Warface is an online FPS game from Crytek which was first available on Steam and the Xbox 360, yet now you can pick it up on the PS4 and Xbox One. It’s strictly a shooter at its core with no story elements but instead, it focuses on basic modes seen frequently in these types of games. How well does it fair and should people give it a shot?
I want to be stylish
First off, Warface is a free game and has no physical edition. As expected with it being free, there are a lot of microtransactions for gear and skins. Content is also unlocked as you play through the game, but if you want something specific, you will need to pay for it. They have some really neat looking content and it looks like they are trying to keep it updated with new stuff, which is always great to see when a game is expecting you to remain invested in their eco-system.
Lemme see your war face grrr
You create your character at the start with a few simple choices. There isn’t anything wild or crazy with hundreds of looks, so picking out your selection is quick. The character you create seems to be the only one you have as there is no ability to create multiple characters on various save slots. I was a bit let down that I couldn’t simply create another character with all of my unlocks and progression being shared across them both. If I want a new character, I will need to delete my current character and start from scratch!
The modes you can access from the start are your standard common shooter selections, with co-op and versus. By playing through Warface, you’ll earn experience points which increases your rank over time. When your rank is higher, you’ll unlock additional modes and levels. So, as with all Free to Play games, there’s quite a bit of a grind for experience points as well as money in order to buy different gear.
Speaking of gear, you’ll be able to choose from an assortment of guns as you unlock and purchase them, all with different stats so the player can pick what best fits their playstyle. The prices aren’t too bad but it will require a few games to be able to buy things, or you can fast-track and spend real money to buy tokens.
Once you’re set with your loadout, you have additional classes which can be unlocked such as a sniper, medic, or assault class, each with their own perks that are usual staple norms from other FPS games.
Training to be the very best
Warface has you run through a tutorial before you begin so you can get a sense of controls and feel for the game. After this, you’re thrown into a prologue in order to test everything you’ve just been taught and try out your new skills. While running through maps, you’re always with a team. At this time, I wasn’t able to try out the private rooms to test compatibility. But on public games, there seems to be very little waiting time to get together a team and begin a round.
Nothing here guys…
As I ventured through the maps, I had a few problems with Warface. The first one being nothing major nor that big of a deal, but with FPS games, I like to see some environmental damage. Everything feels very ‘secure’ in place and it’s never gonna budge from there. With all the other shooting games out there which have exploding buildings and walls, it felt stale and old-school seeing none of that dynamic action.
The second problem being how random the enemies would spawn. Staring down a street with nothing showing on the minimap or on the street itself, but then magically they appear with snipers to the sides and a heavy class right in front of you. Dying was something I got used to very fast because of these ghost spawns.
Gimme a hand yo
Teamwork is the key to winning and whilst getting into matches felt fast, it felt like the enemies were on top of slaughtering any team which wasn’t in sync with one another. With random players, all doing their own thing and wanting to explore the map, enemies would randomly spawn behind us and pick us off. I had matches where the other players would simply cause more enemy spawns to happen and get us killed. I’m glad there is a co-op campaign, but if you’re playing with randoms, be ready for a bit of a mess to happen.
Versus mode has a variety of match types that FPS fans are all too familiar with. The problem that Warface suffers from in this mode is the same as many people have complained about with other games that feature microtransactions. People who invest in microtransactions clearly have an advantage over those who don’t and thus creates an unfair playing field. You might get a kill in here and there, but you’ll be ploughed down or sniped within moments of being spotted. It’s not even a skill thing, it’s a matter of having a wimpy damage output gun versus being one-shot killed.
Official Trailer:
Final Conclusion:
Warface is a Free to Play game that will have you coming back for more, but maybe only in co-op. Just like most of the games out there which follow this Free to Play model, if you dive into the Versus mode then you’ll clearly see how the game changes into the ‘Pay to Win’ formula as you’re taken out by people with much better gear. However, if you’re looking for a fun co-op experience for free with your friends, Warface has you covered – for free.
Unfortunately, when you look at the bigger picture though, in terms of both modes combined with the microtransactions and unusual enemy spawning issues, there are better choices of F2P games out there.
Warface
FREE
The Good:
- - Free to play game on PSN, Xbox Live and Steam
- - Co-op is decent fun and getting into a game is fast
The Bad:
- - Ghost enemy spawns
- - Pricey microtransactions
- -Prevention to try other modes without grinding for ranks
- - Versus modes are stacked against people not buying microtransactions
