E3 2009: AVA Hands On
posted:
6/16/2009 11:50:00 PM
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E3 2009
A.V.A. (or Alliance of Valiant Arms) is a new Unreal Engine 3 powered first person shooter from the folks at ijji who are bringing the game to the US later this fall. The free to play online game has you playing either the European Union or the Neo Russian Federation in one of five game modes. The modes are Escort, Convoy, Annihilation, Demolition, and Free for All and you'll get to play as one of three classes Rifleman, Sniper,and Light.
I got to play the Escort mission which has one side protecting a tank as it travels from one side of the map to the other. The opposing team must find rocket launchers which are scattered through out the level and then use them to blow up the tank. The tank can be repaired if it's damaged but it does leave you open to fire if you do so. The mode plays a bit like the protect the MPC levels in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and the Gold Rush mode in Team Fortress 2 but with a few twists.
We had to defend the tank while a team of developers tried to take it out. It took a little while for me to get a grip on the map and figure out which class worked best for me. The light class is a bit of a speed class and comes with a submachine gun that's fairly effective up close, the sniper class is exactly what you would expect and was mostly useless for defending the tank while the assault class was a perfect balance of the three classes (at least for me).
Once I got right class and got a feel for the maps things started to turn a bit for our side. I was finally able to start wracking up a few kills at a time as we worked out way through the map. Graphics and audio are solid (what else would you expect from a UE3 game) and I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly I got sucked into the game.
While we ended up getting the tank to the other side of the map I did wonder how the business model of the game was going to work out. You earn funds to purchase upgrades by playing the missions and there is a second set of upgrades that you'll have to use real money to purchase. I can see how the model is going to work out but with other free to try games (like Combat Arms) and other high quality FPS games on the market (such as Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead) the game is facing an up hill battle. Of course the free price tag helps but the game is going to face some serious competition when it's released this fall.
I got to play the Escort mission which has one side protecting a tank as it travels from one side of the map to the other. The opposing team must find rocket launchers which are scattered through out the level and then use them to blow up the tank. The tank can be repaired if it's damaged but it does leave you open to fire if you do so. The mode plays a bit like the protect the MPC levels in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and the Gold Rush mode in Team Fortress 2 but with a few twists.
We had to defend the tank while a team of developers tried to take it out. It took a little while for me to get a grip on the map and figure out which class worked best for me. The light class is a bit of a speed class and comes with a submachine gun that's fairly effective up close, the sniper class is exactly what you would expect and was mostly useless for defending the tank while the assault class was a perfect balance of the three classes (at least for me).
Once I got right class and got a feel for the maps things started to turn a bit for our side. I was finally able to start wracking up a few kills at a time as we worked out way through the map. Graphics and audio are solid (what else would you expect from a UE3 game) and I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly I got sucked into the game.
While we ended up getting the tank to the other side of the map I did wonder how the business model of the game was going to work out. You earn funds to purchase upgrades by playing the missions and there is a second set of upgrades that you'll have to use real money to purchase. I can see how the model is going to work out but with other free to try games (like Combat Arms) and other high quality FPS games on the market (such as Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead) the game is facing an up hill battle. Of course the free price tag helps but the game is going to face some serious competition when it's released this fall.
