Global Agenda - Now Subscription less, GW model.

[Hoax]

hmm but my tribes had wide open 32 and 64-player servers

Well yes, and my happy memories want to say the graphics were cleaner in tribes, and the interface to actually use jump packs was far better.

but it feels like a poor remake of tribes with smaller player counts and uninspired maps.

That sounds like every remake of Tribes I've tried...   

[caladein]

It's Tribes only in that it contains jet packs and classes.  (At least in the few hours I've spent in Control/Payload games and a few Low/Med Sec PvE missions.)

I don't want to damn the graphics with faint praise but they look pretty good and, for lack of a better word, "work".  The maps I've played have this Q3A vibe but in a modern engine (UE3).  There's no ground debris or super-high-res textures, but I'd turn that crap off anyway.

The character models look pretty good, about as good as in UT3 I'd say.  The armors and dyes do get nicer looking at higher levels, but more as a matter of degree than anything else.

As a shooter, it feels good.  As a Medic at least I started off with all the stuff I wanted: TF2-style beam healer, a scoped SMG-equivalent, healing PBAOE, healing grenade, and a self-heal.  The unlocks add more offensive stuff either of the damage increasing buffs or poison varieties.  I like that the beam healers (there's also a Heal/Damage Buff one) have two "speeds" if you will.  Primary fire is sustainable and feels about as powerful as an in-combat TF2 Medigun.  I can Alt-Fire it to heal for double-ish but burn through my power.  It's not as elegant as "the ramp" but I like having control of it.

The level system seems appropriate.  The skill-trees are all things that seem useful and have an impact on me but after dieing I've never felt to look at what level someone was.  It was always because I made the types of dumb mistakes I always make in shooters. I can look cool and be competent out of the gate, but there are things I want, or at least want to try out, at higher levels.

There's some things about the interface that point to a lack of polish: needing to edit an .ini to turn off Mouse Smoothing and not having a friends list being two of them.  There's also neat things like the tooltips being genuinely useful or being able to see how many games of a type are going and how many people are queued for something.

Overall, I like it quite a bit.

[Hoax]

Yeah that doesn't sound half bad, what is the pricing model?  They expect box + sub?

[Malakili]

Yeah that doesn't sound half bad, what is the pricing model?  They expect box + sub?

Box buys you the game + online multiplayer + leveling.  Subscription buys you into the big hex-based strategy thing where you fight over zones in some sort of clan-based warfare.  Subscription optional.

[Mrbloodworth]

I picked this up with 3 other friends on steam.

[Malakili]

I picked this up with 3 other friends on steam.

Annnnnnnd?  Seriously though, I've heard wildly conflicting things about this game, please do a little write up after you get to play a bit.

[Mrbloodworth]

I picked this up with 3 other friends on steam.

Annnnnnnd?  Seriously though, I've heard wildly conflicting things about this game, please do a little write up after you get to play a bit.

I have not had enough time with it to form any opinion. I just got it last night around midnight, I passed the tutorial.

[Morfiend]

Im pretty interested in this also. I also would like a mini review.

[01101010]

Im pretty interested in this also. I also would like a mini review.

While I am not jaded by the pretty here, I am a PS refugee and am somewhat curious.

[ashrik]

I've heard it compares much easier to TF2 than to planetside

[Mrbloodworth]

Ok...


So, as I wait for the game to launch here are my impressions. The world (AvA) portion of the game was not available to me, so I can't speak to that, but I can speak to the feel of the game as a shooter, and the gameplay RPG elements. This was 40 some dollars not wasted. If you enjoy FPS, this game is worth a look, unless you are already saturated.

If I were to try to describe this game using other titles. I would say: The game has heavy flavoring of TF2 game play, with decent inspiration of tribes, but does have some features that make it feel like a distant cousin of Quake and a nod to planetside in its over world game play and utility of items and RPG progression of power (sideways) and options within each class, and a peppering of Ratchet and Clank.

The combat style is solid, mobility is good, and there is just of an arcade feel to add in the fun, instead of the dolphin diving of such games as battlefield series. Cover matters (Not to the point of gears of war though...), mobility matters, TEAMWORK matters. Like plantside there is quite a lot that those who are not twitch happy freaks to do, so much so, that my girlfriend wants a copy and to play with us (she likes the healer and Engi) so I got her one. She doesn't play FPS's. But she is attracted tot he PvE, the RPG elements, the Team work, and the fact she can be useful with having little to no FPS skills. When we logged off due to the server being down, she said, and I quote "This game is fun!".

