One of the more interesting items shown at E3 2005 was an early build of Tactica Online. This massively multi-player title separates itself from the dozens of other online games in a number of ways, not the least of which is that it\'s a turn-based strategy game in the likes of Fallout, Jagged Alliance, or X-Com. From gameplay to business strategy (Tactica won\'t charge the traditional monthly subscription fees, but you\'ll still play in a persistent world with thousands of other players) Tactica Online is trying to be something different.

For one, it\'s almost as much a strategy game as RPG, since the characters don\'t level up and become stronger over time, at least not really. They do earn extra skills, but you don\'t have to worry about being completely destroyed by someone that\'s willing to put more minutes of their day into developing their character than you are. In fact, Imaginary Numbers claims that you\'ll be able to start playing almost immediately after starting the game, without having to wade through hours of beginning quests just to be competitive. The first rule of a good strategy game is that everyone starts on the same level; what changes the battle is skill.

In another interesting move, every mission in Tactica is PvP. It\'s not the sort of PvP that other MMO RPGs have, though, where two characters hack at each other until one or the other dies; instead, think of it as a quest with squad based tactics, and the people standing in your way of accomplishing that quest just happen to be controlled by a human mind.

All in all, it\'s looking to be an interesting project.

The screenshots here are from an Alpha build of the game, still early in development, but it gives you an idea of what to expect. Take a look.