A first person shooter with that down home community feel.

Nexon America Inc. has announced the launch of Combat Arms for October 1st. Combat Arms is the latest offering from the company behind successfuls MMOs Mabingoi and Maple Story so this is not their first rodeo. While Combat Arms is free to play, Nexon will be launching the Black Market shopping offering for those wanting to spend a bit of NX Cash (which can be purchased with real cash). The first week is full of discounts and special offers:

Now, with the commercial launch and the game's Black Market, players have even more ways to personalize the game and further distinguish their look on the battlefield. New mercenaries, Mei, the first female character, and Deckland, can be hired for 30 days as an added character. Each comes with an allotment of 50,000 Gear Points for players to create their mercenary's own gear loadout. Players can also opt to use the same weapons for their mercenary as their base character. The game also introduces a revamped melee system with several new melee weapons, such as the Ninjato and the Machete. Gamers will have the option to purchase these new weapons with Nexon Cash.

In addition to items and gear, players and clans can buy name changes as well as have their stats reset (do I smell sandbagging?). A lot of emphasis is placed on the Market and buying opportunities, but there are still more than 40 weapons, 8 maps, and 4 game modes in the free to play area. Download the game, and get started at Combat Arms.

The free to play model will be debated until they are all gone or have taken over the world, but the way it is presented by Nexon appears to satisfy that "test before I buy" gene that I have. I may not be competitive if I don't buy the premium upgrades, but at least I can determine whether or not I like the game enough to plunk down real money and get competitive. In theory it makes sense and I like it, now I just need to see if that plays out. The Free to Play model isn't the only trend being bucked by Nexon, they are also bringing a true FPS (no dice rolls here folks) to the persistent world of quasi MMO land. Yet again another gamble. Will the gambles pay off? The game is fun (I've tried it) and it has some excellent graphics and it feels like a real FPS game. The problem I have is that I'm horrible at FPS multiplayer which really means everyone lives except me. Does an FPS work for you? What if you can buy enhancements to give yourself a leg up? I've laid out my concerns and optimism, share yours in our forums.