Funcom’s modern-horror MMO, The Secret World, launches next week - and already we're itching to to explore its present-day setting and paranormal-centric plot. But there’s so much more that makes its monster hunting unique – some of which you might not see at first glance. Just like the secret societies it revolves around, TSW has plenty of details lurking underneath the surface.

To help us out with the hype, we asked Ragnar Tørnquist, the game's creative director and senior producer (who also designed The Longest Journey) to convince MMO fans why they should check out TSW. Give our previous Secret World preview a read to get a refresher on the game, then forge to see what makes TSW such a rare – and spooky – breed…

Most MMOs fall on the crutch of a “good versus evil” two-sided division of player factions – Alliance vs. Horde, Heroes vs. Villains, Jedi vs. Sith. Others just eschew factions altogether: the community is just one big, happy family that decide to PvP amongst themselves for whatever reason (see TERA, Guild Wars, or Dungeons & Dragons Online). The Secret World takes a decidedly different route – each of the three factions may fight the forces of darkness, but it’s all in the name of personal gain, greed, and power.

The Dragon secret society value chaos above all else, and think the world can only be bettered if the existing society crumbles. The high-and-mighty Templar do everything in their power to purge evil from the world – only, they get to define what’s “evil” and what’s not. The Illuminati are maybe the worst of the bunch: they’re after corporate power, and will swallow any competing company whole if it stands between them and stacking greenbacks.

From Ragnar Tørnquist, creative director and senior producer on TSW: “The Secret World isn’t black-and-white -- it’s all shades of dark grey, just like the real world. You’ll never quite know who to trust.”

As you might imagine, most monsters make their homes in dark shadows or foggy waters. But in TSW, the ghouls and ghosts of the world have decided to occupy whatever area they darn well please. The only beaches you’ll find in TSW are covered in Draug, the barnacled-covered zombies of the sea, and their revolting offspring pods. Zombies run rampant through the forests of Kingsmouth, casually gnawing on corpses ‘til they catch wind of you.

Our favorite moment thus far was strolling through the rickety, rust-covered rides at the old Atlantic Island Park in the Savage Coast zone. As we ventured further and further into the decrepit amusement park, our vision started to darken, statues would twist and turn, and the screen would randomly flash over with a grimy grain. It’s the first time we felt like we were being haunted in an MMO.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “We did a lot of research into the hidden history of the world to find places that are seeped in mystery and legend.”

At this point, zombies and ghosts are run-of-the-mill mobs, making appearances in most any MMO. But what other game features noose-wearing Scarecrow-lookalikes wielding porcelain cherubs as blunt objects? The enemy designers went nuts (in a good way), churning out oodles of grotesque behemoths and disturbing baddies to kill in TSW. We’ve already seen quite the diverse range of enemies in the beta: hulking zombie brutes, chainsaw-wielding maniacs with burlap bag over their heads, and butt-naked, algae-coated sea witches.

The bosses are equally inventive – the beasts in the Darkness War instance look like no other dungeon-dweller we’ve seen in other MMOs. They may have some similar mechanics (don’t stand in the fire, tank and spank, dodge their charges), but being presented as such nightmarish creatures goes a long way towards setting TSW apart.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “Our monsters are drawn from the darkest myths and urban legends, from modern pop culture and freaky fairy tales.”

Yeah, you still tackle a few humdrum “Kill X dudes” and “Deliver Y package” tasks in TSW – but those are just the preludes to some truly mind-bending puzzles wrapped up into quests. Though many missions offer the familiar waypoint guidance of other MMOs, some simply throw you into the world with a vague objectives, as if to say “you figure it out.”

We’ve done everything from Deus Ex-style computer hacking to deciphering iconography-based riddles to complete some of the early quests. You know that Funcom means business when they’ve integrated an in-game web browser into the UI, so you can Google various clues in the hopes of finding a lead. There may be times when we’re completely stumped by a cryptic mission, but it beats being bored to death by quests that can be completed without the need for brain activity.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “The content matters. We want players to do missions because they are fun and exciting and intriguing -- not simply for XP and gear.”

The Secret World thinks everyone is created equally. Literally – there are no classes, so each new character starts life with access to the same trainable abilities on the circular Ability Wheel. With no predetermined roles, it’s up to you to forge your own specialization as you explore the inner core of the Skill Wheel, slowly branching out to the more powerful abilities on the wheel’s outer rings. Bored of DPS, and want to try your hand at healing? Just change your array and weapon of choice in the Ability Wheel, and you’ll be buffing allies in no time.

