Every year seems to have its new entrants into the MMORPG market. To an outsider, it's kind of bewildering to see the effort that goes into making each game world unique, exhibiting both depth and meaning. With a lot of these games, I've been put off by the sheer magnitude of it all. Why play these games where you're only as good as the last monster you kill? Horizons: Empire of Istaria looks to assuage these fears by incorporating a few twists into the MMORPG formula.

The land of Istaria is a wild, untamed place, full of perils, treasures, different characters, yadda yadda yadda. Most people have heard of the standard gaming world formula, but what you really want to know is what will make this world different than all the others. The answer is that Istaria will incorporate a very robust trade skills engine, a rigid real estate system, and the ability to change roles with the same character through the use of the game's open-ended school-based skill system.

What I find to be most intriguing is the description of Istaria's trade skills system. If you want, you may become a craftsman, crafting anything from armor to the design of transportation systems. If you want to become a blacksmith, for example, you can make weapons. You can choose exactly what you want your sword to look like, and what tools you want to use to make it. As you grow in skill, you can throw more variables into the construction. You can choose the type of hilt and blades, and also attachments like tassels, or visual effects like runes or fire. Literally millions of potential combinations are available for your creations. I can really see this type of system being a hit, with master craftsmen becoming legendary in the game world, their items being sought after like so much gold.

A free market like this is good for weapons, but what about real estate? Conceivably, one player overly blessed with abilities and items could corner the market and own everything. That's no fun. Istaria states at the beginning that each player can own one plot of land for their dwelling, rich or poor. To own one, all you must do is pay the owner for it (or the Empire if no one owns it), or perform a quest such as clearing the plot of Undead nuisances. Then land is then yours to do with as you see fit, building a house on it or having one built for you. As the game world develops, more land will be cleared and more plots made available to players. This should foster the development of realistic towns as more players join and create their own little homesteads, and the one-plot rule should make communities more bearable, as one person or group of people cannot control the market.

Of course, Istaria will have everything that makes a MMORPG great. Exotic player races, fierce monsters and combat will all be present and accounted for. As an added bonus, dragons will also be available as PCs and they will be able to fly, allowing you to get a bird's eye view of the landscape. Every race has a variety of classes and roles that they can fill. On nice feature is that if you find that the role you have been developing for your character isn't to your liking, you will be allowed to switch to another role through the use of the many schools the game will have to teach skills. Think of it as switching college majors; it'll set you back a bit, but you'll come out of it doing something you really enjoy.

Horizons: Empire of Istaria is looking to become a hit MMORPG by, in addition to great graphics and fighting sequences, fleshing out the more economical roles like craftsmen and tradesman. I believe this will put a nice spin on a genre already well-populated with comparable titles, and will make it very much worth getting into.