14 DAY TRIAL // Just last week we talked about this fast-paced, online persistent shooter set in modern times, where conspiracy, betrayal and intrigue are the main themes. Gamers are thrown in the boots of an elite agent in a world of super spies and rugged mercenaries, each with their own goals. Sony Online Entertainment didn't provide many details about the game then, but now there's truckload of them.
First things first: check out the hot chick dressed in black (left, click to enlarge). Is this game worth looking into or what? OK, now that we've gotten over that, you should know that The Agency is being developed at SOE's Seattle studio for both the PC and the PS3, as a pick-up-and-play kind of shooter, where both solo players and groups will enjoy a good number of cooperative and competitive missions set in exotic locations across the globe.
"The inspiration for The Agency came from the spy and espionage genre. We want to put players in the heart of the action to experience what it's really like to live the life of an elite agent," said Hal Milton, Lead Designer, Sony Online Entertainment. "Players will jet set around this virtual world to exotic locales, infiltrate enemy organizations to steal secrets and perpetrate sabotage, all the while building their own agency with an eye towards global domination."
Here's everything broken down for you, so you can make a better picture of what The Agency's all about:
- persistent character development allows players to supplement their gear with exotic and powerful skills, becoming real elite agents
- in lieu of the typical class systems in many other games, The Agency's approach is simply, "You Are What You Wear"
- players will customize their character's attire based on the mission at hand, emphasizing combat, support, stealth, or even cover identities.
- players will choose to be a slick UNITE spy or a gritty ParaGON mercenary (both factions will have players tangling in illicit activities such as drug smuggling, assassinations, espionage and counter intelligence, so let's hope that Jack Thomspon and The Church leave this one be)
- as they gain ranks within their chosen agency, players will increase their influence over the world while experiencing a deep story of action and intrigue
- along the way players will be able to build their own agencies, team with others to create joint agencies, and recruit a roster of useful Operatives ("living loot," characters that wait in the wings for orders to build that new sports car, gather intel for the next mission, or provide that satellite scan to expose the enemy).
- as players advance through the game, they will collect more powerful Operatives that will better assist them with missions; players can use their roster to help themselves or their team and even trade Operatives with other players.
That's about everything so far. Of course, as many as they may seem, these features should be the tip of the iceberg, as no clues are given to what stage of development the game is in. Not having made a gameplay footage available and just a handful of screenshots, SOE is surely somewhere in the middle of the game's development. Keep close and we'll keep you posted if more details emerge.