there are a few games out that use the instanced method almost exclusively, guild wars for one, and DDO for another, with only the central areas, towns etc, that allow you to meet other players, AoC was sort of like that too, only the instances were the games night, which just allowed you to switch between single player and multiplayer. And none of those games is all that successful, despite all the hype when they were launched, and if it does turn out that the game is just storyline orientated, then what happens when people complete it, even a multiple threaded plotline is going to be something of a grind after the first 2, maybe 3 runs, and if they release it in installments, people will either lose interest altogether, or they'll just unsubscribe until the next 'chapter' is released (deja vu!)... innovation is a good thing, but there is a big difference between a single player rpg, and a mmo rpg.. the number of mmo's that pull it off are not that high compared to the ones that didnt. i dont know if many of you (any?) played earth and beyond, i did, and it was a great game, it had storylines, and it had crafting. but once the storyline finished, so was the game, and after about a year or so, EA shut it down, storylines are interesting, but they dont replace gameplay. and some of the best games i've ever played, let the players create the game.