Tabula Rasa (Windows)

TABULA RASA is a fast-paced science fiction combat game with a philosophical bent. "Tabula rasa" means "clean slate" in Latin, a reference to the game's hook. In the game world's not-too-distant future, humankind has been wiped from the face of the Earth by aliens known as the Bane. Forced to flee to a new planet and start anew, humans learn to harness the power of LOGOS (a Greek term variously translated as "word" or "essential meaning"); as players accumulate this knowledge, it's recorded in their LOGOS tablet -- their "tabula." LOGOS powers allow players to cast the science-fiction equivalent of magical spells to attack enemies and heal allies.

Whatever its intellectual origins, Tabula Rasa is an easy game to play: Just point at the alien and click to shoot; a standard keyboard layout controls movement. The game has an auto-aiming feature that helps players lock onto enemies. Players can also duck behind trees and walls to reduce the damage they take from alien fire. Combat is fairly violent, with aliens dying in a splash of goo and muck. Player damage is represented with subtle but noticeable splashes of blood

Tabula Rasa's storyline is well-crafted, carried along by a variety of interesting mission objectives, which can include escorting a character through a war zone, collecting supplies, or taking out hostile aliens. Some missions require players to make difficult ethical decisions, which can have repercussions later in the game.

Tabula Rasa includes another feature unique to MMOGs: character cloning. In most MMOGs, if players want to try out a new character class, they have to go back to the beginning and start from scratch. In Tabula Rasa, players have the option to make a copy of their character(s) while they try out a particular path. If it doesn't end up tickling their fancy, they can use their clone to go another way without starting the entire game over.

Available on: Windows
Available online
Genre: Massively Multi-player Online Game (MMOG)
Developer: NCsoft
Released on: November 2, 2007
Price: 49.99
ESRB Rating: T for Violence, Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Alcohol and Tobacco Reference