Jumpgate: Evolution Preview

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It's an interesting proposition, as is the extensive depth of the faction system. Although players initially choose one of three races - mercantile, religious and imperial - there is a "huge pool" of factions in Jumpgate: Evolution, and they will be tied quite strongly into some interesting-sounding player-versus-player setups like the one above. "PvP in a game like ours is especially strong," says Brown. "How long did you play Quake, right? For forever, every day, even though you played the same three maps. It's not so much about endless content in an action game."

If there's a worry, it's that NetDevil has attempted the sci-fi action MMO before, and it didn't work out too well. We don't mean with the original Jumpgate - which still enjoys a small but loyal audience - but with its post-apocalyptic, vehicular combat MMO, Auto Assault, published by NCsoft in 2006. Auto Assault was a bizarre, tumbledown hybrid of a game, which despite some interesting ideas and impressive physics was a commercial disaster, and got canned after little over a year. Brown is humble about it, in retrospect - and keen to point out the lessons learned.

"We were so obsessed with everything having to be different," he says. "Levelling had to be different, skills had to be different, crafting had to be different. We had this word 'unique' stuck in our head. And it turns out that when everything feels unique, the game feels foreign. Uncomfortable, you know? The other thing is, I think the game was too complex. I think one of the secrets of WOW - well, maybe it's not a secret - is that it's very easy, accessible, but it is certainly not an easy game at the end."

Enemy craft's contrails are essential for keeping track of the action.

The effect on Jumpgate: Evolution is immediately obvious, even in our brief playtest. It's prettier, smoother, easier to grasp, far more immediately rewarding than Auto Assault was. It's a very simple proposition, and, so far, it works. However, you have to wonder whether such a small team (even though it will grow before launch) can make the game compelling enough in the long term to convince people to pay for a box copy and months, or years, of subscription.

Jumpgate: Evolution is a low-budget MMO, and despite the glossy looks, it shows. That's not necessarily a bad thing. While the majority of NetDevil's staff is tasked with creating the inevitably huge LEGO Universe, those ten guys are beavering away on a labour of love, and that's rare in the juggernaut-dominated world of MMOs. "Jumpgate is the game we started our company to make," says Brown. "We said, let's go back and take another shot at it. I think the work they're doing is just amazing. A small group of guys going, let's take our baby and see what we can do."