The Agency - Preview @ IGN

IGN previews The Agency:

According to Smedley, The Agency's development mantra is "fun now, with no waiting" because they know that players do not want to wait to get into the action, a lesson he says they learned with their 2003 MMO Planetside. Now, although the game is primarily a shooter, there are some elements that place it in a class of its own. What they call "living loot" are actually operatives that help the player accomplish his goals in the game, both online and offline.

How does that work? Operatives are contacts that can be acquired through missions and can be traded between players. Their physical representation in the game is actually in the form of trading cards and, as Smedley describes them, you can think of them as Q in the Bond movies or Chloe in 24. They can provide active help during missions or make goods or provide services for you remotely. So if you need some research done for example, or need a new car or a new gadget, all you have to do is get an operative to do it for you while you are out on missions or even logged out of the game. When it's ready, the operative will contact you and deliver the goods. In the video shown, this took the form of a huge crate dropping from a helicopter, which opened up to reveal a fancy new car!