“Early in the 21st Century, the Tyrell Corporation advanced Robot evolution”… oops, excuse me, wrong futuresque dystopia; please pardon my error. This is Neocron, not Blade Runner, though the similarities are striking from the moment you set foot inside this virtual world, which clearly draws much visual inspiration from the vivid style of Ridley Scott’s wonderful film, and also from the themes of P K Dick’s novel, ‘Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep?’. Or so I discovered upon playing the beta of Reakktor’s striking massively role-playing game; Neocron.

Neocron’s atmosphere is certainly rich with the ‘future-noir’ that many enjoyed Blade Runner for, the dark imposing monoliths of the city, dank with rain, teeming with atmosphere, and fizzling with neon – whilst overhead “spinners” (Hoverbikes, if you prefer) glide; stylistically, it’s absolutely beautiful, Reakktor having succeeded in what I’ve witnessed so far, in creating a rich and fascinating world to explore and interact within. What’s more, and all-importantly for a title of this genre, it’s a tangible one too, the creators having crafted a landscape brimming with minor-details that add to the sense of reality – after all, Reakktor’s slogan is “Building better worlds”.

Development on Neocron began back in the heady days of 1998, and is set in, and based around, a 28th century metropolis, where users, via an avatar, can co-exist en masse, choosing a path of their own through a game with a self-evolving socio-political story; thusly you must choose your allegiances wisely. The plot will change. You may change, or be forced to. There are rival factions, but is not the only option for Neocron is a multi-tiered beast in the grandest sense of the word; you can choose to be someone who makes a differences in your electronic-life, or alternatively lead a normal existence, perhaps a more peaceful one. As with most of the more sophisticated MMORPG’s it is up to you, and like most others you’ll be needing a 3d-avatar to do it, and as you gain experience in the world you character will build in it’s ability.

Unlike the majority of MMORPG’s, Neocron is predominately played from a first-person perspective, like a first-person shooter. Indeed, the similarities with this simpler genre do not end there, as Neocron is a game of as well as words. As such a whole host of weapons are available, either to buy or construct. Naturally, as Neocron is a more realistic proposition than your average first-person shoot ‘em up, starting fire-fights in the city-centre (districts such as the ‘Plaza’) is not necessarily a wise idea, as this will attract the decidedly negative, and rather aggressive attention of the city’s armed police-force. Those of an action-orientated mindset should therefore head for the Outzone, a lawless vacuum of Neocron, where there’s little influence of authority to prevent a little deathmatch-style fun.