Richard Garriot’s Tabula Rasa Review (PC)

Garriot’s Gamble pays off as he crafts MMORPG and a WoW-beater

Richard Garriot is a brave man. The World of Warcraft franchise is a behemothic monster that has laid waste to any MMORPG franchise that’s dared try and steal its crown, and now the godfather of the modern MMORPG – he’s the man who invented the mammoth Ultima series, as well as the hugely popular City of Heroes and City of Villains – wants his title back.

dispensing with the need to follow numbers and, instead, concentrating on story, teamwork, communication and fun

He’s aiming to do this with the ambitious – and fantastic – Tabula Rasa. An MMORPG by name, it sheds many of the conventions that Blizzard’s popular title has brought to an entire new audience. Grinding, for instance, has been almost completely removed: you don’t level up anymore by repetitive monster killing; instead, you progress through the game with the genuinely interesting and intriguing missions.

These tasks revolve around a huge and bloody intergalactic war. Pitting the Army of the Allied Free Sentients ? that’s the humans who you fight as alongside a coalition of friendly aliens ? against the evil Bane, a smaller group of alien races who, in typical science-fiction style, are bent on taking over the galaxy and winning control of the mysterious and important Logos ? the power to manipulate energy with just the mind. They want to control it, the Allied Free Sentients would rather share it out democratically. The stage is set, then, for a bit of a scrap.

The game is set on an alien world that’s familiar ? filled with many of the types of terrain, plant and animal that we’re used to ? but, also, definitely alien. This is because Earth was attacked and taken over by the Bane, with a few survivors escaping to fight on elsewhere. You’re one of them, and when you begin Tabula Rasa a glimpse of normality is restored: you pick a fore and surname before you begin, and undertake some training missions to get used to the intuitive controls.

They work in a style similar to your average FPS: WASD makes you move, and using the mouse moves your cursor for camera and weapon aiming. It’s conventional, and works hugely well ? and hasn’t been changed just for the sake of it. You begin, as usual, at level one, but you’ll quickly reach level 5, which is where the first stages of your crucial character development begin to appear. At first, it’s a choice between Soldier and Specialist, but you choose again at levels 15 and deeper into the game. Each choice unlocks more options, meaning that you have the chance to become incredibly specialised ? as opposed to a handful of races and classes ? and make a real difference to battles.

This is one of the main areas where Tabula Rasa really succeeds. Each player is made to feel important, valued and vital for fighting back the Thrax (the race invading the world who are under control of Bane). Say, for example, you’re a Demolitionist ? then you can take down the walls and get the rest of your colleagues into an enemy stronghold. But you’ll need a few Commandos to obliterate the aliens inside, some Rangers to make sure the route there and back is relatively clear and an Exobiologist to heal your troops when needed. Periodically, dropships will land and deploy enemy troops, and the nearest players will inevitably find themselves fighting to repel the attack. You may not know them, but you’re comrades, and a sense of camaraderie is swiftly built up. It certainly beats the tedium of grinding your way through meaningless numbers.

Alongside these random battles are a huge variety of story-driven missions and tasks that you’re set by the massive range of NPC characters. They involve many things and require all of your skill set, and maintain interest and also drive the story forward. It’s telling that you don’t often think that every other player has already done the missions ? you’re having far too much fun to care, but you’ll never feel left out: you know that you’re involved in a huge war and are very conscious of having to do your part to fight back the Bane.

You can also go off by yourself, hunting down the secrets of the Logos and the rich history of Garriot’s carefully crafted world. If you get bored, then that’s even been catered for. At every critical character decision ? like levelling up and selecting a career path ? you can ‘clone’ your character and revert back to that point at any time. This makes trying new skills and types of play hugely simple, and much better than having to completely start again if you want to experience everything that Tabula Rasa offers.

Graphically, it’s a huge triumph. The world is evocative and full of hugely distinct regions: there’s war-torn riverbanks that are covered in defensive outputs and gun-toting Thraxians, dense forests, calm and unspoilt vistas and towns that are part-native, part military base. Rivers and waterfalls populate the world, as does a large range of wildlife. There’s always something to do ? or shoot ? and you’ll never be bored. All this is rendered superbly well, with the later areas of the game ? huge dystopian cities, military installations, and atmospheric wastelands ? proving to be massively absorbing.

Richard Garriot’s made a brave decision, after inventing the MMORPG in the 90’s, to try and take on the undisputed king of the genre. He’s created a hugely entertaining and involving title that radically alters the focus of these games, dispensing with the need to follow numbers and, instead, concentrating on story, teamwork, communication and fun. It’s a game worth playing unlike any other, and deserves to depose World of Warcraft if there’s any justice out there ? and if there’s any players left who don’t have an account with Blizzard. Garriot’s gamble has paid off in a huge way.