Combat Arms

Last updated
Combat Arms: Reloaded
Combat Arms cover.jpg
Developer(s) Nexon
Publisher(s) Nexon
Engine Lithtech Jupiter
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: July 11, 2008
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Combat Arms: Reloaded & Combat Arms: Classic is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter game developed by Nexon [1] and published by VALOFE outside of Korea. The game uses the LithTech game engine to produce its graphics. In July 2012, Combat Arms was also released on Steam. [2]

Contents

Gameplay

Combat Arms gameplay is similar to commercial games such as Mission Against Terror , Crossfire , Counter-Strike , Ghost Recon 2 and Call of Duty . [1] The game offers many different modes of play, including One Man Army, Elimination, Capture The Flag. During the 2009 winter season of the game, a special mode known as Snowball Fight was introduced, but was later removed. Combat Arms uses a player ranking system based on total experience, using common military ranks that players can obtain. Completing objectives, killing other players, and leveling up one's rank gives the player money in the form of Gear Points (GP), which can be used to purchase new equipment. Equipment includes weaponry, weapon attachments, and accessories for one's character. Players can also purchase equipment from the Black Market [3] that is bought with real-world money. Primarily, the Black Market equipment is cosmetically different from regular shop items and have no rank or level requirement that many of the free items require. In addition, some items may only be obtained through the Black Market. Items purchased typically have an expiry date, after which the gear is deleted from the player's inventory, though some can be purchased permanently.

The game boasts customizability that includes female player models. Combat arms screenshot.jpg
The game boasts customizability that includes female player models.

Development

Combat Arms closed beta started on May 30, 2008, exclusively through FilePlanet and ran until June 6. [4] This beta was limited to users from North America, South America, and Oceania. In the closed beta, 4 maps and 30 weapons were available. On June 26, Combat Arms went into its Pre-Open Beta Phase, whereby the game was open Combat Arms Europe Closed Beta testing. Closed Beta testing finished on November 11, 2008, and the Open Beta testing began on December 16, 2008 and lasted until January 15, 2009. The game is now fully released in Korea, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. On April 2, 2009, Nexon America announced that South American service for Combat Arms would cease on April 9 of that year. Those who had any amount of NX were allowed to play until October 9, or until their NX fell below an undefined amount, whichever came first. An in-game voice chat system, provided by Vivox, was implemented in the game on November 25, 2009 [5] and was removed on February 12, 2015. [6] This voice feature later returned in the reloaded update.

On June 29, 2010, Level Up! Interactive, the premier Brazilian free games publisher announced that it had attained publishing rights of Combat Arms in Brazil. This was launched in September 2010.

In 2012, Combat Arms continued to receive updates on a regular basis. This includes the inclusion of new maps, new weaponry, and new character skins. There are currently 40 maps and 449 weapons available as of March 13, 2013.

In 2015, Nexon America and their sister company Nexon Europe S.A.R.L., announced a "transatlantic" merger of their North American and European servers, and while not allowing either group of players to play on their contemporaries servers, they can both play together on the "Global" server. Nexon America also gave Nexon Europe S.A.R.L. control of the entire game as Nexon America focuses on other games.

On November 22, 2017, Nexon officially ceased development and server operation for Combat Arms. As of that date, VALOFE Global took over development and server operation for the game. [7]

Critical reception

Metacritic aggregate reviews place Combat Arms with an average of 71. [8] Reviewers cite many bugs and glitches in the earlier versions. [9]

GameZone's Michael Splechta reviewed the game on March 11, 2010, saying "Combat Arms is fun. Simple as that. If you can overlook the annoying players, then anyone looking for a competitive online shooter should look no further. This is free to play Fun-FPS at its best." [10]

Softwarelint's Chris-Erik Fotland reviewed the game on 17 Dec 2012, saying "For many – Combat arms is unknown, not made its successful way yet – But FPS action online couldn’t be better than what Combat Arms has brought to the world of gaming! Best of all, its free!" [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mabinogi</i> (video game) 2004 video game

Mabinogi is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released by Nexon, and developed by devCAT studio. The name of the game is taken from the Welsh word Mabinogi, a Welsh anthology of legend, and the settings for the game are loosely based on Welsh mythology.

