Combat Arms
| Combat Arms | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Doobic Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Nexon |
| Engine | Lithtech |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Combat Arms is a multiplayer, free-to-play modern first-person shooter developed by the South Korea-based developer, Doobic Studios, and published by Nexon.[2] The game uses the Lithtech game engine to produce graphics far more advanced than most freeware games. It is continuously updated with patches including bugfixes and new content.
Gameplay
Combat Arms gameplay is similar to commercial games such as Counter-Strike and Call of Duty[2]. The game offers many different modes of play, including One Man Army and Elimination and variations with objectives, as well as multiplayer co-op called Fireteam mode and Quarantine mode. During winter, a special mode of Snowball Fight is unlocked. Combat Arms uses a player ranking system based on total experience, using common military ranks that players can obtain. Completing objectives, killing other players, and levelling up one's rank gives the player money in the form of Gear Points (GP), which can be used to purchase new weapons and accessories. All items purchased have a time length of anywhere from 1 to 90 days, after which the gear is deleted from the players inventory. Players can also purchase equipment from the Black Market[3] (also known as Nexon Cash Shop) using points that are bought with real-world money. Primarily, the Black Market equipment is cosmetically differing equipment of regular shop items and has no typical requirements that many of the free items require.
Combat Arms has over 500,000 registered players. Because of the limited availablity of spots in high ranks, competition can be fierce, which has resulted in teamwork as a legitimate means to attain high ranks. The game supports community features such as clans and an in-game friends' list. There are also some professional gaming leagues, such as the World Online Gaming League, that support Combat Arms and organize clan battles.
Development
Combat Arms closed beta started on May 29, 2008, exclusively through FilePlanet and ran until June 6.[4] This beta was limited to users from North America, South America, and Oceania. In the closed beta, 4 maps and 30 weapons were available. On June 26, Combat Arms went into its Pre-Open Beta Phase, whereby the game was open to the public, but it was still being tested and changed to prepare for Open Beta.[5] Pre-Open Beta was still limited to users from North America, South America, and Oceania. The Official Launch of Combat Arms started on July 11, 2008.
On the August 8, 2008, Nexon announced[6] that a Combat Arms service would be started by Nexon Europe for European Players. On September 25, 2008, the Combat Arms Europe Teaser website[7] was activated by Nexon Europe, and on October 28, 2008, Nexon Europe started the Combat Arms Europe Closed Beta testing. Closed Beta testing finished on November 11, 2008, and the Open Beta testing began on December 16, 2008 and lasted until January 15, 2009. The game is now fully released in Korea, North America, and Europe. On April 2, 2009, Nexon America announced that South American service for Combat Arms will cease on April 9. Those who have an outstanding amount of Nexon Cash (NX) will be allowed to play until October 9th, or until their NX falls below an undefined amount, which ever comes first.
Critical reception
Combat Arms received average reviews, although Nexon has added much more content to the game since the early versions that were reviewed. Metacritic aggregate reviews place Combat Arms with an average of 71.[8] Reviewers cite many bugs and glitches in the earlier versions, and often complain that the game has no depth[9].
Game Modes
Combat Arms currently has 7 different game modes:
- Elimination (A team deathmatch)
- Capture the Flag (Players attempt to steal the enemy's flag and bring it back to their base without being killed to score points)
- One Man Army (A free-for-all deathmatch)
- Search and Destroy (One team of players plant bombs at specific targets to destroy the enemy base, and the other team attempts to stop them doing so.)
- Spy Hunt (Similar to oddball in the Halo_(series), where players must collect intel cases to become the super spy, a powerful character that can defeat all opponents easily).
- Fireteam (Players go co-op as they try to destroy the enemy [AI] and clear the game)
- Quarantine (The players split into 2 teams: Infected and human. The infected try to infect all the humans while the humans need to survive until time runs out or to kill all the infected players.)
References
- ^ "Combat Arms for PC: Technical info". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ a b "Combat Arms Explored". IGN. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "10/1 Patch Notes - Black Market". 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2009-29-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Nexon Announces Combat Arms Open Beta". Kotaku. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Welcome to Pre-Open Beta". 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Nexon Announces Combat Arms Europe". 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-08-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Combat Arms Europe". 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/combatarms?q=Combat%20Arms
- ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/combat-arms-review