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GDC 2012: War Inc. Battlezone

Christopher Park

Christopher Park

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War Inc. Battlezone, developed by Online Warmongers, takes the shooter genre and presents a console/PC quality multiplayer experience. My demo of the game at Game Developers Conference was a great introduction to what feels like the next generation of free to play games.

Introducing FPS view

At its core, War Inc. Battlezone is a shooter. In the current public beta, the game plays as a third-person shooter. A big upcoming update is the addition of a first-person perspective (FPS), which is how I played. Also included in the update will be drivable vehicles. The developers said that adding in vehicles had dramatically changed the gameplay and were tweaking so that they worked well.

War Inc. Battlezone allows players an immense amount of customization. Starting from character creation, there are different specializations or classes to choose from. The specializations are very similar to Battlefield 3 and jumping into any is simple. Each class has a boost for specific weapons, so assault class characters won’t play well with a sniper rifle.

Customization also includes a skill tree with perks for a slight edge. The game currently includes 60 plus weapons of all types. Included in the possible load out are abilities similar to massive multiplayer games giving buffs to players during gameplay. War Inc. Battlezone features player leaderboards and clan support. In the hands-on demo, I was squarely defeated by veteran players.

Controls

I played the game with a keyboard and mouse combination, but the game also supports the Microsoft Xbox controller. Playing on a jungle-based conquest map, visually the game is impressive. Realistic shadows and lighting highlight the majority of the map and the environments and textures were excellent. On the demo system I played on, it looked very similar to Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Battlefield 3. Even though it didn’t contain the same amount of textures, the game looks impressive.

Unfortunately my poor playing didn’t allow me to really get a look at player models, but the first person perspective gave a nice look at the detail work in the SCAR assault rifle I was using. Like other FPS multiplayer games, knowing the map is key to survival and winning; neither of which I managed!

I did feel that with a little time and practice, War Inc. Battlezone could become very intuitive. The game has an amazing library of sounds, my SCAR boomed through the magazine. It was also helpful to listen to gunfire during the match. It told me where big firefights were happening.

The simplicity of War Inc. Battlezone is that the game is client-based. For players, all that’s required is downloading a client and logging in. The game is very scalable playing on a wide array of hardware. Online Warmongers said that the game was built so that many people could play the game with a good framerate, but players with high-spec systems will get the higher level visuals.

Game modes

War Inc. Battlezone includes three popular and familiar game modes: conquest, team deathmatch, and sabotage. In comparison, conquest is similar to the big maps of Battlefield 3, team deathmatch is like Call of Duty Modern Warfare, and sabotage is built with similar ideas to Counter-strike.

Since War Inc. Battlezone is a free to play, a lot of the loadouts are based around microtransactions. It is possible to rent or permanently purchase weapons in the game. Other items or abilities can also be bought.

The game offers a lot for free. War Inc. Battlezone’s impressive visual display (dependent on your system specs), lots of customization, and tight, precise gameplay that plays like a triple-A game is a great experience for players who love FPS multiplayer.

The planned official launch of War Inc. Battlezone is mid-April. Online Warmongers plan on consistently updating the game with more weapons, maps, and items. We’ll be sure to update with a full review then.

Christopher Park

Christopher Park

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