<i>War Rock</i> 2006 video game

War Rock is a multiplayer first-person shooter made by the South Korean company, Dream Execution. The game is distributed as a free-to-play, a common form of freeware EULA and available through online downloading. Outside of the Far East, the game is hosted by PapayaPlay, who services the game for both Europe and North America.

<i>Fallen Earth</i> 2009 video game

Fallen Earth is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Reloaded Productions. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland located around the American Grand Canyon. Fallen Earth's gameplay features FPS/RPG hybridization, first-person/third person views, hundreds of items, including improvised equipment and weapons, a variety of functional vehicles, a real-time, in-depth crafting system, various skills and abilities, factions and tactical PvP, all existing within 1000 square kilometers of usable terrain based on real-world topographical maps of the area. The game was released on September 22, 2009. Two years later, GamersFirst purchased the intellectual property and made the game free to play. It was acquired by the publisher Little Orbit in 2018. 2 Years following its initial shutdown, Fallen Earth's servers were brought back online on October 28, 2021, as a free to play classic server.

<i>APB: All Points Bulletin</i> 2010 video game

APB: All Points Bulletin is an open world multiplayer online video game for Microsoft Windows developed by Realtime Worlds and acquired by Reloaded Productions, which is part of the GamersFirst company. Little Orbit acquired GamersFirst in 2018 and is now in charge of the game's development. Based in urban sprawls and featuring two factions, Enforcers and the Criminals, can form sub-groups in either faction and carry out missions. The game design was led by David Jones. It was released in 2010 in North America and Europe.

<i>Aion</i> (video game) 2008 video game

Aion: The Tower of Eternity is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by the South Korean company NCSoft. The game combines PvP and PvE in a fantasy game environment. As of May 20, 2009, Aion had 3.5 million subscribers in Asia. AION's first major expansion pack was released to North America and Europe on September 7, 2010 under the name AION: Assault on Balaurea. Truly Free launched on April 11, 2012 with no restrictions. Aion's second major expansion was released in North America on June 26, 2013 under the name "Aion: Dark Betrayal". Its most recent expansion was launched on July 13, 2016 under the name "Aion: Echoes of Eternity".

<i>La Tale</i> Video game

La Tale is a 2D side-scrolling online game developed by South Korean studio Actoz Soft. Gamers take the role of adventurers in a mythological fantasy world with three continents, Jiendia, Freios, and Eastland.

<i>Counter-Strike Online</i> 2008 video game

Counter-Strike Online (CSO) is a tactical first-person shooter video game, targeted towards Asia's gaming market released in 2008. It is based on Counter-Strike and was developed by Nexon with oversight from license-holder Valve. It uses a micropayment model that is managed by a custom version of Steam.

Dragon Saga, called Dragonica before 2010, is a free-to-play 3D side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Barunson Interactive and Gravity Interactive. Development has been ongoing since March 2006. Operation of Dragon Saga is relegated to different publishers for their respective regions. Whilst being free-to-play, the game also includes a cash shop that allows for unique customization of player's characters. The game's commercial launch was in June 2009 in China and October 2009 in Europe and October 2010 in North America. Characters created during the Open Beta testing were carried over to the commercial release.

<i>Sugar Rush</i> (video game) Video game

Sugar Rush is a cancelled massively multiplayer online game from Klei Entertainment. It was the first game to be developed in North America to be released by Nexon, before it was announced that it would no longer be published.

<i>Atlantica Online</i> 2008 video game

Atlantica Online is a free-to-play (F2P) 3D tactical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by NDOORS Corporation. The game is currently published by Valofe. The game's primary setting is a fantasy-themed alternate history Earth composed of a diverse blend of historical, cultural, allegorical, and mythological elements. The game world is primarily modeled after real-world geography with accessible locations on six of the seven continents as well as the mythical floating continent of Atlantis from which the game's name is derived.

<i>Hello Kitty Online</i> 2008 video game

Hello Kitty Online was a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role playing game active from 2008 to 2017, developed by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games. The game is tied to the SanrioTown website, where players are required to register a free account.

<i>Vindictus</i> 2010 video game

Vindictus is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created by devCAT, an internal studio of Nexon. The story follows the player character joining a group of mercenaries and going on a series of missions to battle monsters. The gameplay has players exploring dungeons, fighting monsters, and upgrading their characters.