The classes are fun, and they seem expansive, no real paper/rock/scissors here, more of different ways of approaching things really. every class is an effective solider first from what I can tell, no gimping because you are a healer, and from all the tings I have seen you can adjust, it seems like a level 1 can still kill a 30 (Yay planetside!). Progression is done using a points system, you can't equip more than your point pool will allow (I think everyone has the same amount, always, think Cert system), and just about every item in game has 4 levels of effectiveness, so load out is a balancing act. There is an ASSTON of equipment to choose from, all have utility.

Appearance (as in what you look like) is not tied to stats, however there are craft-able increases that can go on various "Spots" on your armor. But things like, helms, chest and shoulder pads seem to be purely cosmetic, as well as every items can be dies, and not just with one color, two at the least, even your "Glow" on yourself and weapons can be changed.

The PvE was well done, the AI, surprising at times. I read someone mentioned the maps, I think your issue is, the maps are supposed to represent a location in the real world, instead of a highly tunes death match map. The maps even have built in obstacles, like meat grinders, trip wires, and alarm drones that can cause unending waves of robots to beam in.Most of the PvE maps are well done, and can be very challenging. The PvP maps are more tuned tot he game play they support. PvE can require some real teamwork, and more tactical slower pace at points, there is also a bit of randomization to every map, so sub-bosses are not allays in the same place, or the same kind (God help you meet a hellion in a tight hall).

PvP, ah yes, they have many modes for this, some I haven't really seen before, some I have. They all look like a lot of fun, we tried a few while we could, the main one we did was the robot/mech "capture the flag" type game (I don't recall the game mode title). It was good times.

It may not have the epic persistent seamless world of plantside.... But this is a dam fine game for what it is, and I look forward to seeing what they add to it. Over all, if you are X-PS, or looking for a FUN FPS, even if you do not consider yourself "Awesomely skilled", this game is worth the price of entry, and to me.. Who somewhat ignored this title until my friend insisted on the four pack, this game is a VERY surprising title, I didn't know it would be this polished, this fun, and this addictive.

Feel free to apply to the agency "SaftyTech".  

EDIT: Another awesome thing, you can make one of each class, and still use the same player name, meaning the annoying aspect of planetside of "Trying to fill a role" but waiting on the cert timer, is not present here. Just choose your other class...Bam.

[01101010]

Ok...


So, as I wait for the game to launch here are my impressions. The world (AvA) portion of the game was not available to me, so I can't speak to that, but I can speak to the feel of the game as a shooter, and the gameplay RPG elements. This was 40 some dollars not wasted. If you enjoy FPS, this game is worth a look, unless you are already saturated.

If I were to try to describe this game using other titles. I would say: The game has heavy flavoring of TF2 game play, with decent inspiration of tribes, but does have some features that make it feel like a distant cousin of Quake and a nod to planetside in its over world game play and utility of items and RPG progression of power (sideways) and options within each class, and a peppering of Ratchet and Clank.

The combat style is solid, mobility is good, and there is just of an arcade feel to add in the fun, instead of the dolphin diving of such games as battlefield series. Cover matters (Not to the point of gears of war though...), mobility matters, TEAMWORK matters. Like plantside there is quite a lot that those who are not twitch happy freaks to do, so much so, that my girlfriend wants a copy and to play with us (she likes the healer and Engi) so I got her one. She doesn't play FPS's. But she is attracted tot he PvE, the RPG elements, the Team work, and the fact she can be useful with having little to no FPS skills. When we logged off due to the server being down, she said, and I quote "This game is fun!".

The classes are fun, and they seem expansive, no real paper/rock/scissors here, more of different ways of approaching things really. every class is an effective solider first from what I can tell, no gimping because you are a healer, and from all the tings I have seen you can adjust, it seems like a level 1 can still kill a 30 (Yay planetside!). Progression is done using a points system, you can't equip more than your point pool will allow (I think everyone has the same amount, always, think Cert system), and just about every item in game has 4 levels of effectiveness, so load out is a balancing act. There is an ASSTON of equipment to choose from, all have utility.

Appearance (as in what you look like) is not tied to stats, however there are craft-able increases that can go on various "Spots" on your armor. But things like, helms, chest and shoulder pads seem to be purely cosmetic, as well as every items can be dies, and not just with one color, two at the least, even your "Glow" on yourself and weapons can be changed.

