War Rock

Infobox VG| title = War Rock


developer = Dream Execution
publisher = Nexon(flagicon|South Korea) K2 Network(flagicon|United States flagicon|European Unionflagicon|India) Lievo (flagicon|Japan) ABS-CBN (flagicon|Philippines)
released = 2004 (flagicon|South Korea) February 2007 (flagicon|United Statesflagicon|European Union) March 2007 (flagicon|Japan) September 1, 2007 (flagicon|Philippines) 2007 (flagicon|India)
ratings = ESRB: Mature (M)(flagicon|South Korea) Teen (T)(flagicon|United States) 16+ (flagicon|United Kingdom)
engine = Jindo 3D
rating = ESRB: Teen(T)
version = 8/21/2008 Patch
modes = Online game, Single player practice
genre = First-person shooters
hack protection = Punkbuster (International, Korea), nProtect GameGuard (Philippines)
platforms = Windows Me Windows 2000 (officially but unsupported by International version) Windows XP Windows Vista (officially as yet, unsupported)
media = CD (1) Online download
input = Keyboard, mouse, Joystick
requirements = Pentium III 800 MHz processor, 512 MB RAM, Radeon 8500LE, Geforce MX 400 or better video card, 1.6 GB free hard drive space

A list of working graphics cards can be found [http://forum.warrock.net/index.php?showtopic=61015 here.]

"War Rock" ( _ko. 워록) is a recently created multiplayer online first-person shooter available free for download. Even though the game is free to download, it requires a valid e-mail address and user name to play. The registration form has blocked disposable e-mail services such as mailinator. The retail version comes with additional features in comparison to the free version. "War Rock" has low system requirements compared to other contemporary online first person shooters. This gives the game a wider audience, allowing casual gamers and those who do not follow the latest trends in PC gaming hardware to play.

The International versions, in contrast to the Korean & Japanese versions, have no blood. K2 Network made this change to the International version so that the ESRB rating system would mark it as a T for Teen, allowing the game to reach a greater audience.

K2 ended its beta-testing on January 31, 2007 in preparation for the February 7, 2007 commercial release.cite web |title = End of Beta Announcements | publisher = K2 Network| url = http://forum.warrock.net/index.php?showtopic=32835]

Gameplay

The game is set in the midst of a civil war in the fictional country of Derbaran between government soldiers and a rebel organization called the National Independence Union (NIU). The location of Derberan is usually squeezed onto a map of Central Asia between real countries to make it appear more believable. cite web| title = War Rock Episode 1 and 2| publisher = K2 Network| url= http://warrock.gamersfirst.com/story.php| accessdate= 2007-05-22] Players select between the two teams and engage in battles using 20th and 21st century military equipment, including a large assortment of infantry weapons and vehicles.cite web| title= Official War Rock Website - Armory| publisher= K2 Network| url= http://warrock.gamersfirst.com/armory.php| accessdate= 2007-05-22] cite web| title= Official War Rock Website - Vehicles| publisher= K2 Network| url= http://warrock.gamersfirst.com/vehicles.php| accessdate= 2007-05-22]

'War Rock" games are divided into three modes of play: Close Quarters Combat, Urban Ops and Battle Group.cite web| title= Official War Rock Website - Gameplay| publisher= K2 Network| url= http://warrock.gamersfirst.com/basic_training.php| accessdate= 2007-05-22] These differ in the size of the map, the number of respawns permitted and the availability of vehicles, with CQC being focused on small-scale infantry missions and BG involving huge battlefields with some tanks, transports, boats, helicopters and jet aircraft. Objectives in the different game modes include capturing and defending key positions on the map, planting explosives on enemy targets, accumulating points in a team deathmatch-style game or a free for all match. For Deathmatch/Battle Group, there is also Conquest mode, making it necessary for each team to capture all the flags in the map, or whittle down the other team's points from 999.

