Issue 10 in Screenshots

It’s no secret that reaching Tokyo slowed down my progression in The Secret World. The city itself wasn’t as compelling to explore as other zones have been and the constant loom of death threatening my character at every corner had me running past everything rather than closely observing it. Issue 10 has been a marked improvement, both with regard to the story elements at play and the environments. What I like about this area in Kaidan is the color palette used. Unlike the city which is mostly grey steel and concrete, this area incorporates stunning greens, pinks, reds, and oranges while still feeling melancholic. It’s all the colors of innocence lost, a fallen Eden, and I like the conflicting emotions it evokes.

I’m going to try and avoid giving away too many spoilers, but I will be sharing a series of screenshots depicting my journey through (almost) all of Issue 10 with some commentary. If you haven’t played through it and would like to experience it yourself first, you may want to skip this post. Otherwise here’s a peek at what the story and setting of Issue 10 has to offer.

I love the way this screenshot captures the lush grass, pink blossoms, and traditional architecture against the backdrop of a more urbanized Tokyo. Looming above them both is a toxic, yellow-grey sky and the four-winged dragon beasts that I’ve seen pass over the city from time to time. I don’t know what they are, but I’m sure I’ll find out eventually.

Here’s Jung, a young boy who is all alone at the Kindergarten in the Orochi housing compound. He’s one of the kids with special powers that the Orochi are so keen to recruit. Jung is eerie in that he is child-like and sad yet possessing a power so great it would give anyone a god complex. While I’m unsure of all the details, he confirmed my suspicions about Fear Nothing, the Morning Light, and the Orochi.

 

Funcom likes to send player characters through these facilities that were once intended for children or teens but now are full of death and monsters. They are one of the more unsettling environments in The Secret World, second only to “The Parking Garage That Shall Not Be Named.”

I thought this would be like that movie Cocoon so I jumped in the water and ran around. It did not end well for me.

It turns out the bunny killer is a girl, so my theory that the ubiquitous John and the bunny are one and the same no longer holds water. She’s probably someone else from the Fear Nothing facility but unfortunately I’ve played this mission over such a long span of time that I can no longer recall the names of any girls that may have been foreshadowed as the killer. I vaguely remember a non-Japanese member of the club playing a prominent role in the storyline but I can’t remember what happened to her, she may already be dead.

Unless it turns out to be Daredevil under that mask, I don’t see how anyone can be such a deadly assassin with no peripheral vision. And who makes bunny masks with a  permanent scowl? I did like this brief moment between my character and the bunny killer though. She seems to be either daring me to stop the assassinations she has planned, or is simply letting me know she has a schedule to maintain. Either way, I really like this character Funcom has created. I’m hoping I get to face her in combat wearing my Chad the Chipmunk mask.