The Agency unveiled with recruitment video

So, you're tired of whacking medieval fantasy creatures over the head with various bladed whuppin' sticks, and you've logged so many hours playing deathmatch and capture the flag that you can identify a game by the sound of its guns. But you still dig the idea of playing online with other human beings, so what are you to do? Might we suggest you start frothing at the mouth over publisher Sony Online's new spy-vs-spy online espionage 'em-up The Agency? That's what we're doing.

The Agency immerses the player into a world in which even James Bond himself might meet his match - possibly in the form of Rambo. Gameplay revolves around an ongoing battle between two factions: the smooth, sexy and stylish UNITE versus the rough and tumble, big muscles and bigger guns of ParaGON. If the differences between these two factions aren't immediately obvious, check out thetrailer. The impossibly endowed babe is Cassie Nova, a UNITE operative, and the lunkhead is a ParaGON agent.

Regardless of which faction you join, you'll soon find yourself whisking around the world in grand spy style, complete with cool gadgets and gear (including hot spy vehicles), lackeys of your own - say, a scientist you were assigned to rescue, who will now hang out and invent new goodies for you - and missions that go horribly, horribly wrong.

For instance, during our demo, Cassie and another UNITE agent were sent to the red light district in Prague to secure a briefcase from an informant. So they put on their best outfits, had a sweet sports car airlifted in, and hummed right up. At which time, a sniper shot sent the informant crashing to the bricks and a gang member dressed like a skeleton took off with the case.