War Rock offers a premium option, which gives you Dinar each month and offers a wider selection of the guns in the weapon store, buying premium lets you make a room with custom names, private options, and any map available in War Rock. War Rock features a list of servers which members can log into, so you can choose the closest one to you. Premium members have access to Vivox VOIP for in game chat, however it cannot be used by Free2Play users and is only be available to Gold premium users.

Maps

Some of the maps availble:

CQC/urban/battle group : Velruf, cadoro, khali, marien, xuen, zackhar, ravello, ravello 2nd str., paragona, paragona east, conturas, engrene, cantumara, alberon, rusty nails,cold cavem,etc. (many more maps available and up n' coming from k2)

Reception

The International release of "War Rock" was a moderate success (Due to its popularity for being free) according to game rating websites, scoring average ratings. IGN gave "War Rock" a 5.9 out of 10 rating, stating that it was "an ugly game" that suffered from graphical flaws and severe lag issues that ruined the enjoyment of the game.cite web| last= Onyett| first= Charles|title= IGN: War Rock Review - High connection speeds beware| publisher= IGN| date= 2007-02-21| url= http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/766/766610p1.html| accessdate= 2007-05-22] It is very hard to earn in-game currency (dinar as it's called) compared to the other shooting games, and War Rock has made some weapons that were available to F2P players only usable by premium members, such as the G36, and the FAMAS (the latter being the best all-round weapon in the eyes of experienced players). GameSpot gave the game a 5.5, criticizing the poor production value and claiming that the use of real-world money to obtain access to superior equipment was unfair, even comparing it to a pyramid scheme.cite web| last= VanOrd| first= Kevin| title= PC War Rock Review| publisher= GameSpot| date= 2007-02-26| url= http://au.gamespot.com/pc/action/warrock/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review| accessdate= 2007-05-22]

Criticisms

Commercialization and maintenance

K2 frequently holds maintenance and takes all servers down at same time (Every Thursday 2-6pm PST).cite web| title= Official War Rock Website| date=2008-07-02| url= http://warrock.gamersfirst.com| accessdate= 2008-07-02] War Rock is criticized for taking servers down during peak hours, however, it should be noted that War Rock is an international game and, as such, any time chosen for maintenance is a peak time somewhere.cite web| title= War Rock Supported Regions| date= 2008-06-04| url= http://forum.warrock.net/index.php?showtopic=102398| accessdate= 2008-06-04] Apart from that K2 is also criticized for making War Rock more commercialized by making the "better" guns available to premium members or players who buy from the online marketplace.

This can be proven in these cases:PSG-1, the one of two 1 shot kill sniper in the game is only available to members.
MP7A1, One of the strongest SMGs in the game is only available to members.

In other cases:
AI_AW, Sniper even stronger than the PSG-1
M134 Minigun, The only minigun in the game, very strong and fast
FAMAS, A very good assault rifle, strong damage and fast fire rate.

War Rock has remained a free2play game, and some guns were made premium only so as to make the people who were paying for the extra service (things such as priority support, faster leveling, and more maps) feel better treated Fact|date=July 2008 while eliminating the incentive for free to play players to progress in any realistic manner.

References

External links

* [http://warrock.gamersfirst.com WarRock.GamersFirst.com - The Official International Version Website]
* [http://forum.warrock.net Forum.Warrock.net - Official War Rock Forums]
* [http://ops.warrock.net/ Ops.Warrock.net - WarRock Clan and Tournament]
* [http://www.evenbalance.com/ Evenbalance - Provides "Punkbuster Cheat Detection" service for War Rock]
* [http://warrock.nexon.com WarRock.Nexon.com - The Official Korean Version Website] (In Korean)
* [http://www.warrock.ph WarRock.ph - The Official Philippine Version Website]
* [http://warrock.it/ WarRock.it | WarRock Italian Community]
* [http://warrockfrance.fr/ French community | War rock France( K2 Version )]
* [http://www.warrock-hq.de/ German WarRock community]
* [http://www.warrock.nl/ Nederland WarRock community]
* [http://www.warrockturk.com/ Turkish WarRock community]
* [http://mmohub.org/2008/war-rock "War Rock" Review on MMOHub.org]