January 08, 2007 - Set in the original world of Elanthia, Simutronics' Hero's Journey is a massively multiplayer endeavor focused on providing an action-oriented, adventure-style experience that also emphasizes flexible character creation and development an a compelling quest element. While recovering from a devastating war, society faces formidable threats from another plane, and must also deal with the sometimes incompatible agendas of its own Nature, Magic and Gear factions.

Commendations
As we have seen in our series of features on specific game elements, the design incorporates a variety of interesting and imaginative ideas. Although the list may not yet be final, the Warrior, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard, Necromancer, Gearknight, Healer, Cleric and Bard classes tentatively named so far provide a nice range, and with the character system having both primary and secondary options, there should be even greater flexibility than this number initially indicates. The company's proven expertise using part-time GameMasters to create and run events bodes well for this aspect. The Hero Engine technology has proven impressive enough to be licensed by BioWare for its online world project. From what we've seen to date, the graphics appear to be competitive.

Reservations
The flow of information has declined noticeably since around the time of the above-noted deal, which has prompted some questions about Simutronics' overall resources. The current target launch date is 2007, a year in which several titles with higher profiles are slated to enter service. We haven't seen any announcements about publishing partners. The game's fan base, although enthusiastic, could certainly be larger, and the general level of awareness greater.

Considerations
Hero's Journey looks like an offering with more than enough potential to be worth watching as development moves forward. However, there's still much more we'd like to know, especially if it's going to go live this year, which leads to some caution in our optimism.

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First Views are intended to provide initial impressions. They may be based on information from interviews, demos, presentations, announcements et al, and limited or no playing time. - Ed.