Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

We pride ourselves on being an intelligent species, but tell me this – how intelligent can we be if we get shot over and over, and keep going back for more? Human intellect aside, under controlled circumstances, dying can be fun – as long as it’s in a fast-paced action shooter, like the one released by Vogster Entertainment, called CrimeCraft.

CrimeCraft isn’t your typical shooter. While there are matches of variations on capture the flag and control points, among other traditional shooter themes, the game offers much more. It has taken a page from the MMOG book and added character advancement including leveling, skills, quests (referred to as missions and jobs in the game), crafting, guild-like gangs, and an in-game economy. So how does it all mesh together, and is it done well?

I tried the game for the first time at a press event earlier this month. Having never played the game, I had expected there to be a little bit of a learning curve as I found my footing. I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down, and after some quick instructions from the Vogster crew on how to enter a match, the learning curve was minimal. It plays like one would expect a shooter to play. And it looks like one would expect a shooter to look, not being hindered by simplified graphics that MMOGs need to consider. As the matches cap out at eight players each, the game can be rendered beautifully and the gameplay is smooth, quick and sharp.


At home though, I had a considerably different experience. The performance was still very clean, but my troubles began when I didn’t have a developer handy to guide me through the various intricacies of the mechanics and interface. Granted, once in a match, it’s pretty straight forward, and all the controls are as intuitive as the next shooter game. It was actually getting into the matches where I found my difficulty. The tutorial was there, but I found it didn’t guide me through how to get into the matches very well. The popup tips were somewhat useful, but there was a nagging flashing “I” at the bottom of my screen that I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out how to click. Eventually I drew on my knowledge of other shooter hybrids and hit the tab key, which allowed me access to the rest of the interface.

The other issue I had as a newbie was trying to figure out how to complete a mission that was in my journal. The mission was simple enough – I needed to kill one rogue in a match. It told me in which map to find them, but my frustration grew as when I found what I thought was the queue to enter the match, all I met were seasoned players of the game who had no hesitations in popping a cap in my ass every 2.8 seconds. There were no rogues, and no obvious way to complete my mission.  My frustration levels grew rapidly with every death, as I seemed to die almost as fast as I could respawn. No sir, I didn’t feel welcome here at all. After about 30 minutes of continuous death loops with no sign of the rogues I needed to kill, I smashed the escape key on my keyboard and exited the game.

However, I was on a mission of my own, aside from rogues and elite player sharpshooters. I wanted to experience the game as much as I could in order to share those experiences with you, dear readers, so I wasn’t going to give up that easily. After listening to a couple of tracks of an old Yanni CD, I felt more centered. (In truth, the CD annoyed me more than any game could, so I had a much better perspective).

I got back in game, this time determined not to log out until I found a blasted rogue. I carefully went through all the components of the interface, and sure enough, eventually found how to enter a PvE game which was labeled as a Stockpile game. I entered the match, and suddenly I felt vindicated. Not only were there computer controlled rogues everywhere, but the only other players I encountered were shooting with me, and not at me. This experience was much more in line with a fun, memorable newbie experience, and after that little discovery, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of my play session, which lasted several hours.

So, that’s the first experience in a nutshell. Do beware of the learning curve when you start, but it is well worth taking some time to figure it out, because the fun in the game is definitely there once you end up in a scenario much more suited to a beginning player.

But how does all of this fit into the MMO aspect, you may ask. The answer to that question is also what makes the game stand out.

As you complete missions and jobs, you’ll gain experience like any MMOG. As you gain experience, your character will level up. Levels don’t have a direct affect on a character, though. You don’t gain more hit points, and a naked level 50 will be identical to a naked level 1. The differences come in what’s available to the player as they level. A higher level means access to more skills, and weapons with more slots in which he or she can place attachments. This can make a sizable difference on the battlefield as weapons will be more responsive, do higher damage, fire faster and more accurately the better the attachments that you have. Skills come in a variety of flavors as well, allowing use of grenades, rocket launchers, the ability to regenerate health and stamina, and even temporary cloaking, making the player invisible for a short time. It’s pretty clear how these advantages can sway the battle in your favor.

All in all, the game is a lot of fun once you have the basics figured out. It can be played hardcore or casually, and offers a solid shooter experience to either of those player types. So let’s talk a bit more about what the Vogster team is doing now to get more players in the game to try it out and have a lil’ bit o’ fun.