Funcom's co-publishing agreement with EA suggests that fans of The Secret World could have some good news to look forward to this year. Chris "Pwyff" Tom takes a look at what we know about this secretive game.

In any market where the competition is fierce, I love to cheer for the underdogs; call it my feeble attempt to not be so mainstream in my beliefs, I just think that teams that have the least amount of expectations on their shoulders should also be the ones who have a great opportunity to shine out the door. In this particular case, the underdog I'm referring to (if you haven't already guessed from the co-publishing announcement made earlier this week) is Funcom's unique action / fantasy / real-world MMORPG, The Secret World.

Of course, while there might be some fans who would argue that The Secret Worls is nothing close to being an underdog, all it takes is one look at the amount of coverage and news the game has received in relation to any of our most anticipated MMOs of 2011, and the distinction becomes clear.

To be honest, 2010 was pretty much a dead year for this enigmatic MMO. While there was a decent amount of information coming out throughout the year of 2009 (class customization, available factions, PvP), it was when Funcom announced some significant staff cuts (around 20%) and confirmed that this would delay the release of The Secret World that I started to feel a bit nervous. Following this huge announcement, The Secret World ended up dropping low on the radar for most gamers, and that's what really makes this EA co-publishing announcement such a big treat for fans, like me, who have been waiting to see some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

For those who don't know much about The Secret World, you're really not alone. The game was originally announced to be in development around 2007-2008 and, while I was still a bit sore from the abysmal launch that was Age of Conan (also Funcom developed), that didn't prevent me from being genuinely interested in The Secret World.

The game forgoes the standard overused fantasy setting to bring players to a modern day world, where all of the myths and legends of ancient creatures, like vampires and dragons, are actually real, but they're being kept at bay by powerful, hidden organizations called "Secret Societies." As the result of players developing some special powers in the beginning of the game, The Secret World is really about being introduced to this fantastical underground world and seeing it all set against a recognizable real-world background. This is what ultimately made me a fan of The Secret World from day one: its unique direction.

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