Being in the job of henching for someone who will be taking over the globe soon via our orbital space stations (No I'm not kidding), I felt it only right to check out The Agency. Partly to see how this new MMO for the PS3 and PC will handle. Partly to see what SOE is going to be training people to do so we can be prepared for it. Also partly because I just had to turn around after getting hands on with DC Universe Online. I'm a gamer and we're lazy.

Kidding all aside, I truly have been looking forward to The Agency ever since I heard the first announcement over a year ago. Mainly because of how it is suppose to interact with your real world life to keep you immersed a bit and not because of the style of MMO it is going to be. I'd love to be sitting in a meeting and get a message saying that some rival has taken my spies hostage and to reply via text if I want to pay the ransom or let them kill them. Just me maybe.

Unfortunately, while at E3, SOE did not talk about that part of the game at all. Or how the pricing for this constant state game will drain even more money from our bank accounts. But, they did show off how the game plays and how it will interact between the PS3 and PC users. Oh, and I also got some hidden camera video and images of the game taken from my lapel pin camera. All of which below my thoughts, which are below this sentence.

While I did not get to actually handle the game, it looks like the controls are very basic and what you would think they would be. The sticks move the characters and the camera view. The triggers aim and bring up other options and gadgets to use, like the martini bomb. Shaken and not stirred of course. The standard buttons and keys doing what you would expect them to. Pretty much like many of the other games that are coming out, there really are no innovations or use of other functions of the Dual Shock 3 controller or tweaks to the tried and true MMO keyboard controls. At least at this time. But that is not to say that there isn't some cool little features for the game that are not based on controls or graphics.

Seen in the video below, they have a hacking system in the game to make it a bit trickier to bypass alarms and detection. While at first glance it would seem like it is a rip off of what was in BioShock, but the designers informed me that there will be upwards of 70 random minigames, one of which you will have to play to achieve these feats. By random I mean that you won't know which is going to pop up, unlike the constant Pipe Dream game from BioShock. Something that could make for a few alarms to be triggered out of shock of not getting the easier hack game to play.

We also got to see how the espionage portion of the game will be employed as well. Which is something more involved than just changing just what the avatar is wearing, but actually planning on how to get in and out without being seen. In the demo, you are required to break in and get some pictures around the mansion during the party. If you are under surveillance, you won't be able to snap the shot. But there is a male and female way of fixing that issue. The female way is just as you would think, seduction. Seduction by going up to the guy watching you, or having another woman do the same, and flirt. The male version is just to go up and BS about sports. Either way, it lets you snap a pic for the mission as they are distracted.

The video describes much better, by showing, some of the other fun features about this game and how it works. I recommend giving it a good watch if you are even slightly interested in The Agency. So do that.

But before you do, I will say this. The Agency looks as promising as it did when first announced. With cartoony yet realistic like graphics and the gameplay of an action shooter, it has a new feel for an MMO. The missions and hacking look like a good bit of fun as well. I only wish they would have mentioned something about when it is coming to Beta or even a projected launch window. I'll be keeping an eye and updating you all as I get further information. But for now enjoy the eye candy.