Previews » War Rock [PC]
Previewed by pmglasser[This preview is based on the War Rock Open Beta, which has been running since July 2006. The beta is available at the official website warrock.net.]
War Rock is essentially a free massive-multiplayer online FPS that combines elements of Counter-Strike and Battlefield 2.
K2 Network has taken the product, which was originally developed by the Korean company Dream Execution, and made it available to players in the Western hemisphere. The game is currently in open beta, with a commercial released scheduled for later this summer.
The game features five combat specialties, including an engineer, medic, anti-tank soldier, scout-sniper and generic riflemen. Players earn experience and cash (dinars) by killing enemies, assisting comrades and accomplishing objectives. Both the Debaran regular army and NUI mercenaries are equivalent and neither faction has much character or flavor to distinguish them.
As players advance in rank and skill, they can use dinars to buy new gear and weapons. A variety of handguns, submachine guns, assault rifles and rocket launchers are available. The game is free to play now, and eventually players will be able to purchase premium memberships that will offer additional features, gear and services.
“Access to the top gear will be limited by the player-character's rank, so even with purchased Dinar, player access to better gear will still be driven by skill and experience,” said producer Matt Norton. “One of the keynotes of our system is that it will never be possible for a player to buy their way to the top rankings, skill and experience will always be the most important factors for victory.”
Gameplay is divided into three categories: themed missions, infantry combat and vehicle engagements. Players can choose to play in one category at a time. Mission mode is similar to Counter-strike in that one team must plant a bomb and the other team must defend the objective. In this case, players only get one life and the maps are fairly small.
In infantry combat mode, players fight on medium-sized battle fields that usually have a number of neutral spawn points. Each side starts out with a certain number of reinforcements, which are depleted as casualties mount and command centers are lost. Infantry combat relies heavily on small-arms, but a few machine-gun nests and light vehicles are available.
Vehicle combat takes place on expansive maps, and a variety of APCs, tanks, helicopters, airplanes and boats are available. The objective remains the same as in infantry combat: players must defeat the enemy by scoring kills and capturing flags.
GAMEPLAY
The game is currently available in a public beta test, and as such, it is an incomplete product. Neither clan services nor premium packages are available yet. A number of in-game warnings and alerts are still in Korean, and many of the mission briefings are poorly translated.
Vehicle physics are also unstable, with APCs, humvees and tanks rolling over, flipping out and getting stuck on a regular basis.
Players can recharge their ammunition and health by standing next to ammo cabinets or health stations. Soldiers are vulnerable during this time because rearmament isn’t instantaneous and players must remain stationary for a few seconds as the supplies are collected.
Basic infantry combat is well-balanced, although it can sometimes take almost a dozen hits to score a kill. Soldiers can also improve their chances of survival by sprinting and tumbling out of the way to avoid incoming fire. Grunts will also bleed to death if they receive serious wounds and don’t seek medical attention.
However, even with improved rocket launchers, like the RPG-7 and Stinger, most infantry will be unable to destroy most armored vehicles. Even APCs and thinly-armored tankettes can absorb significant damage. If a skilled engineer is present, one side can dominate an infantry match by preserving his team’s heavy vehicles.
A number of glitches are also present: for instance, troopers can empty a rifle, switch to their side arm, expend the magazine and switch back to the rifle, which will automatically reload.
Currently, controls cannot be re-assigned either.
COMMUNITY
Some players have already by-passed the Punkbuster security system and can ruin games by using “holy hand grenades,” which can kill the entire opposing team at once, no matter how far away they are. Honest players are assessed a penalty if they disconnect from an unpure game and lose a portion of the experience and money they accumulated.
Player names are limited to between six and ten characters, which is extremely limiting. Players can communicate to other players in separate arenas or game lobbies by sending whispers. However, players can’t create a buddy list yet.
Player names and game rooms are also strictly censored. For instance, my usual moniker, pmglasser, was rejected because it contained profanity. Zealous administrators will ban players who create or even join games with explicit titles.
In-game communication is also limited, because messages are truncated after approximately 20 characters.
TECHNOLOGY
The game is fairly tolerant of low-end systems, with minimum requires of only 800mhz and 512MB RAM. Although not up to scale of most high-end commercial games, the graphics are acceptable. The vehicle explosions and clouds of shrapnel from the RPGs are very pretty.
The netcode is extremely vulnerable to lag, and players are able to reload and/or walk several steps before the game registers their death.
OVERALL
The game is enjoyable, especially if you can find a good server with players who are fun to team with. The experience is further enhanced with the use of a voice-chat server.
Although well executed, the game is hardly innovative or ground-breaking. If you like Battlefield 2 and want the option to pursue tactical squad-based play, give War Rock a try. Just don’t expect to be impressed.