Red 5 Studios has taken it’s time in revealing what Firefall is about. With big names like Mark Kern, Scott Youngblood and even Orson Scott Card behind the project, maybe they’re playing it close to the vest because they know they have something special. Or maybe they’re worried about Firefall, maybe they’re not confident in what they’ve built. Regardless of speculation, Firefall is shaping up to be an interesting project. We know the potential is certainly there, we know that both Mark and Scott are more than capable of making games that people absolutely love. And despite all of the controversy surrounding the man in recent years, we know that Orson Scott Card is more than capable of writing gripping stories. But just like every other game – until it’s in the hands of the players, we don’t know if it’s any good.
Red 5 Studios provided a playable demo for attendees at PAX East back in March, the first time it was ever playable to the public. Those that were lucky enough to get a chance with the game seemed fairly positive about the experience. But even after people were given a chance to play the game, it seems as though no one still really knows what Firefall is about. Some will be happy to regard it as another competitive online shooter, but is there more to Firefall than we’ve seen or bothered to ask about? It seems so, if lead designer Scott Youngblood is to be believed. “We feature a deep character progression that is really geared around collecting your gear, installing new modules as you level up, and ultimately increasing your functionality in the game,” said Scott at PAX East back in march. It seems as though Firefall is trying to strike more of a mix between something like Monday Night Combat and Borderlands than maybe Call of Duty.
Firefall seems to emphasize loot and deep character customizations – giving you options with just about everything you use in the game from the different packs and modules to your guns and grenades, as well as even the look of your character. But that’s not all, Firefall also has cooperative missions. These missions are said to be dynamic in that they progress as you complete different aspects of them, or have a phase system if you will. To me it sounds a little bit like how the Enemy Territory games work, maybe without the direct opposition in your face at all times in the form of an opposing team. They haven’t completely detailed how the cooperative missions work, though. But it sounds a lot like the co-op missions may exist as a completely separate entity from the adversarial modes.
Knowing what we know about the makeup of Red 5 Studios can offer some insight in what Firefall will become. It’s a very interesting mix of talent that they have going on. While the free to play initiative might be lost on some, it would be short-sighted to judge a project of this caliber by their preferred way of making a return on it. Buying various player skins and other goodies isn’t going to hurt the game in any way. If you’re lucky enough to be attending Gamescom or even PAX Prime in the upcoming weeks, be sure to keep an eye out for the Red 5 Studios booth. They will be bringing a brand new playable demo of Firefall, and it’s focus will be the co-op portion of the game. For those of us not lucky to attend Gamescom or PAX Prime, enjoy this gameplay from the demo shown at PAX East in March.
[stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DSPQFfJGEFWc img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/SPQFfJGEFWc/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=640 height=360 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /]
Thanks Pikimal.
