Generally we've managed to get a pretty good system down of who's looking at which game. However, it is on occasion that I get undeniably told which title to review. In this case Atlantica Online. It falls under the MMO genre – and Matt just doesn't do MMO's.

Fair enough.

Can't say I mind in this instance as it was one of the titles I'd looked at a while back when it first made it's way into public domain. As they like to boast “best tactical online game you've never heard of” as quoted from MMORPG.com. Which is certainly and interesting advertising strategy that rivals the likes of Marmite (you either love it or hate it but we know most of you hate it so we'll play on that...somehow).

Atlantica Online gets the ball rolling straight off the mark by being an MMO with a difference. It's not the standard copy-and-paste grind-fest that most are going for at the moment – instead it's main gameplay mechanic is group based take-it-in-turns combat much along the lines of the older Final Fantasy titles. Seeing as I loved that combat mechanic right up to the point Square Enix dramatically decided to remove it, I was well up for the figurative reminiscence I'd experience in AO.

I'd try my best to convey what the storyline was about but probably fail miserably. What seemed to be happening was that for some reason 3 chicks from Atlantis had summoned me there promising me that anyone who unlocked the secret of Atlantis could control them. Now, there didn't seem to be any real reason to control them other than the obvious male pervy notions – beyond that their reasoning escaped me. Hell, I can't say I've ever really paid much attention to a storyline in an MMO enough for them to wave something shiny in front of my eyes and throw it in the direction of the nearest quest giver. So long as the shinies kept coming, I was happy.

Probably the most daunting part of Atlantica was GUI. As soon as you start the game your greeting with a multitude of buttons that all do something. Not all of them seemed to have hover help either... and so the clicking commenced. What I did find though, to balance this, was at least there was a lot of help. From the forum and encyclopaedias to in-game prompts and decent rewarding player help. Some of these systems I imagine have been generated over time. Take the player help function as an example. NDoors don't have to worry about hiring GM's to moderate their community, the top levels will help you because they get experience for doing so. Why more games haven't thought of this I don't know. They also get experience for sending random gifts out to the low levels, so without really playing any length of time I already had a small fortune to my name as 5 random people had sent me cash. What this says for balancing the game economy I don't know, but I imagine for the most part it simply helps you get those first 20 or so levels out of the way without whining about it.

And then there's this whole turn-based gameplay mechanic, which I found rather neat. I can't say whether I prefer it over perhaps the mainstream MMO system that everyone's gone for as I imagine the majority favour the point-and-click approach for a valid reason – but it's nice to have a change of pace! As you level you can hire more and more mercenaries to accompany you into battle. It's your side versus the enemy and like pawns on a chess board you'll line up facing each other, taking turns to throw down your best moves. Left click to attack, right click to perform a special move – couldn't really be simpler to execute for one player, but then you have multiple units on your side to take decisive action. Of course you also have to bear in mind any item use to replenish health or magic.

While this system might come as a shock to some expecting the usual blueprint for most MMO's, I think the fact they call it a tactical MMO should be a bit of a give-away and like Marmite you'll either love it or hate it.

From what I gather there's about 80 levels to achieve as it stands, but it would seem that the level progression is good enough for you to feel like you are making progress at least. Fortunately I was provided with a few characters to help jump a few levels. Like all good things, those that wait get the good stuff, and in later levels the size of the battles you'll face start to get really interesting. The pace of having to manage an ever growing party of mercenaries effectively certainly takes the tactical part of the MMO's genre to the limits.

I have to say that the set of stand-out features in Atlantica Online are all the community, group and battle related features that allow you to hook up with other people. Higher level players find the time to help the lower level community because it benefits them to do so – a lot of MMO's could take a page from that book. Finding a group or an active guild can be a royal pain sometimes and the last thing you want to do is start hopping from one to another while you find the one that's right for you. At least this way you get to sample the goods before making the commitment.

Perhaps the only downside to AO is it's age. Most opt for eye-candy when picking an MMO and AO is certainly starting to look dated now. However, if well-rounded gameplay and a strong community experience is what you're looking for then Atlantica Online is definitely worth a look in.