The visual style of CrimeCraft is dark and gritty
CrimeCraft is not an MMO. The representatives for this game are calling it a Persistent World Next-gen Shooter (PWNS).
Despite having a look and feel akin to Grand Theft Auto, and a name reminiscent of a wildly popular MMORPG, the mechanics of the game can actually be compared more closely to games like Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty. It is an RPG in the sense that your character levels up, and gains abilities based on kills and completion of missions, but the devs have striven to make FPS skill the most important factor in determining success in the game-world. In fact, the goal they’re shooting for is to make a character who has reached the level cap of 50 only win about twice as often as a level 1 character, assuming both players are equal in skill. This is an interesting decision, and one that is only possible in an RPG with a heavy emphasis on natural gaming skill and reaction time. The comparison to TF2 starts to make sense once you see where they’re going. Whether that genre name will stick is yet to be seen, but assuredly they’ve created something unique.
Although everycharacter is the same size and shape, they can look however you want otherwise
CrimeCraft, which is currently in Closed Beta, places the player’s character in a gritty, crime-ridden city, cut off from the outside world. The city is overrun by gangs, and the authorities have all but given up completely on containing them, allowing the gangs to roam the streets and prey on each other at will. The instanced missions are mostly PvP and include things like capture-the-flag and point control-style maps. Some PvE missions are also available, however, both solo and co-operative. The current assets make the game look like it has a very hip-hop, gangsta style to it, but the developer I spoke with assured me that while that style is popular, players can make their characters look like whatever type of criminal they want, from Italian mobster to crooked cop to cattle rustler (although, to my knoweldge, there are no cattle to rustle). There are outfits and accessories to make up your gang however you want.
Smooth Criminal (in case you've forgotten)
All of which leads me to Vogster’s other clear innovation of the genre. In most games of this ilk, one would have to choose between looking the way they want and getting the stats they want. The devs decided it was important for gangs to have visual cohesion, so they allow item stats to be mixed around. This is easiest explained by example: Say you are wearing a fedora of +1 armor, and you find a bandana of +2 armor. Obviously, wearing the new bandana would be best for your stats, but it would totally ruin the Smooth Criminal look that you’re going for: so, you take the stats from the bandana, and put them on the fedora. Now you have a Fedora of +2 armor, and your look is maintained. Obviously, this has the side effect of making it more difficult to tell how strong someone is just by looking at them, but with the small difference that is actually made by stats, it’s a small matter.
Over all, CrimeCraft looks like an MMO (sorry, Vogster. It is massive-multiplayer, and it is online) with some interesting genre blending, and some cool new ideas. Keep an eye out for my upcoming review to see how these and other features of this unique game ultimately pan out.
Articles RSS