LFGryph

Quick post since we got news today!

I haven’t made any secret of being super excited about The Park. Since it was first announced, I’ve been looking forward to this chance to dig deeper into the lore of a very memorable location in The Secret World. I’m also thrilled that players unfamiliar with the MMO will be able to get a taste of the kind of story and atmosphere they’ve been missing out on. Experiencing a corner of that world in a single player horror game is going to be an amazing experience, I have absolutely no doubt of that!

It’s looking like we’ll all get our chance to check out the game in just a couple weeks. Funcom announced today that pre-orders are open with a release date of October 27. They also posted information over on the TSW site.

The first thing I noticed was the price. Most TSW players had been guessing The Park would be priced around $15-$20. Funcom has been clear that this is a short game, but similar games have charged that amount. As it turns out, full price for The Park is only $12.99, with a special pre-order price of $10.00. (I keep hearing $9.99, but Steam lists it at $10.)

In addition to this basic information, we learned there will be two ingame TSW rewards given to those who purchase the game. One of them is a “Chipmunk Killer” outfit – can’t wait to see those invading the park in TSW – and the other is a high-end neck talisman.

The talisman immediately became a topic of debate among core TSW players. (I find it interesting that my friends who enjoy the game but aren’t super into it seem either pleased or completely neutral on the topic. 😉 ) TSW has spent a lot of time staying to one side of the line in terms of gear that can be purchased with real money. Even in Collector’s Editions, they’ve been very careful about what sorts of things they include, seeming to not want to risk anything that approaches “Pay-to-Win.” (I would 100% NOT classify this gear as P2W, incidentally, not even close.)

While I respect and understand the players upset about the choice to give out gear (Jennet did a great post about it), this particular post is about my own perspective. And my honest first reaction was that it’s a pretty cool gift to tack on and more reasonable than many MMO’s would offer.

The 10.9 talisman comes in dps, heal, and tank flavors and promises “unique abilit[ies].” One talisman isn’t going to make or break any of my builds, but it will be a nifty piece to play around with. Funny enough, I primarily run with Assault Rifle as my main weapon and wouldn’t you know, my neck talisman is the one I have my heal stats on. If I want to use the dps version, I’m going to have to rethink and redo something else.

With Issue 12.5 likely launching tomorrow, we should be right on track to get our gear up to 11 through ingame content. (Cue an “up to 11” joke.) We’ve got some Nightmare content coming up with potential for new rewards, and I have a funny feeling the ingame talismans will remain the most effective choice.

With or without perks, I’m just happy to have a solid date for the game’s release. I am also ridiculously pleased to see the mascot. >_> My mind didn’t go to Five Nights At Freddy’s as much as Silent Hill 3, but creepy amusement parks really ought to have creepy mascots!

[EDIT: 10/14 Joel, TSW’s former game director who has been working on The Park, has been posting in the TSW forums to address some of the questions folks have asked. You can find his first response here. Community Manager Sezmra has also set up a FAQ thread on the forums.]