Majestic Takes Gaming to New Level

In its third and final beta stage, EA's Internet-based Majestic has set the benchmark for other game developers by immersing a player within a plot more than ever before. In the pilot episode, participants must find clues leading to a conspiracy involving mind control devices and aliens using Majestic's homepage, which is full of links pointing to actual Internet locations. The closer the player comes to solving the mystery, the more real it becomes.

When first setting up an account on Majestic, players may optionally fill out their phone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Brining the game into the real world, Majestic will often make phone calls and send faxes,
e-mails and instant messages providing tips and inside information. Reminiscent of The Game starring Michael Douglas, Majestic blurs the line between reality and fiction.

Communication with other players is strongly encouraged and sometimes necessary to complete each task. Majestic makes heavy use of AOL Instant Messenger as a venue for participants to interact with their allies. But as the game warns, be careful of who you trust.

To keep track of their progress, players center around the Majestic Web site, which also offers several resources to aid players in solving the mystery. The 'Links' page contains key Internet sites with factual information pertaining to the current situation. The 'Progress' section keeps a log of how far players are to completion and summarizes each
important event during the game's ascent. In addition, a 'News' area gives visitors up-to-date information on each topic in Majestic.

Majestic will be offered on a subscription basis, with new episodes appearing each month. An episode can take up to four weeks to complete, depending on the time dedicated to investigation. Because the game works in the background, it perfectly caters to those who normally cannot sacrifice work for entertainment. If things get too hectic, you can also pause Majestic and return to the same spot at any time.

To join Majestic before its release, first play the pilot episode by signing up at ea.com before July 23. Selected testers will then be asked to join the full beta. Those not invited however, must subscribe to EA's Platinum service at a cost of $9.95 per month. For more information, visit majestic.ea.com.