Tabula Rasa Pre-Launch View
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Commendations
The team has come up with an interesting cloning system that lets players create copies of their characters at various stages of advancement. This makes it possible to try different classes without having to start from scratch each time. The game's promise of fast-paced action has borne out during its beta. Two contributing factors are the awarding of bonus experience for kills in rapid succession, which adds a novel decision factor to the play, and the relatively light death penalty involving temporary reduction of some attributes. Liberal use of instancing should allow for much of the story element to take place in controlled circumstances. The overall art direction and the technical quality of the graphics meet or exceed current standards.
Reservations
While it's not difficult to get used to, the interface has elements that may put off some users simply because they're different; the most obvious is the reticle, which always stays in the middle of your screen. It's not clear how strong the story will be. Visibility has increased substantially during recent months, but the general level of anticipation may have been higher if the ramping up had started earlier.