video
It's all here, the anarcho-punk post apocalyptic universe that proved to be so prolific in the Sci Fi movies and novels of the '70. The physical engine is both impressive and disturbing. You can't zoom in and out, mouse look or jump, yet characters have no problem with swimming or falling off structures. I'm ambivalent about this. On the other hand, emote flexibility is great. The last time I saw so many emotes being available in a game, I was still playing MUDs. With the passing of time, textures became a bit outdated, yet you won't have that much time to study your surroundings during Anarchy online play. Chasing critters, frantically clicking for loot and healing nano programs is going to be the main concern.
Sound
In Anarchy Online music varies according to area. Very well rounded up, it is by no means minimalist but rather something else, synth based soundscapes structured on more than four channels. I can't help but notice the overall feeling of quality. Even voice acting is surprisingly good and various in game cut scenes give almost a cinematic experience to the already outlandish saga of Anarchy Online.
Multiplayer
Accounts of players single handedly taking on a dungeon expedition of their appropriate level and survive are scarce, therefore team play is encouraged during dungeon missions. With this exception in mind, I wouldn't say teaming up is such a vital factor until the later parts of the game. Once you have enough levels under the belt, you can think global and get involved in group PvP with the faction versus faction storyline. The game expansions took really good care of this aspect introducing defensive towers for notum mines, player built cities and vast deadly areas to explore in 0% gas.
The community buildup is interesting to say the least. Except major storyline changes brought via expansions, Fun Com developers run a steady rumor mill connected to in-game realities, on the forums. Here players can roleplay to their heart's content and be a part of the larger picture of Rubi-Ka as news come in at a steady pace. The Advisors of Rubi-Ka are a special organization made up by individuals who freely volunteer their time and energy to help further develop the world of Anarchy Online. Initially they serve as greeters for the new comers. Once a Greeter has shown himself to be resourceful and responsible, they are invited to attend Assistant Advisor training. Here they can learn customer service, problem solving and storytelling techniques, graduating into the role of Advisor. Another commendable initiative is the Professionals Program. It involves players of certain in-game professions to enter dialogue with the developers in an attempt to better Anarchy Online in terms of class balance. These player representatives to Funcom are active on the forums talking about and discussing the inner workings of their profession. As with the Advisors program, this endeavor is purely based upon the volunteering work of fans worldwide.
Conclusion
Despite its old age, Anarchy Online does not show any definitive signs of weakness. In fact, Funcom recently pulled off a delightful offer, by allowing newcomers to play the original game for free, with the added option of upgrading to Shadowlands at reduced cost. Graphically speaking, the game is not in par with recent MMORPG releases yet it makes up in feeling and community. Good gameplay variation and strong concept development assured the title's survival as a landmark of the genre. This persistence of vision led to the maturing of its player base and virtually ensures its future. In fact developers have almost finished work on Lost Eden, the fourth installment of this MMORPG cult classic, to be released later this year and further the legacy.
