Apart from a high school addiction to Phantasy Star Online (Level 100 HuCast!), and a six-day foray into an ancient World of Warcraft trial edition that came with my Diablo 2 Battlechest, I have very little experience with massively multiplayer online games. The Secret World, however, has intrigued me ever since it was first announced. Here was an MMO that not only had a real-world setting, but one that drew its story and lore from urban legends and conspiracy theories. Illuminati, Templars, Mothman? In short, it sounded like my cup of tea, so I dug in once early access kicked off at the end of June.

The following isn't a review of The Secret World. Instead, it's offered as an account of my own experiences - an MMO novice - playing through Funcom's recently launched online game.