Freeware PC

Free online FPS's are hard to come by and when they do, it's a hit or a miss. In Combat Arms, I would consider it a shot in the foot.

Right after downloading I felt like something was going to be wrong with this game. It wasn't the graphics, it was the controls and it wasn't the sound. It was just the feel of the game: the feeling that I just wasn't going to like it, at all.

Before I get down and dirty, let me tell you what CA does right, well sort of. It has the normal gameplay modes like deathmatch and CTF which are all fun if you aren't playing with people with bad Internet connections. The graphics are far from stellar for a free game but allows some cool effects like bloom.

The game controls and plays like a normal FPS but I found myself constantly adjusting the mouse sensitivity for the right type of gun. And in many firefights, this did not help one bit. You can't aim from the hip without a scope, which will cost you some in-game money.



The sound is rather forgettable, it has the normal bangs and explosion sounds but they really lackluster. Sometimes it seemed like the sounds didn't match the gun animation or reload animation at all. It was all very awkward but I just ignored it after a while.

Now to one of the most annoying this of all: THE IN-GAME LAG. Because of the way the game is designed, you can only get game money (used for buying weapons and equipment) and experience (for ranking up) at an end of a match. Now if you get disconnected from the server, you'll lose all your earned experience and money that you would get at the end of a match. So if you're in first place and lag out, good-bye EXP and money.

There's another frustrating aspect of the game. The guns you buy aren't permanent. They only last for a certain amount of time. The maximum amount of time is 90 days and that will cost you lots of in-game money. The same goes with the equipment and outfits you buy.



One other upside to the game is that it is completely free, just like most Nexon games but there are bonuses for those who want to pay in micro-transaction system. But having to keep paying for items you have already bought is just doesn't make any sense for an online FPS.

As I mentioned in the CA impression post, there are no assist kills and I can't get over the inconsistent lag and the damage it does to the gameplay experience. If you can get over that or if somehow Nexon improves the lag, you still only have a pretty terrible to mediocre experience in Combat Arms.

The Bottom Line: 5.5 out of 10

Screenshots from http://www.atomicgamer.com/gameScreenshots.php?id=4186