Neocron 2 has a cyberpunk-enhanced, dark, brooding atmosphere reminiscent of the movie Blade Runner mixed with a healthy dash of Judge Dredd for seasoning.
Important things you should know from the start: It’s the end of the third millennium and earth is a changed place. Wars and pollution have ravaged the planet, turning it into a wasteland of radioactive mud and those animals that managed to survive have mutated into monsters. The people who made it through the wars have sought solace in high-tech mega cities with protective walls. Not that the humans have retreated to their overcrowded shelters cowed,
tails between their legs to slowly die off. You can’t really let these things get you down, can you?
You take on the role of a citizen in Neocron, one of Earth’s final cities. The game allows you to design your own characters — you can have up to four, so go wild with your imagination. This is the point at which you choose name, gender, appearance and most importantly your skill set, which allows you to hack computers, or actually hack blood ‘n’ guts style in the game universe.
There’s intrigue between the various sects, not to mention those psi powers to try out or even a career in hacking — you get to choose the legitimate or criminal activity to profit from. Those shiny new cybernetic eyes don’t pay for themselves you know, and this is a wonderful looking world with a lot of attention to detail so you’ll probably need them.
Having played a number of these type of games, I have to say the atmosphere is just right and there are improvements being daily. MMORPG games are being released all the time now and the social element certainly does add to the enjoyment, plus this particular example doesn’t require anywhere near the days of repetitive action to reach a level on a par with your average cockroach.
So that’s it: you’re free to make your own choices. Take missions from your sect, join a group of players, or lone-wolf your way through the toxic, mutant-infested wilderness: it’s your life to do with as you see fit after all. With time, a player can become very powerful in the game world and there is plenty to explore and do
along the way.
Neocron 2 as its name suggests is the second in this particular line of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game or MMORPG as they have become known. So when you log on and begin to play, those strangely attired people dashing past you in the game are quite likely to be other players. To get into the game, you will need to download or purchase the installer. The downloaded installer is quite large at 1.5Gbyte so it may take some time; it may be better for some to buy the media in your local computer game shop. You can try it for free with the download version for 10 days after which you will be billed for the game, or for a month with the media pack bought in a shop, and then charged at a few different rates depending on the length of time period you are purchasing.
If you’re a fan of William Gibson or Blade Runner I’d say you’ll enjoy this, and if you’ve never played a MMORPG before this is one of the better ones to cut your teeth on so check out www.neocron2.com if you’re interested.
Neocron 2: Beyond the Dome of York
Requirements: Pentium 4, 3D graphics card, 512Mbyte, broadband Internet
connection
Rating: 90%
Price: $14 per month subscription
Contact: www.neocron2.com
06/12/04
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