In case you missed the first of these articles yesterday, Ones to Watch is part of our Free-to-Play week. Alongside our more in depth previews, such as today’s look at Ghost Recon Online, we’re using this series of articles to take a briefer look at some F2P games that might be of interest. Today we kick things off with Line of Defense.
The persistent world MMOFPS genre will crop up a number of time on our list, each instalment in the ambitious albeit niche genre showing immense promise. Developed by 3000AD, Line of Defense may not be the most aesthetically sound game of the bunch, but the studio is looking to deliver just as much of an impact than rivals CCP Games and Sony Online Entertainment.
Set on the planet Lyrius, Line of Defense features four distinct regions that will be forever contested by the game’s two playable factions, the GALCOM marines, and Insurgency. The persistent world mechanics have yet to be fully disclosed, but in premise alone, Line of Defense has set an incredibly high target.
Aiding the game in reaching its goal will be a in-depth customization system. Players will be able to map out the appearance of their chosen avatar as well as the professions they specialise in. Battles for each territory won’t just be fought on-foot with aircrafts and warships adding some much-needed dynamism to the FPS template.
Since Fallout 3 gamers have been pining for the perfect post-apocalyptic MMO. For a number of wasterlanders Reloaded Productions’ Fallen Earth proved to be a perfect solution, the game having recently gone free to play and now available through Steam. However, when Gamigo releases Grimlands later this year, there will likely be fierce competition between the two games, which look almost identical from afar.
Combining elements from the MMO and FPS genres, Grimlands is promising a hybrid online package with a strong emphasis on customisation and survival. Players will be able to create their own unique characters and vehicles, the crafting skills they gain needing to be employed regularly or else they can degrade or be completely forgotten.
Left unpopulated, similar games such as Global Agenda have had a tendency of feeling like a single player action RPG in terms of PvE content. Grimlands may risk a similar fate, though accessible PvP multiplayer will be on-hand, adding a sense of familiarity for those not quite accustomed to MMO conventions.
MAIET Entertainment, the same studio that worked on 2006’s Gunz: The Duel, is gearing up to launch its latest project, RaiderZ. Set in the fantasy kingdom of Rendel, the game is centred around the once-dormant behemoths that inhabit the land, driven to attack its populace after the contamination of a mysterious artefact.
In RaiderZ players will assume the role of hunters who are tasked with putting an end to the horde of marauding monsters. Your playstyle will ultimately hinge on the weapon you choose as well as the class you wish to pursue, cross-combinations producing a vast array of unique possibilities. Progression will be tracked both in the conventional manner (experience points) as well as the gear you accumulate. Whilst hunting, players will be able to scavenge a glut of components that can then be forged into armour, items, and weapons.
If it doesn’t sound familiar, then it should. There are an abundance of similarities between RaiderZ and Capcom’s insanely popular Monster Hunter series, from the premise and character development to the crafting. We’re not ones to complain however; how many completely original games do you come across each year? Not very many, we can assure you. RaiderZ is currently going through alpha testing with a release date schedules later in 2012.