War Rock
| War Rock | |
|---|---|
| File:WRsmall20070610.JPG | |
| Developer(s) | Dream Execution |
| Publisher(s) | Nexon( )K2 network(    )Tecmo (  ) ABS-CBN (  ) |
| Engine | Jindo 3D |
| Platform(s) | Windows Me Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows Vista (officially as yet, unsupported) |
| Release | 2004 () February 2007 ( ) March 2007 ( ) September 1, 2007 ( ) 2007 ( ) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooters |
| Mode(s) | Online game, Single player practice |
War Rock (Korean: 워록) is a multiplayer online first-person shooter available free for download, as well as a commercially-sold retail package. The retail version comes with additional features in comparison to the free version. War Rock has low system requirements compared to other contemporary online first person shooters. This gives the game a slightly wider audience, allowing casual gamers and those who do not follow the latest trends in PC gaming hardware to play.
The International version, in contrast to the Korean version, has no blood. K2 Network made this change so that the ESRB rating system would mark it as a T for Teen.[1]
K2 ended its beta-testing on January 31, 2007 in preparation for the February 7, 2007 commercial release.[2]
Gameplay
The game is set in the midst of a civil war between the government of the Central Asian country of Derbaran and a rebel organization called the National Independence Union (NIU).[3] Players select between the two teams and engage in battles using 20th and 21st century military equipment, including a large assortment of infantry weapons and vehicles.[4][5]
There is a wide selection of weapons ranging from the AK-47 to the PSG or the M134. The weapons are split up into different categories - for example, a sniper rifle can only be used by the Sniper character, and rocket launchers can only be fired by Heavy Troopers, although there are a few exceptions, including all secondary weapons. Some assault rifles and automatic weapons can be used by Assault troops as well as Medics and Engineers.
Upon entering a game, players choose from five character classes, consisting of Heavy Trooper, Assault, Combat Medic, Combat Engineer and Sniper,[6] although they can switch classes at any point in the game. Players can also lease weapons from the armory using the in-game currency, Dinar, which are either earnt by playing games, or by buying a premium package. Some weapons have level restrictions, and are only available to premium customers. As of 11/21/2007, users may also rent weaponry with money directly from the game's Marketplace site, with no level requirements. Also, as of 1/2/08, PX items were available in the marketplace to premium and non-premium members alike. Players that have purchased retail will have an extra weapon forever for a certain class, along with some bonus equipment (typically Smoke Grenade x1 for all classes without the retail weapon and Med_kit 2 for Medic class, for which there is no retail weapon). Retail packs are limited edition boxes created to promote War Rock upon it's commercial release. No new retail packs have been made, so they are in quite high demand amongst War Rock players, because of the advantages gained in game. For example, when a retail code is applied to an account, as well as a certain gun (either the G36C_D for the engineer, AWM for the sniper, M60 or FAMAS for the assault, the M249 for the Heavy Trooper, or the M134 minigun, also for the Heavy Trooper), but two months of Gold Premium is applied to that account.
War Rock games are divided into three modes of play: Close Quarters Combat, Urban Ops and Battle Group.[7] These differ in the size of the map, the number of respawns permitted and the availability of vehicles, with CQC being focused on small-scale infantry missions and BG involving huge battlefields with large numbers of tanks, transports, helicopters and jet aircraft.[7] Objectives in the different game modes include capturing and defending key positions on the map, planting explosives on enemy targets, accumulating points in a team deathmatch-style game or a free for all match. For Deathmatch/Battle Group, there is also Conquest mode, making it necessary for each team to capture all the flags in the map, or whittle down the other team's points from 999. War Rock also offers a premium option, which gives you Dinar each month and offers more of the guns in the weapon store, buying premium also lets you make a room with custom names, private options, and any map available in War Rock. War Rock also features a list of servers to go to, incase you live close to the hoster. Also, VoIP is currently under construction in K2.
Reception
The International release of War Rock was not a huge success, scoring average ratings. IGN gave War Rock a 5.9 out of 10 rating, stating that it was "an ugly game" that suffered from graphical flaws and severe lag issues that ruined the enjoyment of the game[8], though some patches have solved some major issues, the game remains somewhat laggy, although many of the bugs have now been fixed.[citation needed] GameSpot gave the game a 5.5, criticising the poor production value and claiming that the use of real-world money to obtain access to superior equipment was unfair, even comparing it to a pyramid scheme.[9]
References
- ^ "Post by a K2 Employee (K2Korgoth) About the Lack of Blood". K2 Network.
- ^ "End of Beta Announcements". K2 Network.
- ^ "War Rock Episode I". K2 Network. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Official War Rock Website - Armory". K2 Network. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Official War Rock Website - Vehicles". K2 Network. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ "Official War Rock Website - Branches of Service". K2 Network. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ a b "Official War Rock Website - Gameplay". K2 Network. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ Onyett, Charles (2007-02-21). "IGN: War Rock Review - High connection speeds beware". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ VanOrd, Kevin (2007-02-26). "PC War Rock Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-22.