Over the past few years, NCSoft has cultivated a clever strategy; while Lineage II is very popular outside of North America, they've been generally avoiding developing and publishing standard fantasy MMOs. Instead, we have City of Heroes, Guild Wars (with no monthly fee and gameplay that blends fast multiplayer action with CCG strategies), Tabula Rasa, and Auto Assault. For better or worse, AA isn't the "Interstate '77 Online" that many had initially envisioned -- a wasteland full of mutants, guns, and beefy cars. It has that, but in the end AA is more conventional than its trappings suggest. This isn't a bad thing, since it's a refreshing change from swords and sorcery. But you may find yourself wishing that Auto Assault had a little more depth and variety.