On the show floor at this year's Game Developer's Conference was a booth for a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called TERA. Few may have heard of it, but it's definitely worthy of your attention. TERA, also known as The Exiled Realm of Arborea, is a high-fantasy MMORPG with an art style that seems to blend the character design of Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft, but gives them a coat of Aion-like prettiness. Actually, at least on the PCs that we saw it running on, TERA looked even better.

In development by Bluehole Studios (formed from members of the original Lineage team) in Seoul, but being adapted and published for the US (and, assumedly, other English-speaking nations) by En Masse Entertainment, TERA is what En Masse has been calling "the first true action-MMORPG".

The game gives players using a ranged class (mage, archer etc) a crosshair, which always stays in the center of the screen, first-person-shooter style. Ranged characters like sorcerers and archers don't lock onto a target like most games. Instead, where they aim is where they shoot. Melee characters, meanwhile, use a similar method of attack – except at, you know, melee range. These classes will only hit what they actually make contact with. If you're slicing away and your enemy moves to the side, or back a bit, you're just going to be cutting up air. Likewise, enemies can only hit you if they actually make contact with your character model.