by Stow on Dec 28, 2010
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style="font-style: italic;">The contributing artists give
amazing atmosphere to the plot and setting, setting BLEEDOUT apart from
its competition easily.
This game is not ESRB Rated. There are some adult concepts and language in play, so be advised.
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style="font-style: italic;">NPCs are easily found using the
in-game map and radar icons. Since everyone is useful for
something and you probably can't keep their names straight, this is
important!
On high, the graphics of CrimeCraft are respectable. Visuals are nothing mind blowing and some of the textures are muddy, but the animations are solid and people blow up and collapse dead in a gratifying fashion. The graphics settings lack granular control, however, so if you have a card that has trouble with a specific feature such as anti-aliasing or high end shadows or water effects, you'll have to suck it up and run the whole game on low, which sours the visual appeal of the game a good bit. I was particularly disappointed with the effects of the rocket and grenade launchers, which have weak effects and tiny explosion radii. But one cannot ignore the beautiful hand-drawn comic book animation for the intros to the BLEEDOUT campaigns, and those give a much needed boost to the average for the game and its expansion.
Sound is a mixed bag for CrimeCraft. The music plays its purpose, but lacks punch or any kind of epic feel to be memorable or even noticeable most of the time. Some weapons effects sound like they were recorded in a tin can, while the shouts of Berserkers holstering their weapons and charging at your face are colorful, varied, and perfect. Directional audio plays a big part in determining threats before they are visible or shooting you, and CrimeCraft does a good job of pulling it off, especially for a free to play game. The lack of any kind of real voice overs in game is a bit troubling, but typical for the F2P MMO genre--until you reach BLEEDOUT. Then you're treated to some quality voice work as well, which greatly helps the immersion and interest of most players.
PvP is a joy, but both equipment and to a lesser extent skills make a big difference compared to other PvP shooters such as Global Agenda. You won't be able to leave the prologue and dominate when you're against people with fully automatic weapons and plenty of damage reduction on their equipment. Once you're on a similar playing field, though, the variety and challenge of the PvP is satisfying.
Grouping is a mixed bag unless you BYOG. Joining most scenarios will throw you into a game in progress with people who, if you're lucky, will watch your back a little, and more than likely will completely ignore you. There is an auction house to interact with players indirectly and make cash, but the fees are fairly high unless you pay to subscribe.
The first episode of BLEEDOUT is free. Successive episodes weigh in at $2 each, and there is a subscription option to gain access to virtually everything in the game, so the end result is a system that resembles an episodic DDO. While the quests and especially the atmosphere of BLEEDOUT are top-notch, the episodes themselves are not worth the price tag unless you truly enjoy the intros and hand drawn comic book style. One of the ten episodes is released every week or two, so expenses will pile up quickly and you don't know if you're going to enjoy the direction of the story or, more importantly, the gameplay mission associated with it before your purchase is finalized.
CrimeCraft is a solid time waster for fun PvE and PvP on the fly, but it requires a fairly large time investment (both in terms of skills and equipment) in order to become competitive. It's being updated fairly often, but the lasting appeal to you personally will increase the more time you put into it. The prologue is singularly painful, but if you make it and get into the actual game and enjoy it, you'll likely stick with it for a while.
BLEEDOUT is very well done and executed, but with a big emphasis on the storyline, the lasting appeal of the game is crippled when you know what happens as you play through it on multiple characters.
Pros:
Good variety of realistic weapons and modifiers. Zero waiting to get into PvE. Go it alone or go with people already in, and watch people join mid-mission. Headshots aren't mandatory, making the game way more arcade-y compared to other MMO Shooters.Cons
Graphics and sound are adequate, but droll. Prologue will either bore you to tears or make you uninstall. Subscribers get a huge advantage in gear buying and selling and progression, much moreso than in other MMO shooters.It takes a lot to make a shooter MMO work, and CrimeCraft does a respectable job of it. It's receiving considerable support, with episode 4 of BLEEDOUT now live as of Christmas. PvE and PvP are quick and easy to get into, and quests are readily available at any given point in time. If you can overlook the flaws of progression and pacing, you'll find a respectable online shooter that has zero up-front cost, and also has a polished film noir feel if you choose to progress into the episodic content of BLEEDOUT.