Now that there isn't a silly non-disclosure agreement, I can finally talk about this game. It's been in beta for a pretty long time now, and it was in development for even longer. I haven't been in the beta for too long or played it all the way through, but I have a fairly accurate experience of the first few quests, and this will be about my first impressions.
Firefall is a FREE TO PLAY MMO by Red 5 Studios, who are quickly becoming known as a leader in the world of micro-transaction-based free games. What they've made seems to be something really unique in today's WoW-clone world, and I'm very excited to talk about it, especially considering that many employees at Red 5 formerly worked at Blizzard when World of Warcraft was still in its beta.
First of all, though they call it a public beta, random invites are sent out with seemingly no pattern. Call me lucky I suppose, but all you have to do is go to firefallthegame.com and click the large "Request Beta Access" button at the top of the page. You'll make an account, then When you first boot up the game, you create your character like any other MMO and you choose your class, but the real fun begins after the opening cutscene.
The first thing you'll notice is that the game controls like any similar shooter, with each class having one class-specific gun, and a second gun that usually has unlimited ammo. Each gun behaves differently with left and right click, like having two different shots or a zooming function. There are even special abilities that each class has, like a giant ground slam or a homing turret. Aside from that, your character can sprint by holding Shift, and they can jump and fly for a short time with their jet pack by holding the Space Bar.
From the get-go, I could tell that the feel of this game was completely different than other MMOs. I did partake in a couple "Kill X amount of Y" quests, and it was fairly linear, but because your character is so mobile and you can dish out damage with your guns so quickly, the overall experience was streamlined and really fun, especially when enemies are coming at you from all directions. In order to be successful, I can imagine you'll have to not only be aware of where you are, but you'll have to shoot efficiently if you want to survive, lest you risk trying to run away, but some creatures are quick enough to catch you.
Some in-game features might be a little incomplete or a little lacking for now because of the beta test. I found the tutorials slightly lacking, though I did figure enough out to play well enough to complete what I wanted. I even visited the website above, and while they did offer information on classes and some monsters and lore, I didn't find anything relating to the gameplay or how to play the game in general, be it questing or PvP (which I didn't try yet). I suppose they could add the information at a later time, but with the bombshell of information now being spread around about the game, it should be about time to get people familiar before they start playing so they know how awesome the game is and they know what they're doing.
Other things I can remember include a crafting system that might not be complete yet, but had easy enough materials to gather, a fairly wide range of monsters for a starting zone, occasional events that would happen that required nearby players to help with, resulting in everyone getting experience and money, and switchable equipment loadouts and classes.
That's right: You can switch your class at any time. Each one has it's own level, and it's very easy and free to switch between them at the appropriate station. Just...amazing.
I'm looking forward to what additional content I can find in this game. It has me excited not only because of the new innovations found within, but because of a seasoned and renowned development team that seemingly really knows what it takes to make a truly great video game. With this beta, they'll receive lots of feedback from players, and it will be that much better when it finally launches.
Speaking of beta tests, where is my Mists of Pandaria key Blizzard? I'm dying over here! :(
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