It's an MMO that's really not unlike EVE with mechs. Even the interface appears very samey. The controls are mainly WASD though, so they're much friendlier than EVE's "Approach at 5000m" or "Orbit at 5000m" controls, but apart from that, I'm getting EVE vibes everywhere. The terminals, the combat (which isn't saying a lot since every MMOG's combat is about the same), the music, the skill trees, the character portraits...

But it is a lot easier to get into, and I find the combat more engaging. Like EVE (and every other MMOG), you activate a module and it automatically begins an attack; I'm not sure if you can take cover, but you can strafe around an enemy while firing. I'm going to have to see if that affects your chance-to-hit and chance-of-being-hit. You also usually attack an enemy from around 100m away, so you can see them being shot at, which just makes combat more gratifying. And finally, there are the explosions. BOOM! KABLOOM!

If you've read RPS's recent article, it sounds like PVP is quite a waltz. I haven't delved into it yet, but I can't wait to get a few bigger mechs so I can participate in some alliance wars. It still feels like a bit of a budget game (graphics especially look washed out), but I can see some real potential in this. Oh yeah it's also only at around 600-800mb, so check it out. Maybe we can form a GOG alliance.

http://www.perpetuum-online.com/Main

Launch trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E2u062Zxzk
Gameplay video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCXEKspMzUQ

I played during the great EVE quit (monopocalypse if you will) it's a nice time waste for a few months but without the dedicated playerbase the markets etc were too flat to bother with...

What are the main criticisms of Perpetuum in your opinion? I'll be playing it more tonight but I want to know what others think - for one, to be able to familiarize myself better with the game.

At the time the game was pretty much controlled by a single group (though the EVE players quickly outnumbered them) so the market etc were very highly controlled, on top of that the internal corp markets meant it's not as trader/newbie friendly as to get some of the decent stuff you had to join a larger corp rather than just buy it

Some of my thoughts after spending more time with the game:

Negatives
- The lore is not well-established - if there is even any besides the background story. I know about the background story, but a lot of game mechanics are not explained on the website. You have magical teleporting thingamagicks and what not, and I can only assume their functions are accrued to the nature of their alien builders

- The game starts off so slowly, it actually makes EVE Online's tutorial missions look fast-paced. When I say "slow", I really mean slow. Once you start acquiring better types of chassis (though they're mostly the spiderbot type until you gather more EP - the equivalent of SP in EVE), you can have more intense, powerful loadouts.

- I've joined RPS's corp. So far there doesn't seem to be much to do ingame. There are occasional mining expeditions, but for the most part everyone just seems content to do mining-trading hauls or blow up tougher, rarer AI bots to gather energy to sell.

Positives
+ In the latest patch notes, the devs have released the first player-made structure - a wall of some sort. I'm not sure how people are reacting to it, but it sounds like a really neat feature to be able to build your own base like in Mech Commander.

+ Combat is a lot of fun once you start to gather chassis types with more loadouts. Right now I'm using a Prometheus spiderbot chassis, which is still considerably weak, but it has 4 laser loadouts. I'm not sure if it can take on the walker type of mechs, but hell it just looks really cool blowing AI bots up.

+ Another thing about combat is, cover works! If you time your movement correctly, you can evade enemy fire by running behind walls, then jumping back out for another attack. Alternatively, you can take cover behind large, organic and destructible structures - obviously destructible means they can be destroyed, which is also really cool. I was up against a Rookie Ram and a Rookie Mantis, and I thought I'd be safe behind a large mass of roots. No luck, the roots were quickly blown apart by the AI bots. Really neat feature that distinguishes this game from other MMOGs.

+ Lag is bearable, but it occasionally starts spiking insanely. My PC is somewhat old - AMD X2 4200+, Geforce GTS250, 2GB memory - and while the game runs smoothly most of the time, when there are more scenery objects and/or enemies, the connection starts to spike. Otherwise it really runs quite well, and feels immersive enough to not make my mech feel like an avatar detached from the rest of the game world.

+ Oh yeah, game controls are WSAD for those of you who don't like EVE's flight system. I'm sorry I have to keep bringing EVE up, but there are many influences carried over from the former. The more I play Perpetuum, the more it starts to feel like a different game, but the initial first few hours clocked into the game really remind me of EVE.