The Job Board is the new “constant content” providing tool for Firefall. There are several hundred new missions added to the game with launch, each of which provides a nice side-story to the overall arc you play through with Oilspill and Aero. Most of the jobs involve running from one objective, killing things, and moving to the next, but perhaps because of the action oriented nature of the game, I rarely tired of the experience. It was more of a chore to do the traveling than the jobs themselves. The Job Boards are just a tiny step above standard Quest Hub mechanics, because at least they’re fully voice-acted and at least the combat is always engaging.
The best parts of Firefall’s PVE come in the form of multiplayer campaign missions and the dungeons you unlock later in the game. Yes, there are even 20-man raids in Firefall, and they’re seriously fun stuff. I’m chuckling at myself as I write this, because here is a game that once again uses “quests” as a means of progression, and I’m loving it. Truth be told, you can simply do the random world events and invasions, as well as crafting and thumping to progress too, but the Job Boards are the main crux of the leveling experience. They become a little tiresome on your second or third time leveling a Frame, but the random nature of world events helps to break things up.
The world events like Chosen Invasions, Melding Tornadoes, and so on are not your typical “on cycle” GW2 dynamic events. They happen all over the place, sometimes at the worst time possible in the middle of a Thumper event, and they become magnets for co-op player activity. Everyone rushes to push back the Chosen, everyone joins in for large Thumper battles, and everyone works together. These events are when the game feels the most exciting, and the same can be said about large fights in the open PVP zone. Join a Clan for the latter, as loner mercs die fast.
Grouping, when it does happen, has built in voice chat, but the tools for organizing your Clan, your friends, and so forth are a little hackneyed and could use some polish. The UI has undergone a lot of changes and is more responsive than ever, but it still could use some TLC as a lot of things still don’t quite flow well enough.
It’s also worth noting that Firefall is free. And those players who did buy the Commander’s Packs and the like way back when still have all their goodies. The new Founder’s Packs are also a steal, coming with all the Frames unlocked, a two-seater car, and a reusable glider pad that has less of a cooldown than the other ones. But if you don’t want to shell out, you won’t be worse off. You may have to do some work to unlock all the frames, but leveling to 40 doesn’t take long, and saving up resources to convert into Red Beans can be an easy thing to do too, depending on the churn of the market (the currency conversion works like CREDD in WildStar or Gems in GW2 in that it changes based on supply and demand).
Simply put, Firefall is one of the most robust and best-playing F2P MMOs you can find. Its combat is stellar, gliding never gets old, and crafting is a truly worthwhile venture. The notion that players will push back the melding (see the embedded trailer above), and pick what parts of the world are uncovered next is an exciting one. It seems that after all these years, Red5 finally knows exactly where they want to take Firefall. I just hope plenty of people give it the shot it deserves to help see it to its destination.
- GAMEPLAY: 8 – With direction and tons to do, Firefall will keep you busy.
- VISUALS: 8 – A bit of a mixed bag, but looks stunning on high.
- POLISH: 6 – Though progress is made often, there are still a lot of bugs.
- SOCIAL: 6 – Multiplayer content is there, but you’ll spend most of your time solo.
- INNOVATION: 7 – From the story to the mechanics and systems, Firefall does a lot to stand out even if it relies a little too much on standard MMO questing.
- LONGEVITY: 7 – With over a dozen frames to level and lots of crafting to master, it should last you a while.
- VALUE: 10 – It’s free, with a cash shop that’s comprised of convenience and cosmetic items. ‘Nuff said.
