Tabula Rasa Review
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Thus we come to Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, a science fiction-themed MMO from one of the oldest respected names in gaming. With Garriott at the helm, one can expect there to be a credible story powering the game, and that there is.
The basic storyline has Earth overrun by alien bad guys (the Bane). A few survivors escape on teleporters, provided by good guys (the Eloh). These refugees are recruited to fight the Bane on alien worlds, while also learning about the magical power of Logos (a rune system which players learn about one rune at a time). Along the way, players will meet new friends and other enemies, but, for the most part, battle will be with Bane, which are brought in on space ships before the player's eyes, for instant battle wherever he or she goes.
And thus the (where do they all come from) issue is settled, while simultaneously dealing with the (groups of monsters hanging around the world to be avoided or picked off at will) issue in many MMOs. It's aesthetically pleasing and creates a nice, if simple, backdrop for the game.
MMOs also need character development, and here things get a bit iffy. As you gain levels, you get ability and skill points, allowing you to increase such things incrementally. All characters start out as recruits; after 5 levels, you can specialize into either soldier or specialist, so called (tier 2) classes, although the differences between the two aren't so much, at least initially. After more levels, you can go to (tier 3) (level 15), further specializing into two choices, and then to (tier 4) (level 30), where the really cool powers come into play, like tactical nukes, wormholes, or resurrecting all dead enemies as temporary allies. Each class/tier has special armor and special weapons, although admittedly the end result protection and blasting enemies is the same. There's really no way to mess up character development, and all the classes are viable (even solo) at least for the first couple dozen levels. There's also a cloning option, where you can create a copy of character of the same level and logos knowledge, but without any classes or skill/ability points spent. You only get a handful of cloning opportunities (every time you hit a tier level), but it's enough for a careful player to experience all classes, as the clones get clones, too.
