Alliance of Valiant Arms is addicting, feels like Counter-Strike
By Naritus 1 Comments
Free to play "MMOFPS" with microtransactions? Screw that!
..right?
It feels a lot like Counter-Strike. I must have logged over a thousand hours into CS 1.6 years ago, and this game has the same fast-paced, high-stakes addictive quality to it. The game mode that's offered (or the only one I've found in the beta) is the now-standard "plant the bomb at A, B, or C and don't let it be defused!" The difference between this and the objective modes in the recent modern weaponry-based FPS games is that in A.V.A., gameplay is FAST. The guns handle very nicely and feel right. By double-tapping the "w" key, your character sprints, and quite quickly at that. The players move faster than Modern Warfare, and sound is much more important here. The shift key makes your character walk silently, and crouching also dampens your footsteps. It is vital to plan your movements in advance, because you cannot snap down your sights from a full sprint nor can you change weapons while sprinting. I personally like the rigidity of the control scheme, and rarely does it feel like you were cheated or the enemy got lucky. Most times, there's always one clear winner of a gunfight and he is by no coincidence usually the initiator.
So, it's a fun but fairly vanilla shooter. Very pretty, very quick, very functional. However, it's also completely ranked, and quitting games is frowned upon in the form of lost EXP and lost Euros which are actually relatively scarce compared to the Call of Duty brand of advancement. You can purchase new guns to use during combat in the store between games with either Euros or A.V.A.'s microtransaction funding system. You can also purchase expendable armor, "perks" (increased radar range, faster movement, etc.), and accessories like grenades and flashbangs.
Overall, I highly recommend trying the beta. ijji (yes, IJJI - the company producing A.V.A.) requires that players use their "launcher" called the ijji Reactor to play, but the launcher is not at all problematic and so far I have not witnessed any hacking.
PROS:
- Fast, solid, fun gameplay
- Kills feel incredibly satisfying
- Free to play (at least during the beta)
- Good feeling of progression
- Great graphics and a subtle addictive quality to the short rounds
CONS:
- It's another FPS
- Death can come too quickly when you have to wait to respawn
- Sometimes you get paired with people blatantly above your skill level
- And you die. A lot.
- The temptation to pay real money to get ingame items
OVERALL:
Definitely check the game out if you enjoyed Counter-Strike. You need to sign up with ijji and then download the "Reactor" and beta.
If you're interested, start here: http://ava.ijji.com/
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