For players who want to get straight to the action and don’t feel like exploring the possibilities of skill synergies, TSW has you covered. Each society has ten "Decks" to choose from: templates that guide you into pursuing certain talents so you can play the desired role. Having the choice between exploring powerful possibilities or just using a pre-optimized build is awesome.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “It’s about total freedom of progression -- to be who you want to be and play how you want to play, all the way.”

As if the lack of classes wasn’t enough, TSW throws the entire system of player level out the window. You’ll still fill up an experience bar as you fight, but these go toward unlocking additional Ability and Skill points, instead of dinging in the hopes of receiving two additional points of intelligence and one point of vitality. Not knowing a monster’s level means you really have to size up a fight, instead of glancing at a number on a faceplate. We had to judge whether or not we could take on five zombies, or a slow-moving sea monster who had twice as much HP as us.

You’re still rewarded the more you play, in that your Ability Wheel will start to fill out, but not slapping a level on players’ heads means that encounters will be more about skill and less about grinding on “green” level mobs. It also means that Funcom can tune encounters to player experience, instead of requiring max level or maxed-out high-level gear.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “This game is more about horizontal than vertical progression. We like to say that The Secret World begins with the end-game.”

Besides those major modifications to the standard MMO formula, TSW does a lot to make the game just feel different. Missions are always turned in via your in-game smartphone, so you’ll never need to trek back to town to unload your quest log. Most NPCs have a wealth of dialogue you can listen to just for fun, similar to a point-and-click adventure game; asking an incredibly-paranoid writer if he’s seen any Illuminati lately isn’t required to complete any quests, but it is hilarious.

You can also explore the lore of the world by observing the environment, and there’s loads of achievements to collect. It’s clear that a lot of work went into crafting the settings of TSW; sometimes, you’ll want to explore a creepy vista just for the sake of exploring, instead of rushing to reach the next zone.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “Not enough games see the romance and mystery of the modern-day real world. That’s something we really wanted to capture.”

Though games like DC Universe Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic contained fully voiced scripts, many MMOs nowadays are still being released with silent characters spewing walls of text at each other. The Secret World opts for a more premium experience, giving every NPC a voice. This leads to a much more interactive, cinematic experience, where characters feel more like people instead of static, soulless constructs of the developer’s necessity.

From what we’ve seen so far the voice acting is strong, too. Characters voices are used to bring the dying world to life, explaining the game’s interesting backstory vocally, so we’ll actually pay attention. Seriously, who wants to read walls of text about the lore and history of these hideous creatures when we could have someone just explain it to us in plain English?

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “We want players to feel a strong emotional connection to the NPCs, which is why they’re all fully voiced.”

Some players get intimidated by wide-open creative spaces, and that’s fine. The Secret World offers an out for people who don’t want to scour through the possibilities of the ability wheel: decks. By choosing a specific set of weapons and skills, you’ll essentially build your character towards a pre-determined role – ones with awesome names like “Neoshaman,” “Gunslinger,” and “Preacher.”

The coolest thing about decks is the rewards they grant. Once you’ve assembled your skills to match and complete the deck, you’ll be compensated with an unlocked costume that exemplifies that deck’s look and feel. Each of the three factions has their own set of unique decks, so there’s sure to be an addicting “gotta catch ‘em all” aspect to rolling alts in different factions.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “Decks allow new players to have something to progress towards, an archetype that suits their play style.”

The day of right-clicking an enemy, waiting to swing your weapon, tapping your number keys, and watching a canned animation play out are just about dead and gone. With MMOs like Tera on the market and Guild Wars 2 on the way, combat needs to be fast-paced and varied in order to keep our attention. The monsters of The Secret World won’t just stand there and let you hit them – downing these vile beasts means you’ll have to bob and weave as you smack, shoot, or syphon the life out of each monstrosity.

The boss fights take the quick combat a step further, adding tons of unique mechanics to keep players on their toes. But even at the solo-questing side of things, each victory against a gang of zombies or a gaggle of aquatic killer mermen feels earned.

Ragnar Tørnquist says: “We don’t want players to stand still and punch buttons. We want them to move, dodge, be an active part of every fight.”

The Secret World launches next Tuesday, July 3rd - and you better believe we'll be joining a secret society to get a closer look at the horrors behind closed doors. Be sure to check back for our review of TSW once we've conquered all of its creepy creatures.

The Secret World isn’t the only MMO to set itself apart from the pack. Check out the five awesome things we saw in Dungeons & Dragons Online Menace of the Underdark expansion, or see what makes Guild Wars 2 different from other MMOs to get more unique angles out of the MMO genre.