Tl;dr?

[A Lazy Bearcat]

Hey HG, I just wrote this review for Firefall, and was wondering if any of you would like to read/criticize it. I'd like to be some sort of writer or something someday, so bleh. Anyways, tell me what you think. Thansk.

 

I'd like to begin this review with the following statement: For those of you who have been listening to reviews that criticize or judge the game comparing it to the beta in any way, stop. It's called a beta for a reason. The game has been in development hell, yes, but the game is FULLY LAUNCHED now. We must do our best to criticize the game in it's current state, not the previous. Thank you.

 

Firefall is a very much open world exploration game based around a vivid story. Human beings have discovered crystite, a powerful resource that could be used to make advanced technology. On a voyage upon a gigantic ship through to another dimension (is it another dimension? I forgot.) Anyways, Upon returning, the ship crashed, and with it came the melding. The melding acts as a world border, keeping you from going to certain places. Across all servers, or shards, the players at the top levels can donate energy cores made from dark crystite, aiming to push back the melding over time. The more cores, the faster the melding gets pushed back. When it is pushed back, new areas will be available to play in. This mechanic allows the community to make a group effort at making the map bigger, something very exciting and original. Players fight off mutant animals, bandits, and a group called the chosen, who are from space, or something. The chosen are accord's #1 enemy. They constantly try to eliminate the human race. It is the ARES pilot's, (you!) job to defend what's left of your planet.

 

Players start out with 5 basic battleframes. Each of these frames, excluding the Dreadnought, have 2 advanced frames (Dreadnought has 3), which are available for purchase with in-game premium currency, credits (in-game market currency), or they can be unlocked with a currency called pilot tokens that you receive from max leveling a battleframe. Players can change battleframes at any time at battleframe stations. Keep in mind that the advanced battleframes are much better than the standard, because they usually have better or more unique perks, and can use any standard battleframe's perks or weapons at any time. Ex, If I was a Mammoth, (Dreadnought Advanced Frame), I could use the dreadnought's minigun, but keep all 4 mammoth perks. The battleframes are all unique in some way or another, from perks, to abilities, to weapons, they all have a different playstyle, which keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting.

 

There are many many currencys in the game, but there are 5 main types. Crystite is used to repair battleframes, craft items, and can be turned into credits. Crystite can be picked up off of dead enemies, and can be received from refining ores and completing missions. Credits are the ingame market currency. For 100 credits, or 2500 crystite, you can get one red bean, the in-game premium currency. Credits can be used to purchase just about any item, as long as it's on the market. Red Beans, the premium currency, are used in the premium shop. You can purchase a new motorcycle, pets, new battleframes, VIP, and more in the premium shop. Because of the fact that you can get them without paying any money, the game feels fair, and doesn't feel pay to win at all.

 

The combat is more than decent. Most of the time, it is fun and energetic. You are forced to keep moving and using your jetpack all the time, unless you want to become mincemeat. Constant movement and a variety of weapons keep the combat fresh most of the time. However, there are points when I notice my weapon does not hit the enemies. It has been two weeks since launch and this has not been fixed. It has gotten me killed a few times, although it does not happen often, only often enough for me to say something. There is minimal lag, as the servers usually carry 100-200 people per instance.

 

The leveling in Firefall goes from 1-40, and there is definetly a grind. It is easy to get around the grind with the help of friends and knowledge. Read some guides, grab some buddies, and expect a 25-50 hour time period to max a frame, depending on the frame, and your knowledge and skill. Each and every frame levels seperately, allowing there to be thousands of potential fun hours of gameplay to be had. There are 3 instances you will be in when levelling, at the current moment. Coral Forest, levels 1-24, is a lush forest of, well, coral. It's got plenty of beachside action, and is very colourful. There is a small amount of deserts in coral forest, but not till you hit level 20. Sertao, levels 25-36, is a complete desert with lots of mountains, and lots of wide open deserts. When you first get to sertao, you get the oppertunity to craft a motorcycle for the first time, which aids in getting around sertao more than you could ever imagine. Devil's Tusk, levels 37-40, is the final area. It's a very diverse region, yet small. Parts of DT are covered in ash, parts are lava flows, and some parts are even lush forests. This is where you will finish levelling out your battleframe.

 

Crafting in Firefall feels alright at best. Although it's very engaging, it has some arbitrary wait times, which can be up to an hour. Although, you can use some in-game premium currency to speed up the process, which makes it feel like one of those free to play TD games on the apple app store. In crafting, or the molecular printer, you can research higher level items to be able to craft them, you can refine materials, and craft items. To research items, you need research points which come from salvaging items, which is a fancy way of saying you're smashing them for crystite and research points. Refining ores comes from thumping and melding tornados.

 

Thumping is an important part of the game. Thumping is when you call down a (you guessed it, thumper), and it drills ore out of the ground for you. Local wildlife and even sometimes the chosen come to try and destroy your thumper. You must defend it at ALL times. If you don't it can break, and you can't ever use it again. Not until you craft a new one . After you get the ore, you can refine it for resources and crystite.

 

PVP is very fresh in Firefall. There are two areas where you can PVP. One is in sunken harbor, in coral forest. There is a small arena with pirate ships and the like. The other is called Broken Peninsula. It's esentially an entire island you must teleport to to fight other players at. Be careful, I wouldn't go in there without a max level frame. You'll get rekt. Anyways, You can drill for the largest amounts of precious ore there, making it popular for people to attack you whilst you drill. You can take outposts for crystite, and OBVIOUSLY kill other players for XP.

 

All in all, Firefall is a great game I recommend any MMO or FPS/TPS fan to at least check out and spend a little time on. If you have any questions, feel free to add me and I'd gladly help you out. Firefall has a great community behind it. Thanks for reading.

>inb4 tl;dr

[excalibuR]

tl;dr..

[A Lazy Bearcat]

tl;dr..

kek

[Joey7]

Did you write this on another website cause it looks like you copied and pasted it

Edited August 10, 2014 by Joey7

[Chicken Wings]

this just needs to stop

[A Lazy Bearcat]

Did you write this on another website cause it looks like you copied and pasted it

Nope, I wrote it. Feedback?

And you can search for it if you'd like. It only exists here, on pastebin, (for easy linking), and on steam. Check the dates, I put it on steam first. As a review.

 

Edit, Muh Autism. Yes, I pasted it here off of my steam review.

Edited August 12, 2014 by A Lazy Bearcat