War Rock

Games come and games go. What was impressive and captivating one year will be just another title by the end of the same year. Every so often a new game comes along that will revolutionize a genre. And just as rarely a new game is released that manages to capture the best parts of an entire genre. While War Rock does not bring great innovations to the first-person shooter style of games it does bring great gameplay, responsive controls, quality graphics without a trace of slowdown or degradation, and a wide variety of in-game experiences for players to enjoy. Based on the Internet, War Rock is a multiplayer game that allows gamers from all across the world to join in realistic battles, complete with more options than most other games offer.

War Rock is built with standard first-person shooter fare. Players are trapped in a maze with other players. Those other players have guns and an objective - to destroy your team at all costs. The game is played in teams, with new players who join during a round passed out in a round-robin fashion. Players can choose between several different “character classes.” The clever Engineer is a good avatar to have when you are working with tanks or other forms of machinery. Scouts are fast moving and carry a sniper rifle, while the Combatant is an all-around fighter. Heavy weapons are available as well as a field-medic, giving players many different options for their team composition.

The controls are extremely responsive, especially for an Internet-based game. Even with moderate amounts of lag between the player and the server War Rock responds quickly and easily to the controls. This is a profound blessing for players, since hit locations matter. Being sprayed with bullets from a machine gun across a crowded square might lead to minor wounds, as machine guns are not the most accurate weapons in a player’s arsenal. On the other hand, a stray round can kill a player in one shot if it passes through the heart or the head. This can lead to very fast-paced rounds of combat.

There are several options available to players. Capture the flag is done in a very unorthodox system - capturing the flags earns points, but does not completely guarantee a win. Players’ deaths reduce the “score tally” of their team. Once a team has depleted their points, the end is near. There are also deathmatch and scenario games, for example dealing with terrorists, counter terrorists, and explosives placed in a destroyed city square. In these matches defending a bomb so it can detonate, defusing the bomb, and eliminating all enemy players are options for achieving victory.

War Rock also boasts an impressive assortment of vehicles that players can use in certain games. Tanks, motorcycles, helicopters, trucks to quickly convey troops, and even airplanes are available. Each vehicle has its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the potential for extra players to join you inside the vehicle. The largest tank sports two different gunnery positions as well as the driver, each with a heavy machine gun at their disposal, while a covered truck allows 5 other players to join you for rapid deployment. Each vehicle can be destroyed with the right firepower, so keeping them repaired becomes an issue. Finding the right firepower to challenge your opponents is another concern. Tanks shrug off regular pistols and machine guns, for example.

Each vehicle also has a flaw or drawback. The heavy tanks are extremely slow and the motorcycles prevent you from easily firing a weapon in self defense. The aircraft take some getting used to before you can pilot them confidently and are rather fragile. A few rockets or an anti-air barrage will knock players out of the sky quickly. Players need to be aware of the limitations of each vehicle if they hope to use them successfully or defend against them.

The learning curve for War Rock is fairly simple - if you have played a first-person shooter before you will feel right at home. The difficult part of this game is dealing with the other players. Like any online game you will meet a mix of players who are rookies, moderately skilled, or masters of the game. To keep things under control players have the ability to create private rooms, protected by passwords, and invite their friends to join them. Players can also simply join any public game they choose or form a new one of their own. This gives players a nice opportunity to play with friends their own skill level or dive right into the full experience. The downside to this style is that players cannot enjoy War Rock without a stable Internet connection.

The graphics for War Rock are a nice balance between performance and brilliance. The world of War Rock renders quickly and has few problems. Everything in the world is clearly recognizable at a glance, from the class of an opponent’s avatar to the weapons in their hands. Explosions and other effects are well done without being too flashy. The fiery destruction of a vehicle is a little unrealistic, especially when watching a plane collapse into burning wreckage, but it is a small thing most players will easily overlook.

The sounds of War Rock are equally entertaining. Voice commands given at the start of a round are clear and distinct. Warnings about objectives that are falling into enemy hands are just as clear. The sounds of explosions both near and far can be a little unsettling at first, but players can quickly tell what is going on around them by listening. Players can be located quickly if they are moving too fast simply by the sound of their passage. When moving slowly a player can make almost no noise, but running generates heavy footfalls that other players can home in on. Grenades serve a dual purpose in War Rock, both as weapons and as distractions to cover the sounds of a player’s actions.

War Rock has not been released yet, but any fan of the FPS genre will want to give this title a good long look. The controls are responsive, the sounds are well done, and the combat is fast-paced and very realistic. The multiplayer options allow for many different playing experiences. Anything from single-player duels to massive engagements involving tanks and aircraft. The learning curve for the basics is very low - if you have played another first-person shooter you will feel right at home. Learning how to play against other players is always a challenge, and the vehicles add another twist. Once you begin playing, War Rock will have you hooked. If the preview is anything to go by this title is going to be one of the outstanding entries into the first person shooter genre this year.