The Agency

[LEFF]

With dwindling subscription fees from Planetside and Star Wars Galaxies, SOE tries to fill the gap in their Online-portfolio with a new, action based Sci-Fi MMO

Genre:
MMOFPS with RPG elements

Developer:
Sony Online Entertainment

Website:
http://theagency.station.sony.com/

Gallery:
http://www.joystiq.com/photos/the-agency/270324/ (unofficial)

Setting:
DC Universe / Science Fiction

Engine:
unknown

Scheduled Release:
unknown

PvP Settings:

• General Quotes regarding PvP:
  "[...] On top of that we want to support the real hardcore shooter, the guy who does not even play the storymode but jumps right into PvP [...]"
  "[...] From day one you will be able to jump straight into PvP which is a set of dedicated maps, gametypes, arenas [...]"
  [Taken from gamespot]
  "We are not supporting Planetside style encounters with hundreds of players blasting each other at the same time. Our game is about social and encounter areas that support the appropriate number of folks to keep not only the gameplay amazing, but the speed where it needs to be for a real action shooter. "
  "We're an action shooter, so our mantra is: Fun now with no waiting."
  "[...] To that end, we're supporting a number of ongoing Faction challenges that should keep the more competitive of our player base fully engaged."
  "After all, a bullet to the head is a bullet to the head. We want to ensure that an impeccably skilled player is not punished simply because they just started playing. If you can aim for the head and hit, you should be rewarded."
  [Taken from an Interview with the game's Lead Designer Hal Milton oncomputerandvideogames.com]
  "High-skill players will have the opportunity to overcome a gap in resources by besting experienced, resourceful opponents with superior aim and strategy."
  [Taken from shacknews.com]
  
  
  
• Camera: First Person / Third person
• Safezones: Yes
• Lootdrop: No
• Open or Instanced: Minigames and Instanced PvP will be possible, it's not said whether that excludes open PvP yet. The dev team is "experimenting with allowing out-of-instance combat" at the moment.
• Guildwars-Feature: Yes
• Player controlled territory and customizable bases: No Information
• Playable Factions: 2
  

Background / General Info

Set for release on the PC and PlayStation 3, The Agency will be a persistent online shooter in which players can step into the world of international espionage, working for one of two main factions with the ultimate goal of controlling the world. As should be expected of a game that seeks to put players in the role of a Fleming-esque hero (or villain), The Agency will feature adventures in far-off lands, assassinations, illicit drug trade, sabotage, undercover sleuthing, and betrayal.

The theme of the game shouldn't be the only novel element to massively multiplayer online game veterans. SOE said it wants to provide pick-up-and-play fun accessible to any type of player, which might suggest a departure from the traditional MMO level grind. One change is that players won't need to pigeonhole themselves into any particular style of play. Calling the approach, "You are what you wear," SOE is allowing players to customize their character's specialties before each mission through the gear they outfit them with.

There will still be signs of the persistent character development from other online games, however. Players will develop skills over time, but they will also increase their influence over the world and have the ability to set up their own agencies. And since a single player does not a spy network make, there will also be non-player-character operatives that can be recruited and used as resources to build equipment, gather basic intelligence, and do other essential tasks.

SOE is promising a large assortment of story-based missions for players to take on competitively or cooperatively. And when gamers need a break from the physical danger, they can instead opt for financial peril at minigame-loaded casinos, take on other players at the shooting range, or engage in other diversions.

(Quoted from gamespot)

Feature List:

• One-Shot kills / Headshots possible
  
• There is a possibility players will not have to pay monthly subscription fees.
  
• Vehicle Combat
  [Taken from an Interview with Matt Wilson on Massively]
  
• "You are what you wear" Skillsystem. Switching/Changing 'classes' is easy and takes little time.
  
• Episodic Mission-System to keep a "live storyline flowing over time". Constant adding of content over years to come is being promised by the dev team.
  
• Players can recruit NPCs with special skills to create a team of 'Operatives' to command and lead into missions and Battles
  (http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=169042)
  
• Playable with PS3 - Crossovers will probably not be supported as the PS3 version will offer automatic targetting, while the PC gamers aim for their targets manually.

Official Trailer with various Interviews, dev-statements

[Fortune]

Hmm, I've read and watched a bit about this game and it's....well, apart from being an SOE game; sigh! It sounds awful.

[Hyperion]

Originally Posted by Fortune

Hmm, I've read and watched a bit about this game and it's....well, apart from being an SOE game; sigh! It sounds awful.

Which is probably why it will be amazingly good, very addictive and fun...
Im just thinking of all the games that have come out, hyped, and the new thing, and then been a bit ..meh.
Yes AOC im looking at you.
So a game that I think is fairly, well bleh uninteresting, is bound to be absolutely amazing by that logic.

Of course thats how it will be before they change the dev team and spend 2 years balancing and updating the game

[hinch]

i'll hold off on deciding if i should give it a try or not until some of you lot have tried it and given feedback I like the idea of full fps aiming though.

having said that it does also look a little bit cartoony :(

[pixel]

I came across this a few weeks back and liked the look of it from the information available...

[Ghost]

I saw a presentation of this at SOE Headquarters during SOE Block Party 2008 (went to meet Jim Lee). It was ok....has some promise and is definitely a step forward from their other games.

[Sledge]

I just discovered that upcoming game. Could be fun.
( I also did that evaluation quiz on that site ... ^^)

Excerpt from the wiki:

The game will feature FPS-style gun fighting (with the ability to switch between third and first person views), with some driving and other vehicular segments as well. Skill will be the primary determining factor in the success of the player, though some RPG elements will come into play as well. It has been mentioned that one shot to the head will instantly kill any player, suggesting it will be a somewhat realistic shooter.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age...8video_game%29

[vampire]

Sony will fuck ANYTHING they get their hands on up. So don't get your hopes up lolol