In case you haven't noticed, the MMO genre on the PC has exploded in recent years from its humble beginnings to "best selling game of all time" grade popularity. Whether it is huge mainstream subscription based MMOs, or free-to-play lesser known MMOs, it seems publishers and developing houses from the bottom to the top of the PC gaming world have their hands in the jar of what has really become PC gaming's new identity, at least if we're talking truly unique 'only worthwhile on the PC' gameplay like FPS and RTS used to be. With this genre explosion has come a lot of division amongst PC gamers (EQ v WOW anyone?), and naturally a hell of a lot of hot competition as companies fight for their share of the MMO audience, which in turn has sparked some very ambitious MMO projects.

One such ambitious project goes by the name of Tabula Rasa. Coming from the mind of Richard Garriott of Ultima Online fame, Tabula Rasa has been in development since 2001 under going numerous significant changes along the way. With release only a month or so in the distance, we had a chance to participate in the recent rounds of beta gameplay, and while the game was still clearly in its beta stages, MMO fans looking for something fresh should definitely continue reading on.

Tabula Rasa tells the age old story of hostile alien invasion on Earth. That's the quick and easy summary anyway, the actual bulk of the game's premise is a tad more detailed. The hostile alien force that combines multiple power seeking races known as the 'Bane' formed after the single 'Thrax' race were originally granted matter and energy altering technology and knowledge known as 'Logos' from the peaceful but yet seemingly naive 'Eloh' race. The Thrax used these powers against the Eloh, creating a war which the Eloh won, but the conflict created a 'divide' in the opinion of how these powers should be used from now on - one side suggesting for enhancing other races, the other supporting the use of Logos to control other races. The Eloh wishing to retain positive use of the Logos were over powered and sought the aid of other friendly races to support their counter attack, one of which was the Human race on Earth, forming the 'AFS', or Allied Friendly Sentients. Thanks to ancient worm hole placements on Earth that the Eloh installed long ago, Human soldiers and warriors could be brought into the front line of the war to shift the momentum, and this marks the beginning of your journey in the world of Tabula Rasa.

Starting off as a measly recruit, you must first pass a few training missions and tests before you make your way into the real battlefields as the game introduces you to its 'WASD' control system with its third person camera perspective, feeling much like any other third person action shooter. It is here where you also start to understand the depth of the game and its features, including the purpose and usage of the Logos powers. There is quite a lot to take in at first so slacking off and skipping description texts is not a great idea, although anyone reasonably familiar with the MMORPG genre shouldn't have any trouble getting the basics down in the first few minutes - Tabula Rasa is very much a traditional MMORPG in the way it feels and functions, from its XP level system, to its back pack inventory system.

However, while the game is very much a conforming MMORPG in its basic design and execution, there are certainly some aspects to Tabula Rasa that can be classified as unique, and one of these is the use of the Logos powers. While recruiting the Human race to fight what ultimately is the battle for the universe, the Eloh granted some Human fighters the power to utilize the Logos technology, and luckily for us gamers, user created characters all have this capability. These Logos driven 'Abilities' can range from being able to fire a lightning bolt at an enemy, to being able to clone yourself in battle for a brief period of time, with many others in between. What abilities your character has access to is determined by what class path you're following and what Logos you have access to. While the Eloh did grant you the ability to use the Logos advancements, it is still up to you to learn each Logos one by one, done by finding shrines to interact with. There are over 70 to find in the vast environments of Tabula Rasa, each with their own meaning and purpose for your character's special abilities.

Speaking of the environments, Tabula Rasa definitely appears to put the "Massive" in "Massive Multiplayer Online". Once your character makes it past the initial training stage, you will be delivered to the battlefields on planet Foreas, first of which will be an area known as "Wilderness". This area is lush with wild life and green surroundings as the name would suggest, and while at first it can seem quite large in its own right, you'll soon learn there are many more lands to explore, even outside the planet of Foreas. However, the full worlds on offer in this game won't be fully realized by the gamer very quickly, it takes a lot of character development and battle to find yourself in a position to roam freely across all the lands Tabula Rasa has to offer.

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