Tabula Rasa Review
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You still level up, but the grind has been conquered and the system of progression through the game's character classes has been redefined. Experience is, instead, gained through the multitude of varied, exciting and impressive tasks that are given to you by the huge cast of NPC characters, although the promises of genuine moral choices do slightly lack as they're often no more than choosing between two opposing paths rather than world-altering decisions of massive significance. That doesn't stop them being hugely involving and enjoyable, though. Much of the tedium has been removed from Tabula Rasa thanks to the levelling system and cloning. At certain levels you can choose to take your avatar down a career path: initially, you choose at level 5 between becoming a 'soldier' or a 'specialist', and at level 15 you develop further, becoming a 'Commando' or 'Ranger' if you're a soldier or a 'Sapper' or 'Biotechnician' if you chose the other route through the game. There's a further tier, still, at which to specialise, which unlocks roles like 'Grenadier', 'Demolitionist' or 'Exobiologist'. Each level comes with it's own special skills, weapons, armour, crafting options and items, as well as a signature ability.
This system is brilliant in itself giving each player a defined role as opposed to 'elf' or 'dwarf' as seen in World of Warcraft or, at the most basic level, 'Good' or 'Bad' as seen in NCGames' own City of Heroes and Villains series. Each player is given a genuine chance to fight for their freedom, and the heroic defenders really do need every single role to be properly filled in order to fight off the invading threat. You feel involved, you feel special, and you feel valued and, as you often fight alongside other players who will have other skills, feel unique: they'll congratulate you if your specialist skill is what defeats the oncoming Thrax, and you'll want to commend them for doing the same if it's their explosions, healing properties or shields that's saved your bacon. It's a proper team effort, and this co-operation improves the experience tenfold.
