Lets face it.
There
are a million free games on the internet, and only a handful of hours
in the
day to play them (if that!). Someone
has
to sift through the pile and find the gems in the rough, so with this
preview
we ask the question : Is
Genesis AD worth my time?
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style="font-style: italic;">Firing in short bursts is
required, as your accuracy goes to hell after that.
What is it?
Genesis A.D. is a futuristic first
person shooter by
Iiji Games, where every kill counts and every bullet is deadly.
style=""> In a market of
console-dominated modern first
person shooters, its refreshing to see a studio try and do something
different. If
youre familiar with
Global Agenda, the art style and combat feel are close to that, only
faster.
If youre in the game for the
singleplayer, theres nothing
here at the moment for you aside from a basic tutorial and nothing
remotely
resembling a plot exists. Slaughtering
your foes online is where it is at, whether it be alone, or with
friends. There are
basic buddy lists and matchmaking
options available, and if youre not picky about modes, you can be in a
game
and shooting people within a minute of double clicking the shortcut to
launch
the game, making it great to blow off some steam or take a break from a
monotonous task at work or school.
Its free to play and in open beta at
the moment.
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You can take multiple primary
weapons, but you'll gimp your ability to carry sub-weapons and grenades.
Free to play, but with a few strings attached.
Well, the catch is much like every other Iiji or free to
play game, and theres money involved.
Dont worry, you dont have to spend anything to be
competitive
. At
least for now. Any
items you buy with
the currency earned in game are not actually bought, but rather rented
for a
period of time. The
longer you purchase
them for, the better deal per day you get, from 1 to 30 days.
style=""> It can still be costly to
try out new
weapons, but hopefully you can make some friends and help get some
opinions
there.
They have not disclosed their pricing
structure for cash
weapons, and there are no cash exclusive weapons in the game.
style=""> This bodes well for
everyone being on an
equal playing field and not someone running around with a huge
advantage because
they gave the developer their credit card.
As of right now, completing the tutorial gives you a hefty
sum of
in-game currency to decide what guns are worth your time once the
actual game
launches. Character
customization is
also nil, which will probably be fixed with the addition of cash shop
items and
cosmetics when the game goes live.
First Impressions
After creating a nickname for
yourself, youll be thrown
into a main menu with a server optionBeginner or Open.
Fairly self explanatory, but they actually
limit the people that can get into the Beginner channel to prevent too
much
abuse of those new to the game. Joining
a channel pulls up a server list that resembles every other FPS, and
you can
sort by mode or by map to get to the mission you want.
Of course, theres the lovely Quick Join
button to just get in on the action.
Quick Join will throw you right into
a game either about to
start, or newly in progress and youll spawn as an Assault or your
previously
selected class. From
there, its all
about the run and gun gameplay or slow sniping.
I immediately took a liking to the Assault class, as the
combination of
quick jetpack bursts forward, wall jumping, and evasive jumps to the
side made
closing the gaps on sniping opponents or campers quite simple.
style=""> Matches go to a reasonably
small kill count
in deathmatch, time or flag capture count in CTF, and to 3-5 rounds won
in
Demolition, so you wont end up stuck on 2fort for the rest of your day.
One of the major things that stands
out is
getting shot in
the head. In this
futuristic setting
youre wearing a helmet with a visor.
If
you can see your target and he shoots you in the head,
if its not a kill its going to crack,
shatter, and bloody the hell out of your view.
This is a really neat touch, and while it does impact your
ability to
fight back
.after a bullet to the head you probably dont have any
fight In you
because the next one *will* kill you.
Your melee weapon has multiple
functions as well, which is
refreshing. First
of all, its a goddamn
mini-chainsaw. You
run very fast with
this out, ensuring you can close the gap on that unsuspecting person
running at
your base. It
attacks extremely fast (go
figure) and it can headshot people!
If
youre not going for the head, youre not necessarily doing it wrong.
style=""> Taking a chainsaw to your
opponents chest
leads to a bloody mess and a delightful icon for your buzzsaw kill.
style=""> It is one of the
only weapons with an
alternate fire mode, which is a delayed strike that causes a small
concussive
blast. This can be
used to get around
quickly, get air like a rocket jump, and send snipers flying off ledges
to
their death. I
havent seen a melee weapon
with versatility and enjoyment like this
since Unreal Tournament.
You respawn about 5 seconds later
after being killed, with a
few seconds for a quick view or the killer, and then a view shift to
one of
your teammates. Sniping
is potent, but
the kill cam ensures you can have a grenade in their lap if they dont
move
before you come seeking vengeance.
With
such a quick pace to the game, its easy to lose track of time and kill
all
night longdefinitely a plus!
More Gameplay Impressions
You pick from one of three soldier
types, and you can switch
every time you spawn if you dont like your loadout or need access to
something
else. You have your
general assault,
sniper, and support classes, but each one has some added kick to and
unique features
to make them stand out. Gameplay
is fast
and furious with quick kills, wall jumps, and dodge maneuvers.
style=""> This isnt your typical
Call of Duty clone!
The
Assault has the best rifles around, and is
deadly from any range. If
youre not
comfortable or just dont like taking a knee and firing in short bursts
to
maintain accuracy, you can just hit your Assault Pack and fly across
the
map! Just a simple
double tap of forward
activates an incredibly long range flight maneuver that can clear an
entire map
in two uses. So if
you prefer to get up
close and personal, you can equip a shotgun and fly right into those
snipers
that are pestering you!
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The
Sniper class, well, aside from the obvious,
also has access to a nifty cloaking pack.
This consumes your special energy at an alarming rate, but
enables you
to get past enemy lines and get into a position to go for the one shot
kills
from behind!
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The
Supplier class can scan for enemies better
than the other two, and can even see enemies health and energy levels
to see
who is ripe for the picking.
Classes aside, the game has your
standard team deathmatch,
CTF, and even a demolition mode with rounds ala Counterstrike.
style=""> For the most part these
each have very good
maps with plenty of cover, alternate routes, sniping positions and more.
style=""> This is quite surprising
for a free-to-play
game. Personally,
every time Demolition
comes up, I groan a little. The
fast and
furious gameplay of Genesis A.D. doesnt lend itself well to 1 life per
round,
or planting/defending a bomb.
Spawn points are static within an
area and this can lead to
some annoying camping behavior , but there is a slight invulnerability
time on
respawn to kick campers out of your spawning area.
Over time youll gain experience and progress
in rank, which doesnt affect anything at the moment besides the icon
next to
your name.
So is it worth my time?
If anything, Genesis A.D. is a
fantastic time waster. It
has some good qualities from professional
retail FPS games, and some personality all of its own.
Theres no obligation to play it for more
than 5 minutes or one round or until you die for the first time and get
pissed
off and decide to play TF2 instead.
Youd
be hard pressed to do better for a free
to play FPS without too many strings attached.
