A lot has been said about Majestic,
EAs new online game-type-thing. EAs view, shared by Majestics most
ardent fans, is that this is the future of interactive, episodic gaming. Indeed, its
not quite like anything weve played before. On the other side of the spectrum are
critics and gamers who not only feel that Majestic is not the great white hope of gaming,
but that it is a fairly schlocky, disjointed mess that costs ten bucks a month. Certainly
Majestic could be improved every game could be better but after a month and
two episodes of play, Im convinced that Majestic is spearheading a whole new genre
of gaming. Is it the future of the entire industry? Absolutely not whos going
to give up their flight simulators and sports games for this kind of adventure/story? But
Majestic is unlike anything Ive encountered so far, and in a videogame market
starving for innovation that says a lot about how important it is.The most difficult task here is to
summarize just what Majestic is. Its billed as: "The game that plays you."
Thats not too bad a description. Somewhat like the Dreamcast cult hit, Seaman,
Majestic determines how much and when you can play, not you. Unlike Seaman, in which you
had to keep a strict schedule to maintain your virtual charge, Majestic doesnt keep
you on any particular regiment. You can play whenever youd like, but the nature of
the game prevents you from logging long hours. In general, if you play for about 45
minutes each day, youll keep up nicely with the game.
You sign up
for Majestic: The Game, but quickly find yourself playing Majestic, the real-life
conspiracy. You become a member of the Majestic Alliance, chosen to be a part of the
alliance long before you heard about it. As part of the game, youll interact with a
wide array of characters, from Kendra and Mike, who work for EAs development studio,
Anim-X, to Raymond and Fiona, old-school conspiracy bigwigs who assist you in figuring out
a conspiracy that grows more convoluted and spooky every day. It all starts with what
seems like a server crash at Anim-X, bringing down the game. Shortly after you experience
this, your phone will ring. Thats right YOUR phone WILL RING. You dont
click on a virtual phone to pick up and hear the spine-tingling message that clues you in
to possible arson and murder, you pick up the same phone you use to talk to your momma and
listen to a strange voice tell you that youve been chosen for the alliance.
Yes, Majestic
is a little freaky. When signing up for the game, youll agree to many disclaimers
and be advised of proper use. If you have children at home, youre asked to not allow
the game to call you. You can set it to give a disclaimer at the beginning of each
message. It will want your fax number, too, so it can send you mysterious documents and
clues. All of this can be turned off and relegated to a desktop-like interface, but for
the full experience, youll want the game to mess with you in every possible way.
Thats how weve played it here at GF! headquarters, and we were thoroughly
sucked in the first time the phone rang. Sometimes calls come early in the morning or very
late at night; however, the grogginess only makes the illusion that much more thorough.
Majestic is
the kind of game that Chris Carter wishes he could write, and it beats watching what
passes for acting or suspense in the X-Files. Most sane folks know that there are two
reasons to watch the X-Files: First, you can recognize conspiracies and
"Fortean" elements that youve read about in other places. Second,
its incredibly easy to guess what the next plot twist will be or how the latest clue
fits into the puzzle. I spend the bulk of the television show bitching about how Mulder
and Scully have such difficulty dealing with such simple mysteries. Majestic allows you to
quit the bitching and get with the straight-up puzzle solving. Granted, some of the
puzzles in Majestic are as inane as those on Carters dying series, but they do
improve as new episodes are released, and announced plans for future episodes sound
veritably complex.
Of
course, Majestic isnt sexy like the X-Files, but it makes up for what it lacks in
red hair and boobs with true interactivity. Conversation bots, which exhibit a great AI,
instant message you through AIM; the phone rings and you must pick it up; youll
cruise through real and fake websites collecting clues; and youll find yourself
calling and hacking voice mail systems. This kind of play is, for many gamers at least,
immensely satisfying. The variety of techniques you must use to solve puzzles and gather
information is incredible, and the mixture of real news articles, websites, and facts with
completely fictitious elements blurs the lines between reality and game enough to keep
Majestic on your mind throughout the day, wondering who you meet in day-to-day business is
the victim of mind control nano technology put in place by the shadow government, or who
is watching you from a spy satellite as you cross the street. Combine playing Majestic
with watching one of those History Channel documentaries about spy techniques and you run
a very real risk of developing some paranoid delusions.
