Tabula Rasa Review

Frictionless Insight has reviewed Tabula Rasa, impressed by Richard Garriott’s title, which they give a 4/5.

Another thing Garriott described in 2002 was the importance of moral choices in his games. He felt that games were both an opportunity for interactive storytelling and even for teaching (especially lessons of self-knowledge), and are more interesting when the player is forced to make difficult moral choices. He planned to include ethical parables that could affect the long-term story arc for your character.

Initially, I was skeptical. These dilemma quests typically come in the form of quests with multiple, mutually exclusive outcomes. Early on, you encounter a drug dealer selling a product that is illegal, but arguably helpful. Do you turn him in to the base commander or help him distribute his product? When you are given combat supplies to distribute to several far-flung waypoints, do you deliver them all or hand over the direly needed supplies to the first (and closest) group in need? As someone who usually tries to do the “just” thing (at least in games, I am ever a slave to my duty), these seemed like straightforward and simplistic choices. But as I progressed in Tabula Rasa, things became more interesting.

Often, things became more interesting because I (and other gamers I played with) tried to game the system. I didn’t always realize that two choices were mutually exclusive, and in trying to do the “good gamer” thing of picking up and solving every quest I could find, I would try to do both and inevitably fail to finish one (often, unwittingly making the darker choice). Other times, the choice was made for me by my squadmates. There’s nothing like pondering the fate of an NPC, taking into account the appropriate ethical issues, and then noticing a squadmate unleash her chaingun into the back of the NPC’s head. I can only suppose that his blood is still on my avatar’s hands.

Spotted on Blue’s News.