- CrimeCraft
-
CrimeCraft 
Developer(s) Vogster Entertainment Publisher(s) THQ Inc. Engine Unreal 3 Platform(s) Microsoft Windows Release date(s) August 25, 2009 Genre(s) Persistent Third-person shooter MMO Mode(s) Player versus Player, Player versus Environment CrimeCraft is a free-to-play online Persistent World Next-generation Shooter dubbed "PWNS" by developer Vogster Entertainment[1] and published at retail by THQ. The game is set in the near future where the world lies in anarchy and gangs have replaced governments.
Contents
Overview
Crimecraft was released at retail through an exclusive deal with Best Buy and THQ in the United States and Canada and online worldwide on August 25, 2009.[2] In late October 2009, CrimeCraft received their first major patch update, which included an unlimited free trial. There have been regular updates to the game since that time to add more content and to fix several major bugs that were present in the game at launch.[3] Designers at Vogster Entertainment take a great deal of notice to the Crimecraft community. Input by the community plays a major role in decisions for future updates.[4] As of the 27 August the game was published on Steam with an Welcome deal giving 60 Gold Bars (An ingame money type) drawing many new players in, forcing Vogster to open a second realm to accommodate the heavy loads. There are plans for 2 additional realms.
Gameplay
CrimeCraft revolves around gang warfare, combining role-playing elements as well as an MMO environment. A large, persistent city acts as the game’s lobby where players can form gangs, accept missions and buy new weapons. The game consists of seven game modes, which can be broken down into two major categories: PvP game modes, wherein players compete against each other, and PvE game modes, wherein players compete against computer controlled AI bots. Other features include questing, achievements, crafting and gang hideouts. [5]
Lobbies is where players spend their time when they are not in combat instances. Hundreds of players can be in a lobby at once. From here, players have a good choice as to what they would like to do. Players are able to talk to one another through chat, and barter items with one another. Players can also join groups, as well as gangs, which are equivalent to Guilds or Clans. Players are able to talk to numerous Non-Player-Characters that are spread throughout all three lobbies. Players can either buy in-game items from them, or complete quests. Players can craft items such as weapons, clothing, and drugs. Players are able to choose from a large list of abilities, boosts, equipment each with different pros and cons. These items can be used in the instanced battles.
Players can join instanced battles from the lobbies. These battles are where the shooter aspect of crimecraft takes place, and there is a good amount of diversity in the gametypes. Usually, these matches consist of two teams split into teams of 8.[6]
Gametypes
- Turf War - Two teams battle for control of five points spread out throughout the map. The first team to control all five points, or to have the most points when the match timer runs out is the winner.
- Snatch N' Grab - A typical Capture the Flag game mode between 2 teams.
- Robbery - Both teams start with a safe at their end of the map containing 100K in cash. Players must steal cash from the opposing player's safe in increments of 1K and bring it back to their own safe. The first team to have 200K in their safe, or to have the most cash in their safe at the end of the match is the winner.
- Shootout - A typical team deathmatch style game. The team with the most amount of kills when the timer runs out is the winner.
- Riot - A typical deathmatch or free-for-all mode. Player with the most amount of kills when the timer runs out is the winner.
- Safeguard - A PvE mode where a group of players must protect precious cargo from wave after wave of non-player-character bots.
- Stockpile - A PVE game mode where a group of players must search through a map filled with enemy bots in order to collect the supply containers hidden throughout. [7]
- Capture the Zone - Two teams of 16 battle for control of 3 very large points spread throughout the map. Teams gain points based on the amount of time they have a fully captured point. The team with the most points when time runs out is the winner.
- Gangwar - Leaders of gangs can challenge another rival gang to an agreed map and game mode. Each team wagers a certain amount of cash on the game. The winning gang keeps the money wagered by both teams.
