Halloween 2014: The Secret World Brings Awesome Back
Halloween just wouldn’t be right without creepy events from The Secret World. Being that it’s a horror MMO, Halloween is like TSW’s Christmas in terms of content release. And that’s the way we like it.
The Tricks
This year, we saw all content from the previous two years return – The Cat God is back and Spooky Stories abound on Solomon’s Isle. Super Jack is back, along with Incognito and all the creepies from the previous years. We also get a brand new event called The Broadcast, which centers around mysteries of old-timey number stations and short wave radios.
I won’t say anything to spoil it for folks who haven’t played yet – I’ve yet to complete the event myself. But the amount of stylized voice acting that went into this event is mind blowing. It seems there’s a shortwave radio in each zone, and I believe each one is playing its own broadcast. Think radio shows like War of the Worlds and you’ll get what I mean.
These broadcasts sound exactly like what you’d expect something from the 1940s to be like. Syn and I hovered around one for a while just to hear the whole of the story. I’m going to assume that each one has its own strange or spooky broadcast to tell, and there is one located in every zone (or so the accomplishment says). When I talk about radio show, I mean a full-on 10-15 show, too.
Last year, we had a lot of great stories to read. This year TSW tells us the stories — if we’re willing to sit by the radio and listen. I know that we weren’t the only ones standing around to hear the tales…
Get in on the event chat channel by typing /chat join event
The Treats
While Vets got the neat skeleton jumpsuits, there’s a ton of cosmetic fun to be had this year. From new makeups, to hats, to outfits, and even new pets – you have a chance to earn them from the bags given at the end of quests or from boss fights. The nice thing about the cosmetics this year are that they are all tradeable, which means you can sell them, or trade them for other cosmetics you want if you get a duplicate.
You can also purchase bags in the in-game store, which is actually what I did to get my cosmetics this year. Purchasing the Party Bag and opening it around a group of other people will award up to 20 folks holiday gifts, and give you an achievement that unlocks the new Thriller Dance. Seeing that as a lifetime member I have more FC points than I ever know what to do with, I popped a Party Bag in the crowd at Agartha. It was very satisfying to get thanks from unsuspecting folks just standing by, and I also got the Bloody Wolf pet, and the dance, out of the deal!
The basic store-only cosmetics (wings and hats) are all pretty cheaply priced, too. Overall, it seems like folks are having a great time opening bags and working on event quests.
If you’ve never tried out TSW, I highly recommend it! You can’t beat the current sale — the value of the stories and quests in this game are well over the $10 admission price.