Okay, my real motivation for downloading this game was that I had read on the War Z forums that developers suggested that if you wanted to get a feel for the control scheme and engine of their upcoming zombie MMO, it would be worth a try to play War Inc. Battlezone. I admit that it might be more of a marketing ploy for the developer to push their already launched product, but the game is F2P so what did I have to lose? WIB was launched in Beta some time last year, but I hadn't really heard much about it until digging up info on The War Z. I did a little reading about WIB first to see what other reviewers had to say, and the consensus is that most people think that it is an average FPS/TPS when compared to other F2P games out right now.

The menu system is a little bit overwhelming at first because everything is locked until you play a few rounds to increase your rank. There are four classes available to choose from which essentially follow the now standard assault, medic, recon, engineer model. Each has its perks, but the assault class is most likely where most players will begin since the assault perks offer the most balance in terms of weapon power, range, and player speed. Each class has the ability to equip 3 weapons. For example, the assault starts with a standard AR, shotgun, and pistol as well as slots for hand grenades or tactical grenades.

The biggest issue with the customization menu is that a majority of the weapons are only available in your permanent inventory if you purchase game cash which in turn requires real cash. The result is that you unlock weapons and items as you level up, but you can only use them for a pre-specified trial period unless you purchase them with a credit card. There are also items that can be collected on the battlefield during matches in the form of unlockable trunks, but guess what? Those cost real money to unlock too. This was perhaps the biggest bait and switch of the entire game seeing as how the tutorials promise that virtual cash earned in game can be used to purchase most items. The reality is that the micro transactions mostly dominate the availability of WIB's weaponry and accessories.

In terms of game play, WIB plays like most ADS first person shooters, and killing other players feels somewhat satisfying. Since I haven't gotten a hang of keyboard and mouse controls yet, I was pretty happy with my 6/2 K/D after several rounds. There are multiple game types including conquest ala Battlefield, and Team Deathmatch. There is also a sabotage mode which is clearly borrowed from the Modern Warfare games, but it's well done enough to be passable. The real key to this game, however is teaming up with your squad mates, otherwise rounds will often be punishing and uneventful. Playing to objectives earns far more in game cash and XP than kills, so team play is encouraged.

Overall, I'm somewhat torn about this game. I know that it is F2P, but after playing a few rounds of Team Fortress 2 or Tribes, WIB lacks some of the polish that other free games have managed to accomplish through continued developer support. I also feel somewhat torn about how well this effort represents the level of technical polish that we can expect from The War Z since they share the same engine and controls. My hope is that The War Z will be a much more satisfying product since I will be looking for something to tide me over until the standalone DayZ game is finished or at least in Beta. With that said, War Inc. is a nice diversion, but it ultimately fails to capture the same level of playability that other F2P offerings do. Anybody else playing this game?