<i>Rift</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Rift is a fantasy free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Trion Worlds. Rift takes place within the fantasy world of Telara. Two competing factions, composed of a selection of races and classes, battle each other and the enemies who emerge from dynamic "rifts". The game was released in March 2011. A port of the game, called Rift Mobile, was released for Android on January 25, 2012.

<i>Battle of the Immortals</i> 2010 video game

Battle of the Immortals was a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Perfect World Entertainment. Beta began on April 14, 2010, and is open to all users with a Perfect World account. On April 30, 2010, the closed beta ended and the open beta began on May 4, 2010. The Guardians of Fate was released on February 22, 2012. Battle of the Immortals takes place in Western Europe, where the player takes the role of a hero to help revive Odin. Besides, Battle of the Immortals is published by Joygame in Turkey since July, 2012. The closed Beta started on September 18, ended on October 11. The open beta which started on October 25 is still on. The game closed all its servers on January 8, 2018.

<i>Fantage</i> 2008 video game

Fantage was a MMORPG involving a virtual world containing a range of online games and activities, developed by Fantage Inc. The game featured a customizable cartoon avatar, called a "Fantagian", that users can customize with items ranging from hair to clothing and accessories. Fantage was released to the general public on March 17, 2008, and had since expanded into a large online community— the game had over 16 million registered users by January 2012 and over 30 million by December 2014.

Warface is a free-to-play online first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek Kiev, co-produced by Crytek Seoul, and published by My.com. The full version of the game was released on October 21, 2013 as playable in North America and Europe. The game was developed with Crytek's in-house CryEngine 3. Warface centers around online firefights in player versus player (PvP) matches, with microtransactions allowing players to purchase weapons, equipment, and cosmetic gear. The Xbox 360 port, which was developed by Crytek UK, was discontinued in February 2015. The console version of the game was relaunched for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018 and on the Nintendo Switch in 2020. Members of the game's development team split from Crytek Kiev in February 2019 to form a new development studio, Blackwood Games, who will handle future development duties for Warface. A tactical shooter spin-off game named Warface: Breakout was released on 26 May 2020 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Hawken is a free-to-play multiplayer mech first-person shooter video game. The game features five game modes: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, Co-op Bot Team Deathmatch, Siege, and Missile Assault. It follows the freemium model of game monetization—with in-game purchases as the main source of revenue.

LawBreakers was a first-person shooter video game developed by Boss Key Productions and published by Nexon. It was released worldwide on August 8, 2017, for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. Physical copies were distributed by Limited Run Games. LawBreakers attempted to expand on the traditional FPS approach by introducing low gravity gameplay and followed the character selection mechanics that are popular in other objective based FPS games.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online, also known simply as First Assault, was a free-to-play online first-person shooter video game developed by South Korean developer Neople and published by Nexon. It was one of adaptations of the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

<i>The Finals</i> Upcoming video game

The Finals is an upcoming first-person shooter, developed and published by Nexon subsidiary Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on environmentally-destructible maps, where players are encouraged to use the dynamic environment to their advantage. The first closed beta lasted from March 7–21, 2023, with the second closed beta also having taken place between June 14–21.

References

  1. 1 2 "Combat Arms Explored". IGN. 2008-05-22. Archived from the original on May 25, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  2. "Valve adds Nexon's Atlantica and Combat Arms to Steam". Engadget. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  3. "10/1 Patch Notes - Black Market". 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2009-09-29.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Nexon Announces Combat Arms Open Beta". Kotaku. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  5. "Voice Chat is coming to Combat Arms!". 2009-11-20. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22.
  6. "Vivox Removal". 2015-02-04. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18.
  7. "COMBAT ARMS NEWS | VALOFE Combat Arms: Reloaded Launch | Korean Online FPS Games - GamenGame". gamengame.com. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  8. Metacritic Combat Arms. Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  9. Eurogamer Combat Arms Review. Etherington, Daniel. 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  10. "Combat Arms Review - PC". 2010-03-11. Archived from the original on 2010-03-15.
  11. "Combat Arms Review- Phenomenal Multiplayer Game". 2012-12-17.