Take the look and feel of Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament's respawn time and exuberant announcers, a dash of RPG elements and a pricetag of $0, and you'll have a general idea of what it's like to frag in Nexon's free-to-play online FPS, Combat Arms.
With so many options available for PC gamers who enjoy a bullet-riddled experience, Combat Arms stands out by offering a persistent character with a wealth of customization options, and free monthly content additions.
Since we first had a hands-on look with folks from Nexon just over a week ago, they've added a new level (bringing the total to seven), more servers, and tossed new weapons and equipment into the mix.
The game is just a few weeks old, but that hasn't prevented folks from amassing a ludicrous amount of playtime, establishing clans and attaining high ranks.
As you participate in matches, you'll earn experience points and in-game currency based on your performance, whether you win or lose. Quit before a match is over and any progress will be thrown out the window, so even woefully one-sided matches will at least be completed for the experience.
Earning higher ranks will allow access to better equipment, while points will allow you to purchase those goods to augment your character.
They aren't yours to keep however: the minimum price gives you an item for 24 hours, but you'll need to pony up more game points to rent something you like for a longer period of time.
The action is fairly standard, as shooters go – there are four game modes to choose from: Elimination, Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy, and One Man Army.
Elimination and One Man Army are death match games, team and individual deathmatches, respectively. Search and Destroy requires your to team detonate or defuse a bomb in an allotted amount of time, while Capture The Flag is exactly what it sounds like: swipe the opposing team's flag, then hightail it back to your base.
Combat Arms is designed with customization in mind, as modifications to your weapons and character greatly impact how you play.
Take my character for example: I've purchased an AK-47 and attached a scope to it, which relays the distance of a particular target, so I can judge how accurate shots will be.
I ditched my silencer: it cuts muzzle noise, but lowers my damage. I can also add an extended magazine for extra shots, but if I live long enough to empty my clips, I usually just grab a victim's weapon.
Buying a bulkier combat vest slows my movement, but provides me with a bit more protection. And he's wearing arctic camo, as my favorite level is covered in snow.
As for the aviators and red beret... I can eventually go with a gas mask to mitigate damage from pesky poison grenades, and a helmet to defend against headshots, but opted instead for +10 to badassness. I may die a bit more often, but at least I look good.
You can purchase as many weapons as you can afford, but can only carry a limited number into combat.
Buying a larger backpack will allow you to carry more weapons to swap between, with the drawback of slowing you down even more. This results in a pleasantly haphazard experience: I've lined up many a shot with a sniper rifle, only to find that my target has chosen to blind me with flash or smoke grenades, or dispatched me most unmercifully with an RPG launcher.
Free-To-Play comes with a price, eventually.
For now, the game runs solely on the in-game currency acquired from kills and playing matches, and the developers assured us that when real-money –Nexon Cash– comes into play, it'll only apply to cosmetic upgrades.
As an FPS, having the uber-shotgun of killing sprees would definitely be unfair advantage, but the game is designed so that only those with actual skill (and a fair amount of dedication) will hold on to their preferred implements of destruction. You'll never have to pay a cent if you don't want to, though time will tell how we cheapskates fare.
System requirements are low –this thing will run on a Pentium 3 with 256 MB of ram – but still looks decent, particularly with all the settings cranked up on beefier computers. You'll be stuck on the trainee (read:Noob) server until you get some experience points under your belt, so register for an account and get to fighting.
Combat Arms [Nexon]
