Director of Content Cody Bye got his hands on Firefall at PAX Prime and was excited by what this free-to-play title offers both MMO and FPS fans.

With my new piece of loot added to my collection, Kern urged me to try my hand at a PvP match. Even though I'm a causal FPSer, it was still very easy to tell that these PvP matches were exactly what you might find in any modern day first-person shooter. Players from the other team (my own team was slaughtered frequently), did an excellent job using team tactics sending their assaults to draw out the opposing team then allowing their recon battleframes to snipe them down from afar. Medics would stand in the back healing up the assault battleframe that got shot up, and thus very quickly the tides were turned and my team was annihilated.

However, it was easy to see just how complex PvP matches could become. With the addition of different abilities to each battleframe, especially those that altered the movement of a character, some very different strategies were readily apparent. My assault battleframe was definitely trying his best to get as high as possible in the PvP map just so he would one shot a lonely recon battleframe who happened to be ignoring things dropping on him from above. The ability to fly adds so much depth to the game beyond what you'd see in a traditional FPS title that it could truly bring a novelty to the game that attracts a horde of FPS gamers.

Other things of note that I saw in my hands-on time with the game.

• Resource gathering will be a major activity in PvE, but will include a ton of monster fighting.
• Players are able to switch out battleframes at any time as long as they're near an appropriate terminal.
• Each battleframe will level up independently and have its own gear that you swap in/out.
• Players hold two weapons at a time that are easily switched between.
• Snipers are still obnoxious, especially good ones.
• Players start with relatively basic (but brightly colored) battleframe but can buy more complex patterns/outfits.
• Team play is definitely a good thing to have in PvP matches.
• Crafting is a part of the game with lots of crafting items dropping that are usable.
• Looks fantastic and definitely has a “crisp” feel.

Without a doubt, this was one of the most surprising and satisfying games I played at the show. Fans of both MMOs and FPS games will find things they love in Firefall, and – if all goes accordingly – neither will have many complaints about the “newness” that the other genre brings to the traditional gameplay modes.

Cody "Micajah" Bye, Director of Content