Neocron is a 3D Cyberpunk Science Fiction MMORPG that combines the RPG style with some first person shooter elements. The game is playing in a post apocalyptic world of the 28th century, approximately 600 years after humanity had finally managed to nuke itself into a second stone age. The fallout caused massive geological changes and threw humanity back into the stone ages, until one day a wandering tribe found the complete scientific knowledge of the 22nd century, stored safely in a deep underground. Neocron is one of the three remaining cities on Earth created and developed from the ruins of World War III. It's a futuristic city full of mission terminals, which set you tasks so you can stock up on Neocredits (NC - in-game currency) and buy weapons and equipment. Neocron is surrounded by vast wastelands, where desert plains, steep mountains, filthy swamp regions and even some lifeless lakes can be found, all those regions populated by mutated flora and fauna. The settings for the city and all the zones linking off from it are dark and moody, many a little claustrophobic.

The character creation process of Neocron is much like other MMORPGs. You chose your characters name and class (PSI-Monk, GenTank, Private Eye, Spy), gender (the sex does not affect the character's skills) and skills, and the faction to which you want your character to belong initially. Each faction has a lengthy history if you choose to read it, but that could take hours. Although the game has just four character classes, your choices are quite complicated, since each class has a multiple job options. The Private Eye is not specialized in any particular area (equality in all skill levels, but limited in their development), he has latent talents to become a bounty hunter, PSI-fighter, Investigator, Merchant or Testdriver (one can own vehicles). But it's a long road to any of those "positions" for an average citizen, the Spy is versatile and agile - both physically and mentally. His physical strength has limits, but he can use his finely-honed mind in many areas - as a scientist, engineer, hacker, for example, or drone operator - which are not open to other players. GenTank (Genetically Engineered Human Tank) is particularly robust and strong and was bred as a genetically engineered soldier, but he cannot develop any PSI capabilities and finally the PSI Monk is the most intelligent of the four classes and therefore has a much better PSI capabilities and is able to boost his PSI-power and intelligence skills to extremely high levels, however it is nearly impossible for him to become a good fighter, you will rarely find a PSI Monk engaging in weapon based combat. The skill system within Neocron works differently than those found in most other games. It is made up of a set of five skill classes (PSI Power, Intelligence, Constitution, Dexterity and Strength), each of which has a set of related sub-skills. That means that instead of training in a particular skill class you must train in the related sub-skills, for instance the "melee weapons", "heavy weapon combat", "transport" and "resist force" skills are associated to the strength stat.

You start the game in your apartment, which you get for free (later you can buy new ones, larger and better furnished), with default inventory items which are usually a basic weapon, a bit of armor and maybe a health drugs to get you by. In your apartment you can access lockers, restore your health, get resurrected with the GenRep (a resuscitation and transport station), use the mobile GoGuardian storage system (can be used to transport items around the game), or log on to the CityCom computer terminal to accept missions, check e-mail. How you proceed is entirely up to you. I strongly recommend you to first read game manual and play Offline Neocron tutorial. Only the thing that should be in a manual is that the access code in the elevator for getting into your apartment is your character's name. I spent nearly 30 hours building up a Private Eye character and earning enough to buy some weapons and combat upgrades. The easiest way how to earn some money is to visit the nearest terminal and pick up some missions from your chosen faction, from simple FedEx deliveries to killing a certain number of baddies to researching or constructing items for your faction, the other possible sources of income are trading (you can construct weapons and sell them at your local Yo's Pawn shop) and monster hunting. This does not mean that you have to do any of the above mentioned to be able to "live" in Neocron. But if you want to buy equipment ..., you will need some Neocredits. The game contains over twenty four different variations of weapon, there are projectile weapons (pistols, rifles, UZIs, flamethrowers), energy weapons, heavy weapons, you will also be able to use a PSI Modulator to use your PSI skills to attack. You will also be able to upgrade your weapons, to give them a higher ammo capacity etc. You can carry your gun around in public, however CopBots watch many streets and open fire whenever a weapon is drawn. Of course, it is possible to kill CopBots but you can expect a large amount of other CopBots to hunt you down afterwards. Do not be afraid of the CopBots and your enemies - in the worst case they can kill you :P Death is not the end for your character in the game as you will have the option to respawn in your apartment. Besides weapons, there are also six basic types of "tech-tools" you may end up using: Research, Construct, Recycle, RepairSalvage, and Hack. Of course, Recycling, Constructing or Researching anything requires that the relevant skill be equal to or greater than the tech level of the item in question; the greater your skill, the easier it will be. There are also implants and drugs which will permanently or temporarily give you skills, increase (or decrease) statistics, all available for a price.

The combat system is very intuitive, but also highly skill dependent, regarding the skills of your character, not your mouse skills - that means you don't need be the FPS king to succeed in Neocron. If your character has the appropriate skill levels, he/she should have no problem to kill anyone :) The beginners are protected by the "Law Enforcer" chip (LE) - that they are not able to hurt any other players and that they cannot be hurt themselves by other players. All characters with implanted chip need 25% more skill for anything requiring a skill check, and get 25% less experience for any kills or quests they do. You can implant or remove (from your head) the Enforcer any time you wish without any special tools or skills, I kept the chip to level 10 or so. Once remove the chip you can draw your weapons in the CopBot's safe zones and fire at other players who have also removed their chips.

Neocron features quite interesting interface called R.P.O.S. (Retinal Projected Operating System), vastly different from any of the other MMORPGs on the market. This system is reminiscent of Deus Ex and System Shock 2. The first part of the interface allows you move around the world of Neocron and perform simple actions such as attacking, firing weapons, initiating communication with NPCs, trading between players, or picking up and activating items, the second part of the interface is the only way to manage your inventory, chat, change your equipment. The second inferface contains the Nav-Ray - a satellite linked navigation system. You can select your desired destination and confirm your choice. If the area you are in is part of the detailed Navigation System, you will see a glowing green line that will guide you directly to your desired destination. In addition, in the bottom of the NavRay window are three buttons, which open a small map of the area you are in (small map), a map of the whole section (large map) or a view of the complete world of Neocron (worldmap). In each map a cursor marks the position of your character. Needless to say the Nav-Ray is really great idea in the game.

There are a few features that I didn't mention, such as stock exchange, virtual battle arenas called NeoFrag, 8-bit video games you can play and rank at StarTerms, casinos/casino games you can win or lose credits at, bars, strip clubs, topless striptease dancers and more :) I bet you won't be bored, however don't forget to eat and sleep in your real life . Neocron is the best MMORPG game I have played so far. If you are Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk fan, it's definitely worth playing. Neocron can bought as an Online Download (1.2GB + you pay for the CD key in effect), monthly subscription costs $9,95 (4 weeks for free). For more information visit the official Neocron homepage.


System Requirements:
Minimum: Pentium II 400 MHz or better, 128 MB RAM, MS DirectX compatible graphics adapter with 16 MB and latest drivers, CD-ROM drive, MS DirectX compatible soundcard, MS Windows compatible mouse and keyboard, MS Windows 95B/98/ME/2000/XP, MS DirectX 8.1, 56.6 kb Modem and Internet Access
Recommended: Pentium III 600 MHz, 256 MB RAM, Geforce 2 based graphics adapter or better, MS Windows 98/2000/XP, ISDN and Internet Access or better, remaining requirements: see above