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Take me to the Question of the Week Archive Anarchy Online has been one of the most anticipated games of this year. It is the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game to be set in a persistent futuristic, sci-fi world. It is also the first of the next-generation MMORPGs to be released, and as such, it marks an important stage in the genre's evolution from its rather shaky, troubled beginnings. Anarchy Online began as a project in 1996, and GameSpot has followed its development from its much simpler top-down two-dimensional form to the fully real-time 3D game it is today. But perhaps the most important thing about its development is that the developer Funcom has taken some of the problems and frustrations players have encountered in other online role-playing games--issues such as player killing, corpse recovery, and the intricate relationship between death and experience loss--and has offered more-elegant solutions that would make gameplay more enjoyable, especially to casual players.

Since Anarchy Online's June 27th release, it has caused a fair share of controversy, especially on Internet forums. But as improvements have been and are being made to the game, the GameSpot editors have had the chance to spend a lot of time in Rubi-Ka. For some, Anarchy Online is the first online RPG they've played. In light of the game's release, we're asking, "What are your impressions of Anarchy Online?" And if you've been waiting for Anarchy Online, please vote in our instant poll. If you'd like to tell us more, send us an e-mail. We're also posting your letters to last week's question, "What makes a game mainstream?"

If you have a burning question about games or the game industry, be sure to send us an e-mail! Your question might be selected as our next Question of the Week.

First: Andrew's time in Rubi-Ka