Forget it's a sci-fi action, MMORPG. Forget that that it's being completed by the masters behind Ultima Online. Forget that Richard Garriott himself blesses this game with his talents. NCSoft's Tabula Rasa is a living, breathing, dynamic battlefield and it slaps you, the player, in the midst of the heat of conflict.

 

You fight for the Allied Free Sentients, an alliance of humans and humanoids in the defense against the Bane lightning invasion, and for each territory you run through, ships drop in, unload their men, and open fire on enemy troops on the way out.

In an interview with NCSoft's Starr Long, GamesRadar was able to dive a little deeper into what gamers should expect of the warring gameplay. Long described that Tabula Rasa will take a slice out of some MMORPGs and them some, but create a different experience than what MMORPG gamers could expect from other MMOs. He explains:

One of those key elements is having a very dynamic battlefield. In most online games the computer controlled characters (NPCs) are just standing around waiting for you to kill them. They don't really do anything and they certainly don't interact with each other. In TR the NPCs are constantly doing things whether you are there or not. They patrol around, they interact with the world and of course they constantly fight each other (there's a war going on after all).

Long also said, "Control Points are another big differentiator for Tabula Rasa, and depending on who is controlling them - the good guys or bad guys - changes the state of variables throughout the game." What waypoint teleporters are usable by you, what respawn locations are available to you, and what missions are available all depend on the current state of the war.

It's up to the player to tip the balance of the war. The very presence of a player in one segment of a battlefield could mean disaster for the enemy. But that's not to say that the Bane aren't helpless. In fact, Long explains that at any given time, a player can accomplish a certain objective for one NPC at a certain base, only to find out the base is no longer theirs. Long expounds on the scenario, stating:

For example, say you got a cool mission at one of these control points and when you complete it you return to the base only to find that the Bane may have overrun that base. Now you have to get with some other players to take back control of that base in order to finish your mission.

Getting excited? So are we. As the game already entered a closed beta stage, we're hoping it doesn't take long for everyone else to join the battle.