- Tournaments - Four player teams play in a bracketed tournament with a 1 loss elimination. Players progress through the brackets by winning matches. The last team standing wins. Players all receive in-game awards, but the award get better the farther that a team progresses with $10,000 in in-game cash for the overall winner. [8]
Reception
CrimeCraft was heavily criticized for its business model after its initial launch.[9] Since launch the developer, Vogster Entertainment, has changed the business model from a box purchase with subscription fee and microtransactions to an “Unlimited Free Trial” and have now settled on a more traditional Free to Play model with upgrades via subscriptions and microtransactions. [10]
CrimeCraft was refused classification in Australia on November 30, 2009 by the Classification Board because of the game's use of drugs as incentives or rewards.[11]
Other titles
Kingpin
Crimecraft: Kingpin is a companion product to CrimeCraft that runs on iPhone and Facebook. It is a social MMO in a mafia wars style.
===Bleedout===ll Bleedout is the first legitimate expansion for Crimecraft with a release date set for autumn, 2010. Bleedout's feature list includes:
- A new questing campaign.
- Belly Street: A new map that is used for instanced battles.
- A reworked style and look to all of the lobbies.
- Tournaments twice a day instead of daily. (This is due to the large influx of players from around the world. This will allow players to play in a tournament at a time that is more reasonable for them.)
- A Reputation system that will measure a players activity.
- New items and clothing.
- Combat Adjustments and improvements.
The Bleedout campaign will be broken up into episodes that will be released weekly for ten weeks. These episodes will have a set of missions, as well as art done by illustrators in the comic book industry. Each episode will progress through a small part of the Bleedout storyline and will be free to subscribed players. There will be a small fee for each episode for those players who do not have subscriptions. [12]
Vogster has partnered with American comic book company Archaia to expand on the new Bleedout storyline. Together, they will be releasing Bleedout: The Graphic Novel which will feature the artwork of the illustrators that have worked on the Bleedout campaign within Crimecraft. It will have a similar pattern as the Bleedout expansion. Artists will each contribute their own stylized illustrations to a separate chapter of the novel. [13]
External links
References
- ^ "“It’s a PWNS”: CrimeCraft In Action". http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/04/01/its-a-pwns-crimecraft-in-action/. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- ^ "Warriors, Wizards and Gnomes... NO WAY! Vogster Introduces Gritty Urban Crime Drama 'CrimeCraft' to MMO Games Category". http://feature.mmosite.com/content/2008-04-10/20080410205104032,1.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ^ "Vogster Launches Free Trial and First Major Content Update for CrimeCraft". http://pc.ign.com/articles/103/1039061p1.html. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ "Vogster Reveals Free Trial, New Subscription Structure and First Major Content Update for Online Shooter CrimeCraft". http://atomicgamer.com/news/1383/vogster-reveals-free-trial-new-subscription-structure-and-first-major-content-update-for-online-shooter-crimecraft. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- ^ http://mmohut.com/free-trials/crimecraft
- ^ "CrimeCraft First Look". http://pc.ign.com/articles/943/943696p1.html. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- ^ http://mmohut.com/free-trials/crimecraft
- ^ "'CrimeCraft' Content Update Adds Tweaks, Fixes, Seedy NightClubs And More". http://worthplaying.com/article/2010/5/29/news/74590/. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- ^ http://www.massively.com/2009/08/25/crimecraft-launches-producer-responds-to-naysayers/
- ^ http://mmohut.com/free-trials/crimecraft
- ^ http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/11/drug-use-the-reason-for-crimecraft-banning/
- ^ "BLEEDOUT bringing episodic campaign, new features!". http://www.crimecraft.com/announcements/bleedout-bringing-episodic-campaign-new-features. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
- ^ "CrimeCraft Announces BLEEDOUT". http://www.crimecraft.com/announcements/crimecraft-announces-bleedout. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
Categories:- 2009 video games
- Multiplayer online games
- Third-person shooters
- THQ games
- Unreal Engine games
- Video game censorship
- Windows games
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
