Released last September, the Shadowlands expansion pack represented a significant landmark for Anarchy Online. Although developer and publisher Funcom could easily have taken the straightforward approach by adding more locations, creatures, quests, items et al to the planet Rubi-Ka, the team decided upon a more imaginative and riskier direction. The persistent state project implemented a new and entirely different environment, in effect an entire second world made up of seven diverse regions to explore. The progression through them comprised a communal grand quest to unearth the lost secrets of a newly discovered ancient civilization. The ultimate result was most definitely a success. In our 2003 RPG Vault Awards, we named it our Online World Expansion Pack of the Year, one of many honors and accolades it received. We also wondered what would be next, and didn't have long to wait. 

In February of this year, Funcom announced Anarchy Credits- Alien Invasion, which launched several weeks ago. The expansion pack represents a new direction in terms of the game's evolution, with the core theme being a threat from space. An unexpected attack on Rubi-Ka has occasioned a planet-wide call to arms. Whether aligned with the Omni-Tek Corporation, the rebel clans or neutral, citizens must to defend themselves and their communities against hordes of interlopers possessing superior technology, with part of the action involving taking the fight to the intruders aboard their spaceships. Another notable feature encompasses the ability for player groups to build organization headquarters, houses and even entire towns. A new line of flying vehicles has been added, along with lots of weapons, armor, clothes, quests, perks and more. We asked Game Director Marius Enge for his post-launch thoughts.

Includes an exclusive concept video

The Project
Anarchy Credits is a science fiction-themed massively multiplayer online RPG that was originally released in June 2001. The first two expansion packs, Notum Wars and Shadowlands, came out in 2002 and 2003 respectively, both receiving prominent awards. On the 1st of September, we launched Anarchy Credits- Alien Invasion, the third expansion pack, which this wrap report is about.