Just a few years ago the term “free-to-play” was still fairly new to our industry. Nowadays however, it’s being banded about left, right, and centre, which is never a bad thing for gamers, especially those a bit strapped for cash.
The latest high-profile development studio to take a punt at the F2P shooter genre is Digital Extremes, placing its bets on the robust, PvE-centric Warframe. Set in the outer reaches of a rich sci-fi universe, Warframe charts the conflict between two alien races locked in a war for supremacy. For years the Tenno have been enslaved by their Grineer masters; however, on the verge of extinction, the Tenno uncover ancient exoskeleton technology that turns the tide of battle.
As four Tenno soldiers, players will face down hordes of genocidal Grineer via online co-op play. It’s an interesting direction given that most F2P shooters tend to follow the traditional deathmatch template. Digital Extremes also revealed that Warframe was an old concept the studio had revived from its early days.
We’ve yet to see any actual gameplay though the trailer above gives a clear idea as to the art style and sci-fi universe that will serve as Warframe’s backbone. The official website is now live and is already taking applications for an upcoming closed beta. Enlist today and you can guarantee your online alias/nametag/handle.
Burgess_101
I really dont like these F2P games. They are almost always pay 2 win and therefore boring if you dont play. The only game I have liked recently that is F2P is Tribes : Ascend everything else is bland.
yogdog
World of Tanks is a great F2P game although there’s a hell of a lot of grinding involved. Dust 514 is great as well.
Not all of them are Pay 2 Win but a good chunk of them are guilty of it, admittedly. Until the last 5 months or so I was never a fan but I think there are some really decent F2P games out there nowadays.
Burgess_101
Yeah World of Tanks I forgot about that, still its the grinding that makes it unplayable.
AcidCrashX
TF2, Tribes and LoL are my go to free to play titles. love all three of them
I think F2P game suffer from developers having a ‘me too’ attitude, that’s why a huge amount of titles suffer from being similar and bland
Jim Hargreaves
Aside from some of the lower-quality F2P shooters, I can’t think of any that are pay to win. In Blacklight there are items that increase health by 2-5% but that’s just about it and can even be purchased with fairly little in-game currency.
DUST 514, TF2, Battlefield Heroes and Tribes are other great examples. It’s actually pretty rare, at least in my opinion, to find an F2P shooter that is blatantly pay to win.
AcidCrashX
I actually finished the Darkness 2 last week and was very happy with it. the mechanics and gun-play felt really satisfying so I’ve signed up for this, always happy to try out new FPS games in hopes that someone brings something fresh to the table.