Crossfire Review
Crossfire is another MMOFPS that gives us a nostalgic look at the shooters of yesteryear. With fast paced action and “decent enough” graphics, this is a game that will run on almost any computer and will at least offer a sprinkle of enjoyment for a short time. On the other hand, it might become your most played game of the year. The first question is whether it’s worth adding another free-to-play MMOFPS to your hard drive. We picked up our best guns, checked our reflexes and took to the battlefield to find out if Crossfire is worth your time and effort.
Quick and Fun – This is a game that’s very fun. It reminds me, in general vibe, of perhaps Golden Eye or Perfect Dark. You get into games quickly and then you run around killing the other team until one team wins. You can complicate it a little by buying things from the shop, but you don’t need to – that’s the mark of a good free-to-play MMOFPS. It’s also worth mentioning that the controls are instantly pick up and play, and that a lack of down-the-sights aiming is really a great equalizer in a game like this.
Crossfire Gameplay Video
Like a Ghost – There are several different game modes in Crossfire, my favourite of which is Ghost. For the FPS-experts out there, think Search and Destroy/Counter-Strike with a twist. One team must defend the bomb site while the other tries to infiltrate and blow up the bomb site. The twist is this: if the infiltrating team stands still, they will become completely invisible. The perk is balanced by only having access to a knife, but it’s a surprisingly well made game mode and something that I’d really like to see other games pick up as well.
Pretty Grenade – Some of the things you can buy from the market are completely crazy in Crossfire, but in a good way. A valentine special grenade, for instance, blows up like any normal grenade but leaves a cloud of pink gas in its wake. “Love” pops up in the gas. What an excellent way of telling an enemy that there are no hard feelings. There are other devices and weapons to buy as well, things that will offer no specific advantage, but that are pretty cool in themselves.
Everybody In – The graphics for Crossfire aren’t going to burn up anybody’s screen, but they’re pretty good for what they are and having lower-end graphics does mean entry is generally easier for anybody who wants to be involved. If you have a computer that can get to Windows, you probably have a computer that will play Crossfire, and that’s by no means a bad thing.
Market Forces – The market place for Crossfire is about as fair as you’d expect. Almost everything in the game can be “rented” with in-game currency. Other items tend to be shiny new guns or new character/unit packs that are largely optional or that produce a specific effect, rather than increase damage (see above). Prices don’t seem overly ridiculous either. If you find yourself spending money in free-to-play stores, you could do worse than Crossfire. On the flip side of that, if you don’t spend money, you won’t necessarily find yourself at a disadvantage.
Community Policing Itself – Although I couldn’t say that the Crossfire community is particularly welcoming or even very vocal, there is one area which has everybody working together. Hacking is a real problem (see below), but the community does a fairly good job of identifying, naming and shaming (or at least kicking) perpetrators of unfair play. They just want a good time, and they want the people they play with to be on the level. It almost makes up for the hacking being so damn prevalent in the first place.
Reason: Hacking – This is a game with a problem. There are some major problems with people hacking or using aimbots in almost every game. I can’t stress enough how rampant this is, even with anti-cheating programs as part of the basic package. This leads to far too many people being kicked from a game, which leads to unbalanced teams and terrible K/D ratios. It might be one of the few negatives in Crossfire, but damn is it a big one.
The Verdict - Crossfire Review
Crossfire is a fun game that’s easy to pick up and play. It’s well balanced and very, very enjoyable… when it works. The fact that there are so many people cheating within the game is a pretty big turn-off, and although the community does a good job to keep cheater interaction out of their playtime, it still means there’s a constant stream of “vote kick” pop up boxes during a match. How distracting this is will be up to you and how much you let it bother you.
Aside from that issue, Crossfire is well worth a look if you’re after a new MMOFPS, and it more than holds its own with others in the genre.
Similar Shooter Games
Wolfteam, Planetside 2, District 187
If you like this Crossfire review, be sure to read our interview with Crossfire producer, in which we ask about the evolving face of the MMOFPS genre, beating the hackers and those fantastic new game modes.
Review by M. Growcott
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