CrimeCraft Review: Hot town, Summer in the City…
By Jonathan (Ardua) Doyle OnRPG Journalist
…back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.
Well it would wouldn’t it? After all this isn’t your normal city and being clean takes a back seat to staying alive. This is Sunshine City. This is the OnRPG CrimeCraft review.
Street Cred
You’ve got two options in the world painted for you by Vogster Entertainment in their Free to Play MMOFPS CrimeCraft. You can either scrape by in the anarchy outside the walls or you can sign up and play by the rules and be admitted to Sunshine City. Sure it isn’t the best slice of real estate this side of pretty much anywhere but it works. People have got homes, homes have got power and the raw meat recruits help keep the chaos, the squatters and sometimes the Feds at bay.
Set in a not too distant future, CrimeCraft paints a post apocalyptic cityscape that has suffered the ravages of war and rampant gang warfare in a world where anyone can eventually wave around a rocket launcher.
The setting earns CrimeCraft its street cred with me. Vogster had an idea of the game they wanted to make and merged it well into the setting presented. The world as you know it has gone and the only way to survive is to sign up to protect Sunshine City, even if that occasionally (read: Almost always) means coming to blows with other denizens.
Like my threads?
Admittedly the character creator in CrimeCraft isn’t the most in-depth I have ever come across. A smattering of hair and skin colours, a few tops, bottoms and shoes as well. Most of the stuff in the creator is the same thing in a different colour, but you know what? That’s okay. Don’t get too attached to your threads, you’ll be replacing them as you earn the cash. Though it doesn’t look it, even the humble baseball cap can add to your characters resistances and stats.
It’s not just the clothes that make the man or woman. Augmentations and boosts play a part as well. Abilities are equipable enhancements that can give you extra resistances, allow you to become invisible for a short period or even heal you slowly over time once you’ve taken a beating. Boosts on the other hand are timed buffs that you can buy from vendors for a particular effect.
Taken all together, wearing the right clothes with the right abilities and pocketing the right boosts are all just a step towards victory. A step that will end with snipers round in the head if you aren’t careful.
Welcome to the Jungle
We’ve got fun ‘n’ games. Also a bunch of game modes to shake your mouse at.
PVP
Turf War
Snatch N’ Grab
Robbery
Shootout
Riot
PVE
Safeguard
Stockpile
Headhunter
On the PvE side of things these boil down to a mode where you guard an objective, a mode where you have to grab up all the supplies you can for your own gain and finally a mode where you, with a team, flush out a particularly tough mob and try to take him or her down.
As with any game, communication is key, but even without it the PvE modes are quite fun and people eventually get their act together and work together.
On the PvP side of life… you have classics. They may have different names but honestly, why bother trying to improve on FPS gold?
Turf War is a fun, point capture game. There are five points spread out; everyone starts with one and whoever gets all five wins. Failing that, the winner is whoever finished the round with the most under control.
Snatch N’ Grab is the ever classic Capture the Flag. They have one; you want it, what more is there to say?
Robbery is straightforward. Get to the other teams safe to steal cash, run it back to yours. Most cash wins at the end. Don’t think it’s easy though. People are tight with their money.
Shootout is Team Death Match. Make the other guys dead more often than they kill you.
Riot is the classic free for all death match. If it moves, kill it. Maybe try killing it a little even if it doesn’t move. It’s why they gave you a knife after all.
My life in Sunshine City
I’ve had a blast in CrimeCraft. The tutorial area is very well laid out and gently eases you into the particulars of CrimeCraft without appearing to be holding your hand. From crawling all over an oil rig taking pot shots at the Feds with just a pistol and knife at my disposal to my quick introduction to some of the heavier weapons (literally a mission to paste 10 guys with a Rocket Launcher. Massive fun but short lived) I felt I was given a good grounding in the PvE side of the game. The in game Newspaper works as a quick newbie FAQ which I found helpful. The in game pay phone adds achievements to my career by giving me extra little missions to complete during my time played.
Every time I’ve played I’ve seen a busy and vibrant game. There are plenty of different areas to play the different game modes in and even just wandering around the city is a bit of a treat. The only fleeting dark cloud over Sunshine City was a chance encounter with a cheater. One single guy, out of however many people I have killed and been killed by, stooped so low as to hack the game to avoid damage. Try and never be that guy kids. Even his own team was disgusted and petitions were sent. Though as I said, it was something I’ve only ever experienced once.
Personally I could see myself having quite a good time in CrimeCraft. I’ve barely scratched the surface in my chosen crafting profession (of which there are four and they branch later on giving two specialities each). I’ve investigated the cash shop but haven’t yet felt the need to use it. I’ve plenty more to do in this online shooter. I can’t say I’ve ever been able to say the same about some of the others I’ve played in my time.
Da End!
If a shooter isn’t your type of game, it’s unlikely CrimeCraft will be. This is a well-crafted and gorgeous looking online shooter with MMORPG aspects. This also isn’t comparable to APB if only because first, I never played APB and second, I can’t. If you crave a world like that of Grand Theft Auto only shoved online and run through an apocalypse, this is the world for you. Well worth looking into. Just keep your eyes peeled, I might have you in my sights.
Pros
Fast paced multi game mode online shooter
Gorgeous graphics and detailed maps
Good interaction from the developers on Twitter, Facebook and in the game.
Cons
The occasional cheater (who are lower than a very low thing)
Ps. I learned the hard way. Snipers mine behind themselves. Also, glowy red things aren’t an objective, they’re armed grenades. Don’t stand on them.
