Firefall : BetaCake’s first impressions & Screens
Hey everyone, BetaCake here. First of all, I’m sorry this article took so long, I kept having back luck with Firefall the whole week. But still, I think I managed to get a good idea what the game is all about and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.
I’m going to start with the obvious. Its a Beta and there are bugs / problems. Just like in any other game these days.
So, what makes Firefall special? In my opinion, the artstyle in combination with the Open World setting and FPS gameplay. From the first minute in this new virtual world I most certainly felt the sci-fi vide and was completely immersed in it after getting used to the jetpack and overall movement controls.
Talking about controls, they are very decent, allowing the player to control their avatar responsively. You just gotta keep an eye on that energy meter, otherwise you’re going to fail to get to the top of that rock for cover!
The graphics are quite good too! The cell-shading is something different, a more unique approach to gaming graphics and I personally find it amusing and a good idea to sort of get away from the photorealistic effect most FPS games are going for these days. Just like Borderlands, Firefall feels cartoony, but in a good, pleasant way.
Next I want to point out one of Firefall’s features that impacted me the most. The Battleframe Station.
What this little mechanical fella does is to allow you to change class, seemlessly, on the same “character”. To explain it better, when you first log into Firefall, you create an avatar. Your guy is not bound to be any class, but is able to change at any time by simply visiting a Battleframe Station.
So with just one character slot and nickname, you can be an Engineer, a Medic, a Recon, etc. Any of the 5 available classes. You can see what it looks like in the screenshots below.
Now I must present to you, the almighty crafting station. Why? Cause you’ll be visiting this place a lot. No, I really mean it. A LOT. Below you can see what it looks like. (GLADOS’ nephew?)
The deal with crafting is that you gather materials, mostly different types of ore, which you must place into this machine in order to refine them. The end result is refined resources which you can use for crafting armor / weapons / modules etc.
It works a lot like EVE Online’s crafting system, with the usage of blueprints and manufacturing orders. In Firefall, you either get the blueprint via a mob drop, or you purchase it from the vendor (low level / quality ones only). Then you must “research” that blueprint in order to be finally able to refine what you want. Researching only takes a few seconds btw.
After that, you place the manufacturing order into the machine and play the waiting game. I usually use the machine when I first log in and when I log out. It takes 40mins to process Coralite ore.
How about some gear? That’s where the Loadout Modification Terminal comes in.
You use that thing to change your armor / weapons / modules etc. Its also a good way to check out what’s in your inventory.
Anyway. I found that armors have slots where the player can place ability modules. What this means is that as an Engineer for example, if you only have 1 slot in your armor then you must choose if you’ll be carrying a Turret (duh) or a Repair Station. Or any other ability for that matter. (i.e. Forcefield)
I got to level 9 last night and I am currently in need of a 3 slotted armorpiece. I don’t exactly need it to be honest, the game is playable without it. But I sort of want it, because having 3 extra abilities is rather cool and it definitely makes you more viable in PvE / PvP scenarios.
Below you’ll find several screnshots of what gear looks like in Firefall.
Finally, PvE. In Firefall its called “Thumping”. I’ll explain why.
See that thing in the first screenshot below? That’s called a “Thumper”. You plant it more or less anywhere on the map and it automatically extracts resources from the ground. But there’s a catch. You must protect it while its doing so.
Protect it from what? Well, from hordes of mobs actually. I’m serious. Once you plant one of these on the ground, mobs start swarming and charging at it from all over the place. Good thing I played an Engineer. I love my turret!
There’s also some world events, like in the second image below, where you must kill the mobs before they destroy the loot, while at the same time looting the drops!
Its also worth mentioning that all these PvE activities are best done with a group, not because you can’t solo, but because the difficulty raises and its even more fun shooting at stuff!
Overall, Firefall seems like a game with a whole lot of potential, especially for being F2P. All Red 5 Studios need to make sure is not to make the microtransactions “pay-to-win” and the game will be 10 times more successful than other games of its genre. (I’m looking at you Global Agenda!)
That’s all for now guys, I’ll cover PvP next week, on an article of its own because I believe it deserves it. Also because I’ve only played a handful of PvP matches so far and I can’t base my opinion on them.
I need more experience!
Have a nice day everyone!
Oh and here’s the game’s opening cinematic. It makes Michael Bay jealous!
Rumors have it that Cpt. BetaCake was once a mere mortal. In human years he would be 28 years old. Nowadays, he finds peace in sharing gaming news and leaks.
