Firefall Reviews
Firefall's quests and world design have some appeal, but humdrum travel and repetition spoil the fun.
Makes you work a lot for very little. The repetitive churn of missions and activities further spoil an only occasionally entertaining shooter.
There's plenty to like in Firefall, but not much to love - and that's the passion it needs to evoke in order to get you spending on those Red Beans that will open up the game's more interesting tools and let you progress faster, both upwards through the levels and through the world itself.
Firefall's shooter/MMORPG hybrid combines genres to produce mediocrity.
What Firefall brings to the table is a gorgeous and unique sci-fi MMO that's unfortunately dragged down by rote mission design and dreadful combat. The silver lining is that MMOs (especially free to play ones) are an ever changing and evolving product — what you play at launch will be completely different from what is played a year from now, thanks to updates. Here's hoping it eventually becomes that game.
Firefall is middling. If you have free time to spare, the fact that it won't cost you anything to try is a huge win. If it manages to sink its teeth into you over the first few hours, you might just be hooked. Personally, I'll pass.
I guess my review boils down to is Firefall worth your time and hard drive space? Yes. If you stick with it for a couple of hours, you may come away somewhat impressed.
Firefall showed some real promise as I started on my epic journey. The shooting was fine, and the missions were fun at first, but then after doing almost the same thing over and over again, I just couldn't find any reason to continue. Like I said, I am willing to go back and see if the game improves in the future but I wont be returning to Firefall anytime soon.
Somewhere along the way, [Red 5] got a little lost, but they're back on track and with a thriving but small community they're onto something very special. It's a little rough around the edges right now, but I'd heartily recommend Firefall to anyone who's sick of the same old MMO fodder. Just be prepared to roll with the work-in-progress nature of the game, and you might be pleasantly surprised at the fun on offer.
All these problems could be fixed in the coming months - the bugs can be patched out, quests can be rewritten and made more varied and lively, crafting can be balanced to make it worthwhile, and the number of dynamic events can be increased. Something can be done, too, to encourage team play. But, until then, there is no reason to start playing.
As internet speeds have increased and gaming has become a more popular pastime, MMOs have begun rising and falling like the tide, and unless Firefall makes some drastic changes, there's not enough to entice players into logging in and keeping this game alive. If you want to play an MMORPG, you would be better off spending a few bucks up front for something that's actually fun.
Firefall is a massively-mixed bag. The game is at its best when it forces players to frantically shoot their way through swarms of enemies while protecting an objective, but the fun found in these missions wears off when repeated over and over. I think there are a few hours of genuine pleasure to be found in Firefall, but beyond that I think it's hard to recommend it to anyone, unless they're just a diehard fan of MMO tropes.
Firefall has potential, but it's not quite there just yet. A little bit more restructuring and beefing up in some areas will help Firefall evolve, if Red 5 Studios can give more time and money to the project. Hopefully it keeps developing the title, as it does have potential.
Firefall has the promise to be an engaging free-to-play MMO, but the current state of the game is far from a pristine experience. Endless repetitive Job Board missions will keep players from running out of things to do in-game, but you'll stop playing well beforehand from boredom. Some of the higher level missions are much enjoyable, but you'll have to find a way trudge through the early parts of the game to get there. Playing with friends certainly improves the experience, but be prepared for some frustrating moments, as simple mechanics like sharing missions in progress doesn't exist. The inclusion of PvP allows you to test your Battleframe against others, but the reward system doesn't appear to be worth the time investment.
Firefall feels like a game that's just entering Beta, rather than one that's just left it.
Arriving late, yet feeling premature, check back in a few months time.
I really wanted to like this game, but it has barely touched upon its potential, and while it comes with a working game design and world, that is all it really has, and I do hope this will change over time, otherwise Firefall will slowly die out, and not really be remembered.
Tiring combat, lack of depth, and broken PvP are just some of the reasons Firefall does not excel. However, further along down the line this broken shooter could be great.