The PvE was well done, the AI, surprising at times. I read someone mentioned the maps, I think your issue is, the maps are supposed to represent a location in the real world, instead of a highly tunes death match map. The maps even have built in obstacles, like meat grinders, trip wires, and alarm drones that can cause unending waves of robots to beam in.Most of the PvE maps are well done, and can be very challenging. The PvP maps are more tuned tot he game play they support. PvE can require some real teamwork, and more tactical slower pace at points, there is also a bit of randomization to every map, so sub-bosses are not allays in the same place, or the same kind (God help you meet a hellion in a tight hall).

PvP, ah yes, they have many modes for this, some I haven't really seen before, some I have. They all look like a lot of fun, we tried a few while we could, the main one we did was the robot/mech "capture the flag" type game (I don't recall the game mode title). It was good times.

It may not have the epic persistent seamless world of plantside.... But this is a dam fine game for what it is, and I look forward to seeing what they add to it. Over all, if you are X-PS, or looking for a FUN FPS, even if you do not consider yourself "Awesomely skilled", this game is worth the price of entry, and to me.. Who somewhat ignored this title until my friend insisted on the four pack, this game is a VERY surprising title, I didn't know it would be this polished, this fun, and this addictive.

Feel free to apply to the agency "SaftyTech".  

EDIT: Another awesome thing, you can make one of each class, and still use the same player name, meaning the annoying aspect of planetside of "Trying to fill a role" but waiting on the cert timer, is not present here. Just choose your other class...Bam.

Thank you kind sir.

Now for the real question: Surgile + Jackahmmer equiv?   

Looks like I am going to have to do my god damn taxes early.

[Mrbloodworth]

Thank you kind sir.

Now for the real question: Surgile + Jackahmmer equiv?  

Looks like I am going to have to do my god damn taxes early.

Everyone gets a jet pack, however when used you can do nothing else, but the way they have done it is such that you can do some rather interesting acrobatics/maneuvering. Some classes do seem to have speed buffs, but not surgile caliber pre-nurf. This is a good thing, and I am not saddened by it, the game as a whole is at a good pace. I have not seen a "shotgun" type weapon, however "Assault" get a chain gun to start with. All items, ability's and weapons have a good balance.

[Malakili]

Thanks for the review.  it does sound tempting, I think I am going to hold off for now though and see if I can get in on it later.  With Battlefield BC2 coming out in a month, I'm going to be shooter occupied for a while.

[Amaron]

Well it officially went live this morning and I finally caved in and tried it out.   Pretty interested in the combat so far.   It does remind me of TF2 a lot but speaking as someone who HATEDTF2 combat it's not bothering me for some reason.   Maybe because the basic guns are far more solid and a lot less gimicky than TF2.   The customization means I'm not stuck trying to use some whack ass sticky grenade launcher as my main weapon if I happen to want to build some turrets.

[Mrbloodworth]

Well it officially went live this morning and I finally caved in and tried it out.   Pretty interested in the combat so far.   It does remind me of TF2 a lot but speaking as someone who HATEDTF2 combat it's not bothering me for some reason.   Maybe because the basic guns are far more solid and a lot less gimicky than TF2.   The customization means I'm not stuck trying to use some whack ass sticky grenade launcher as my main weapon if I happen to want to build some turrets.

Name?

[Tearofsoul]

As long as it is not massive/epic like Planetside, I am not looking forward to this game.

[Mrbloodworth]

As long as it is not massive/epic like Planetside, I am not looking forward to this game.

I played planetside for close to five years. I, before trying it, felt the same way, now it has my approval.

[Soln]

thanks for the write up BW

[caladein]

Now that it's out, the only thing I'd add to my write-up is: they took out the individual PvP mode queues.  Here's the oft quoted rational:

It has been mentioned in several other threads, but wait times and fair matches were the top concerns for the majority of players. We will open up more queues as population allows. Map type filters are not a magic fix as they still fragment the population.

Just to give you some rough numbers:

- If we want a new match to launch every 30 seconds and the average match is 15 minutes, we need at least 30 active missions for a single queue.

- If we want to let the match maker actually be able to tier matches by player level and skill, and also try to balance pre-made teams, multiply the previous number (30) by AT LEAST 3 to 5.

Once we are in the range of 90 to 150 active missions (currently in pre-live we are 45 - 60), we can open up another queue and re-introduce bonus credits, filters, etc. For now please be patient and give everyone a fair chance to play.

