Firefall – First Impressions

The free-to-play MMO shooter Firefall has finally been released! On August 29th we were finally able to jump into our battleframes and defend Earth from the Chosen…and it’s a blast…mostly.

This game was announced a few years ago and has been touted as the first true open-world skill-based MMO shooter. Prior to it’s release I had never heard of Firefall; somehow it slipped under my radar. Upon it’s release I noticed a fair amount of buzz surrounding it so I jumped in to see what the hype was and give you guys the scoop.

My very first impression was not great. The starting area feels very much like every other MMO you’ve every played with a brief tutorial, rundown of the classes, and a linear mission to throw you into the game world. I was unimpressed with the graphics, the gameplay, the story, and pretty much everything else. And yet…I kept playing.

I kept playing because they give you lots of free things right off the bat. Rocket-boot-jetpacks (self-explanatory), glider pads which, once purchased, you can set around the game world to travel faster, large guns and tons of ammo, dynamic quests which actually feel less like monster grinds than actual quests, and you can easily switch between third person and first person, which is fun when you like to see what your character looks like kicking alien ass.

The more I played Firefall the more I started to enjoy it. Each level I gained drew me further into the game world, and seeing high level characters (from the beta) standing around looking freaking sweet encouraged me to keep playing. Another cool thing that happened while I played was that the game developers were in the game answering questions from players and helping people out. Red 5 Studios is clearly passionate about the game, which is great news for people who like constant updates and to see that their feedback is being heard.

However, with the good comes the bad. From my first impressions, late game seems like it might be a pay-to-win. As I haven’t reached the max level yet, I can’t say for certain, but to me it felt like they were really pushing their in-game Red Bean currency. 40 Red Beans costs $5, with the usual bonuses for purchasing more Beans at one time. Red Beans are used to buy visually appealing items (hair, glasses), battleframe upgrades, weapons, and more. For example, the crafting system takes a while to finish, but with a Red Bean you can speed it up. Pretty much everything I ran into had Red Bean options to buy bigger, better things. I have always been turned off by companies pushing in-game purchases down my throat, even though it’s how they make their money. Nevertheless, I found that you can play the lower levels extremely easily without every having to purchase anything. Because Firefall is a skill-based shooter, having new guns helps but is not necessary. My biggest concern with the Red Beans is that PVP will because pay-to-win and will turn people off of the game.

Despite the setbacks and apprehensions I have about Firefall, I highly recommend the game and I look forward to diving back into it and seeing where high level questing takes me. This game adds a fun, interesting element to open-world FPS games that I am excited to explore. While Big 5 Studios hasn’t reinvented the wheel, they have taken a lot of interesting wheels and turned them into a vehicle that I can’t wait to get back on. Innovation on this scale is a rare thing and it will be interesting to see where it takes us.