Fire Fall Multiplayer Impressions: Three Reasons to Get Involved

Whether you're a hardcore gamer or casual player, it's not hard to spot that the gaming medium has an abundance of military shooters, new and old alike. Same weapons most of the time, same options and always the exact same desert like scenery, always meant to reflect the stages of modern warfare (no reference intended) we find ourselves involved with as a planet. These repeated combat scenarios -- though still highly entertaining to most -- still leave many of us to ask, where has the classic futuristic shooter gone?

Not too far, thankfully, as Mark Kern and the folks at Red 5 studious will come crashing in to tell you. Press Pause Radio's Ed Tremblay (Serraxor) and I had some time to step aside and speak with Mark at PAX East, as we discussed what their new class shooter Fire Fall has to offer, while also sampling the Army vs Army multiplayer demonstration. We'll also give you three reasons as to why you should definitely consider taking a stroll around some of these rough, interstellar terrains -- all aside from the great fact that it'll be free to play, access and download for PC gamers.

Refreshing FPS Gameplay.

Again, military shooters have dominated the market for quite some time, which prompted me to ask Mark why Red 5 chose the themes they did for this project; he even said himself that it was "Refreshing" to work on a game like this. When previewing Fire Fall, we noticed many concepts in the environment and play style that seem to stem from tribes, which Mark admits has been a prime influence in helping Red 5 create this game. Ed and I were then given additional details, as we discussed the various concepts being introduced and revisited into a shooter like Fire Fall.

"We thought about a military theme four or five years ago, but it was too limiting," stated Mark as we continued. "We wanted to give you all of these different abilities, besides just using your gun. In a military shooter, you just use your gun. In our game, you can customize your weapons and gear with many tech upgrades to improve your abilities."

Fire Fall will contain three playable classes, or "Battleframes" in order to go along with Red 5's ideology of a more unique team based shooter. The Assault class is best suited for the heavily offensive type, while the Medic will appeal most to those who simply wish to assist. The Recon Battleframe will cater towards both audiences, being most lethal when concealed or strategically involved, but possibly easier to take down if discovered or completely alone on the battlefield.

Multiple Battleframes increases variety.

I also had the privilege of testing the Assault and Medic classes, two of three basic battleframes offered during this playable multiplayer presentation. The Assault class basically involved jumping around with my jetpack (hell yeah, jetpacks are back in style) as I attempted to blow up anything that moved, while also searching for a Medic to occasionally heal me. The weapons I had a chance to sample were amazingly lethal when utilized properly, and I can safely say this would be my class of choice if I were a regular player.

Though I'm obviously an offensive player at heart, my trials with the Medic class were rather enjoyable as well. Your primary tool is your healing gun, which you can switch for an assault pistol when you're required to defend yourself against enemies. Unlike my times with the assault class where locating teammates was more of an optional convenience, my entire time as a Medic was spent looking for others to help. Players also don't die immediately, so Medics have an opportunity to heal the temporarily impaired. If any of my companions were about to keel over, I was also able to press the alt-fire function to overheal for additional points. Unfortunately my healing abilities would be paused after doing this, but it was worth the wait if it meant allowing my teammate to survive and crush the opponent.

The third Battleframe known as Recon was announced back in March, and basically combines direct combat with strategic developments. Most Recon players I encountered during the demo were usually sniping with their rifles in the distance, but there's still more to the class than camping and shooting. For example, the Recon Battleframe will have the ability to plant mines on unsuspecting victims, or engage in special attacks that either immobilize their enemies or hit multiple targets at once. Regrettably I didn't get the chance to sample this class myself, though I'm confident as an aggressive player, I would have sampled and enjoyed many of the possible strategic combos.

Rich immersion with brilliant atmospheres.

Fire Fall will take place within multiple environments, each one more scenic and vibrant than the last. Though we didn't get a chance to experience many of the settings that will eventually be offered in the game's MMO and competitive multiplayer scenarios, the map we did get to sample was still a great representation of the rich backgrounds and terrain we'll experience.

I'm the kind of gamer who likes to feel completely lost and surprised as I explore my environment. In the common military shooter, the general atmosphere has gotten so bland to the point that it's entirely uninspired and almost worth skipping altogether. Even aside from military FPS games, many recent shooters have had some kind of obsession with dusty post-apocalyptic environments. As the player wanders around, they're greeted with crumbled environments filled with rather bland depictions of rubble and ruin. Though the sunken harbor map I had an opportunity to play on had its share of destruction and debris, the general atmosphere still presented itself as a lush, colorful playground of chaotic endeavors.

Fire Fall will throw you into the sci-fi scenes of an unknown world 200 years into the future, where anything is possible and there's no telling what you'll run into; this is the kind of exploratory atmosphere we really need to see more of in the shooter genre. PC gamers definitely have much to look forward to with Fire Fall, as this exciting new gem from Red 5 Studios could very well define an entire generation of online MMO class shooters.