The upside is that some of the game modes are no longer gated by levels, but now I can't just play Payload if I wanted to.

The other upside is that there were about 150 PvP games going on this morning (Pacific), even after 2-3 downtimes, with another 200 Medium PvE missions going.  So, hopefully there are enough people playing to allow for mode-specific queues again.

[Kageru]

A video of two guys playing the game (pretty badly) but it still looks a lot like crimecraft to me. A relatively un-inspired and dated looking shooter with some trappings of persistence to make people keep playing. I just don't think the AVA will actually change the game enough to make it interesting. Sort of sad that planet-side was more ambitious?

At least their billing model of free play then subscription for the persistent portion of the game is more realistic. But I can see an organized clan capturing a lot of hexes and then growing bored.

Giant bomb

[DLRiley]

Those reviewers sound like ass holes...we should invite them to post here at f13 

[caladein]

Eh, the first 25 minutes of it were: random arena and an easy PvE mission.  And after that, it's just some poor play.  (Also, every time they ran to the counter instead of pressing M gave me a sad.)

There are two things you can take away from that video.  The graphics: I like the look, but I've mentioned before my love of Q3A/JK2-style maps.  The gun-feel: as a Medic, I think it's easily as good as TF2's.

I'd take some video, but I'm not sure anyone wants to see a Medic heal people and guard flags .

[Mrbloodworth]

A video of two guys playing the game (pretty badly) but it still looks a lot like crimecraft to me. A relatively un-inspired and dated looking shooter with some trappings of persistence to make people keep playing. I just don't think the AVA will actually change the game enough to make it interesting. Sort of sad that planet-side was more ambitious?

At least their billing model of free play then subscription for the persistent portion of the game is more realistic. But I can see an organized clan capturing a lot of hexes and then growing bored.

Giant bomb

That has got to be the worst playing I have seen, they are incredibly confused by most of the basic FPS things, and totally lost when it comes this this titles specifics.  The player had ZERO fire control, and ran around like a moron. They are even confused by the payment options. The graphics comments were way off (game looks good, and has a speedy FPS) , the comments about the controls, are his problem, the understanding of the RPG elements, and weapon dispersion are simply wrong. He chose a assault, but attempted to use the SMG as a run and gun... Passing over the chain gun.... he used his invulnerability skill TO RUN AWAY (     ). The whole cone of fire issues he had, try crouching dipshit, stop using the scope and running, and if you dont, understand your going to be less accurate. This is all rather basic stuff. To compare it to crimecraft is laughable. Jumped into PvP escort mission and didn't know what to do, he could have watched the fully voiced over and completely in game videos that verbosely explain the different game play types. He continues to bash someone with melee while they blocked, witch damages you, so he died. He was upset at the lack of sprint? YOU HAVE A JETPACK... My girlfriend, that loves harvest moon, LOTRO and donkykong likes this game, does not play FPS's AND UNDERSTANDS MORE ABOUT IT INNATELY THAN THEM. Fuck, shes even a better shot!

Watching it was a waste of time....

You were right, this is a bad player blaming the game for his lack of understanding.

EDIT: also all pre-orders get the conquest mode for free for a month...

EDIT2: Not a review, but a good sampling of the gameplay.

[Malakili]

I kind of like their format, but I wish they didn't suck so much.  A long narrated video like that would actually be a decent way to get a feel for what MMOs are actually like, but they seem so inept that its totally useless in practice. 

[Zetor]

I've been playing this a fair bit (to level ~12 with assault/robo/medic), some of it solo, some of it with a guildie. I've never played PS so I don't really have that perspective, but I like their character development model - you get more options and playstyles as you level up, not raw power; though the skill/talent tree alone does make a pretty big difference between lv1 and lv30. The pewpew is good and responsive even with my Euro ping; the combat is slower paced due to relatively large HP pools, and yet it still allows for a lot of finesse in cooldown use, item placement, dodging, melee/blocking, jetpack tricks, etcetera. Though I'll have to say, if you want to play on US servers as an euro to play with friends or whatever, sniping and melee are out of the question.

GA does have a few weaknesses (crafting as an afterthought, pve not too inspiring) and solo queuing for random skirmishes can be as frustrating as any random battleground / pub server in any game, but that's not really the game's fault. Heck, it even encourages going for the objective by giving out points for that as well, though sadly in my experience it doesn't seem to earn as much xp as farming kills and dying pointlessly in the middle of the map.