As with all
games, innovative as they may be, we must deal with the naysayers. Majestic is interesting
enough that folks will debate its qualtiy as a game for months to come. Currently, I am
more than enamored with Majestic, and I have a hard time believing that Ive had my
gaming world so drastically redefined this year between serious sessions with Black and
White and Majestic. The most common beef with Majestic, and Black and White for that
matter, stems from the contrary nature of many gamers and game critics its
easy to take the opposite point of view when everyone starts clamoring about how
innovative a game is. This is understandable, mainly because of the unabashed promotion
that game companies put forth and because of the "me too" aspect of so much
gaming coverage in the media. The fact of the matter is, many of the large consumer media
outlets dont know Jack about games and just take the word of the press release to
decide if a game is good or bad. A high gee-whiz factor does wonders for reviews. The
point here is that a lot of gamers, especially of the "hardcore" variety, are
going to come down on Majestic just because thats cooler than saying the same thing
that Time magazine said about it.
The real
criticisms of Majestic center around the quality of the puzzles and mysteries youre
asked to solve. Some of them are very easy, requiring you to simply do a search on a term
or wait for somebody to contact you to give you the answer. These are especially
noticeable in the pilot episode and episode one. The defense against this criticism would
be that a game like Majestic must take its time teaching gamers how to play it, especially
since EA has made it known that they are not only seeking the Internet super-savvy
hardcore gaming audience, but the "casual gamer" who isnt necessarily as
familiar with the technology or conventions of gaming. It does seem silly that a world
famous hacker who has agreed to assist you must ask you to use the Network Solutions
"Whois" tool to find the administrator of a site you hack in the game. There are
other elements of the game that make computer savvy players wonder, but I found it no more
disturbing than some of the common conventions in gaming, such as health being littered
around a barren level or being unable to blow away a door when armed with a rocket
launcher. To further ameliorate this issue, EA has gone back and added extra mysteries
into the pilot and first couple episodes called the Solitaire Revelations. Solitaire is an
alliance member who presents you with mysteries that you must solve entirely on your own.
Upon solving them you are given extra information about the scope and details of the
shadow government and the overarching conspiracy. In addition, EA claims that in later
episodes you are given the tools and clues to solve puzzles with no assistance or guidance
from the NPCs, allowing more skillfull players to advance with a greater degree of
difficulty.
The only other major criticism has to do with the mechanics of the game. Overall, your
desktop Majestic application, combined with the basic website interface, works very well.
However, being an online game, Majestic relies heavily on your Internet connection. If you
have a broadband connection, things run smooth as silk. If you use a dial-up connection,
you may encounter some difficulties with the streaming video and audio. Some of the video
you see includes very important visual clues, which may be skipped if the stream is
choppy. Unfortunately, theres not much you can do to remedy this, but there are a
lot of sites that post information in such a way that you wont have the story or
mystery spoiled. Because it becomes obvious very quickly which segments suffer at the
hands of an analog modem, the Majestic community is prompt and reliable for assisting with
these troubles.
Yes, Majestic will change the future of gaming. No, Majestic will not usurp or take
over the gaming world. Majestic is a whole new genre of game, somewhere between game and
television, reality and fantasy. It proves that flashy graphics and high tech requirements
do not make a game good or immersive; concept and execution do that. If you want to stay
abreast of the most exciting developments in gaming, Majestic is one of those games you
absolutely must play. Sign up for the free demo through www.majesticthegame.com and
check it out. If youre not impressed, at least youll know what the rest of us
are talking about. If you are sucked in, itll set you back $9.99 per month to keep
the conspiracy flowing, a small price to pay to be a part of the salvation of humanity.