Nexon, a studio that has brought us many online multiplayer games in the past, thought it would be a good idea to create a realistic and free first person shooter for the PC. Well, after a lot of planning and hard work, this thought became a reality with their new release of their shooter, Combat Arms. For those of you familiar, Combat Arms can be compared to the style of another shooter, War Rock, however, Combat Arms does not strive on premium paying members and promises to never show an advertisement or charge for anything.

Combat Arms has many things to marvel at, and one of them are the graphics. The visual style surpasses that of Call of Duty 4 and many other popular shooters out there one the market, and Combat ARms contains a good bit of uniqueness to each map. Boxes, barrels, and other generic shooter items are destructible, and the layouts of each map can be played over and over without getting boring.

Personally, I love the extreme large variety of weapons and modifications in Combat Arms. I can choose anywhere from an Ak47 Assault Rifle to the MP5 Sub-machine Gun. If I’m in a sniping mood, I can pull out an L96 sniper rifle. If I just want to have some fun and create large explosions I can pull out the LAW rocket launcher and terrorize other players. Having a good variety in any FPS is definitely a good thing, as gamers change their moods and change the way they feel like playing at a certain time.

Combat Arms doesn’t only have basic weapons, as the modification system can create many combinations of those weapons to your liking. If you think about it, there are 10 Assault Rifles each customizable with 4 different modifications. This allows upwards of over different styles just for those specific weapons. Not only are the weapons modifiable, the grenade types, other items, and armor are too. This all adds up for a different battle each and every time.

Thought Combat Arms is still very new, the overall gameplay is very smooth. Running and sprinting are included as they are with almost every other fps, but the inclusion of going prone is nowhere to be found. Nexon promises new features soon, and hopefully this ability is added.

The game modes vary from the standard deathmatch call “One Man Army,” to a team deathmatch called “Elimination.” The more popular gametype however, is “Search and Destroy” which is Combat Arms’ objective gametype. We have seen and played these modes before, so hopefully some more original types are added as the Combat Arms progresses through its life. However for now, the three are keeping many gamers busy.

Combat Arms is extremely strong in its community features. There is instant and private matchmaking, in-game private messaging, and a messenger/buddy list that operates just like it does in Valve’s Steam. What is also cool is that Combat Arms has built-in clan functionality, with mass group invitations and messaging. As a side note, I am the clan founder of “Clan Revengeance” so look us up when you get in game.

Also in Combat Arms there is a very in-depth experience system. You get experience just for playing, whether you win the match or not, so don’t worry if you join a round that’s about to end or if you have failed miserably. I have found that in One Man Army you get the most experience and not doing much. In the Elimination gametype, you get experience for killing each enemy and even more experience if your side wins. If you are playing Search and Destroy, you get experience for killing the enemy and completing objectives and ultimately winning the round if that happens. Overall, you end up earning “GPS,” Combat Arms’ currency, which can be traded for new gear or weapons.

Though we have seen a lot of these features and game mechanics before, Combat Arms is still very fun and Nexon promises a large future of updates and new features. Like I have previously mentioned, the game is totally free, so you really have nothing to lose, especially if you are in to first person shooters and are wanting something to play on your PC. Combat Arms combines excellent graphics, a top of the line weapon system, extreme level variety, and is a good and free competitor to those many online shooters that you have to would usually pay for.

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