Re: random queues, I think it's a good choice. I like to change things up, and get better at game types I don't have much experience with... now if only they had some kind of profile manager to instantly switch loadout / spec in the prep area to adapt to the type of the mission and strengths/weaknesses of the team.

Overall it's a good game and I don't regret buying it.


edit: I just realized what this game's been reminding me of... Syndicate [and Syndicate Wars]! If it had some sort of (even paper-thin) storyline missions, it'd be even more awesome.

edit2: I haven't seen the video either, but the invulnerability skill is a key *offensive* ability to secure an objective, it's not for running away (there's a reason it carries a speed penalty). In my experience when the team is pushing a node or the robot, popping invul on my assault (even without a medic) at the right time almost always gives enough time for the rest of the team to clean up the defensive position, kill the robot, or severely cripple the enemy defenders....

[Mrbloodworth]

I highly, HIGHLY recommend grouping with friends. You can solo all day long, but you'll have to deal with PUGS (It is the Internets). Grouping with friends or a set team can turn the tide of any PvP battle, and is almost required at higher levels of PvE (PvE is very strategic).

Anyone from f13 are welcome to join my agency, or even make an f13 one, and we can form an alliance... Win win.

Also, some emotes are unlocked by achievements.

[01101010]

I won't be able to pick this up for at least a week, but its on my list to grab once teh taxes come back. Sadly, my refund is chump change, but just enough to quel the gf on V-day and some left for this.

[schild]

Yea, blame their ability to play, that'll make it a good game! You all sound like commenters on a goddamn blogger site.

This isn't Demon's Souls or any number of "hard" games guys.

Sadly, my refund is chump change, but just enough to quel the gf on V-day and some left for this.

Save it, it's the height of mediocrity. I'd actually say it's on the bad side of mediocrity at best.

[caladein]

Their doing dumb things and not liking the game does not mean that if they played well they would like it.  I don't know if anyone has made that argumentative leap except you.

Making an argument about gun-feel when you're running-and-gunning with your secondary weapon though does mean that your conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Malakili]

Yea, blame their ability to play, that'll make it a good game! You all sound like commenters on a goddamn blogger site.

I've seen other "reviews" or gameplay sessions, or whatever the hell they are by these guys, and they usually seem to have basically no knowledge of the games they are playing.  Now, maybe I am giving the average player too much credit, but I sort of ASSUME most people are going to a least put a minimal effort into learning about the games they play, let alone people who have a website for that sort of thing.  Basic information like what the pay structure is needs to be understood, regardless of how good their twitch skills are.

[schild]

I'll rag on a lot of journos in gaming, but ragging on Gerstmann is not something I'll do.

Please to be getting with the program.

[Kageru]

In all fairness the video is from their "quick look" section which seems a lot like the "but is it fun?" forum here. They're pretty much playing the game almost out of the box I suspect. They have quite a few other sections which may have more depth.

[Mrbloodworth]

Yea, blame their ability to play, that'll make it a good game! You all sound like commenters on a goddamn blogger site.

This isn't Demon's Souls or any number of "hard" games guys.

Sadly, my refund is chump change, but just enough to quel the gf on V-day and some left for this.

Save it, it's the height of mediocrity. I'd actually say it's on the bad side of mediocrity at best.

I am not a gaming "journo", so a bloger I must be. However, that "Review" was ass, and you know it. My dispute was not really about his skills, my dispute was they came into it with already dismissive attitudes, then, preceded to say incorrect things, misconceptions that looking at the front page of the website would have cleared up, and for trying to compare the TF2 aspects of it, did not even seem to understand they game they compared it to. I was in this position, as I stated, then I PLAYED IT, and changed my preconceived notions.

So, yeah, its my opinion that that review was ass. I understand it is more of a "First look", but come on... they didn't even try. They are fully welcome to the opinion.

Their doing dumb things and not liking the game does not mean that if they played well they would like it.  I don't know if anyone has made that argumentative leap except you.

Making an argument about gun-feel when you're running-and-gunning with your secondary weapon though does mean that your conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt.

This.

[Slayerik]

edit: I just realized what this game's been reminding me of... Syndicate [and Syndicate Wars]! If it had some sort of (even paper-thin) storyline missions, it'd be even more awesome.

Did you say Syndicate? Oh, FFS, now I'm actually looking into this.