By Jason Van Horn
There are a lot of modern day first-person shooters out there now, including many free-to-play ones. Alliance of Valiant Arms is different, however, as it has more in common with the massively popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare multiplayer modes than other games in the genre. While it doesn't manage to reach that level of gaming perfection, it's still a blast of a game to play, and a free-to-play FPS MMO worth anyone's time.
Players have three character classes to choose from, though it's important to note you're never stuck with one. Instead, players are free to randomly jump between each three with a mere click of a key. Alliance of Valiant Arms (AVA for short) features Pointmen, Riflemen, and Snipers. Snipers are pretty common in the genre, as they're all about hiding and killing from afar. Riflemen and Pointmen are a bit different when it comes to classification, as Riflemen are more built for middle range combat, while Pointmen are all about going in first, getting in close, and blasting away. I personally like to go with being a Pointman most of my time, but I'll switch it up from time-to-time when I want a bit of diversity or need to change class to fit the situation. Luckily, after every death, you're able to stick with your current class or switch to another with the press of a button. Each character class has their own special weapons that they can use, so instead of creating a character that's freely switched and used between all three classes, you instead manage what are essentially three versions of your character.
Besides creating a basic look for your character, your soldier is more defined by the weapons and armor they bring to the table more than anything else. Players start with a basic weapon for each class, but after earning enough money you can go into the game's store and purchase various weapons to augment your character. Many of the weapons can then be further tweaked to match your personal play style, making it so that two players using the same weapons rarely have the same setup. There also aren't many options that are instant must-buy purchases without taking a little consideration into mind, as many weapon upgrades have positives and negatives to think about. A new barrel might help one aspect of how the weapon controls, but it could ultimately affect something like accuracy. Ultimately, players will analyze the stats of each item, compare it to what part of their game needs fixing, and then equipping it appropriately.
AVA also features an item mall, which is operated much like other free-to-play games. You can spend real world money to buy such things as rank disguises, new crosshairs, camouflage that lasts for certain periods of time, Euro (in-game currency) and experience bonuses, and weapons and armor. I've played a number of free-to-play MMOs and ultimately what infuriates me is how they have the game setup so they're constantly taking money from you. You can't buy a gun and own it permanently, but rather you pay to rent it for a set period of days; if you like the weapon then you have to rent it again when time is up. AVA is luckily not like those games at all, as weapons bought are permanent, so after you've bought them once you never have to buy them again. There are many bonuses and armors that need buying as they're timed, but weapons are a constant. Once you've bought a weapon, the only thing you have to do is make sure it's maintained and kept in good condition by spending won Euros to repair it from time-to-time; this goes for the in-game store weapons too.
Much like the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games, a big reason AVA is so fun to play is because all of the medals, achievements, and experience ranks that unlock as you play. I have no problems jumping into a game for the sole purpose of killing some people, but AVA makes me feel like I'm actually getting better and rewarded for my time spent playing. The game might task you with winning on a certain stage, and if you do so you'll complete the "quest" and earn some extra experience and money for your time. You also can earn various badges and medals for completing certain objectives, such as killing three people with a grenade, using your weapon the best, and playing the game for certain lengths of time or achieving a certain number of kills or points.
The only real downfall when it comes to the game and it's one that's quite a distraction is the fact that there are not enough game modes and maps. There are only a handful of maps and they're directly attached to the various game modes. The Cold Case map, for example, is a closed in and fairly small map meant for close quarters fighting and the team deathmatch Annihilation mode. If you love the map and hate playing the mode, you have little option besides learning to accept the mode or switching to another map and playing its mode instead. In total, there are around nine different maps, which isn't bad for a free-to-play game, but I'd certainly like to see more. Map layout is very well done, however, as there's plenty of choke points, places to camp and stage attacks, and various perches to hide and snipe from.
As for the game modes, all of the various types are attached to teams, so rogue warriors with a "me against the world attitude" won't find a single solo match to be had. There's Annihilation (team deathmatch), Demolition (one team works to set a bomb while the other tries to stop them), and Escort (must transport a tank and keep it in working condition until you reach your goal). Escort is certainly the most unique mission type and it's really intense and fun to play, as you've got to divide your time between trying to either stop or repair a tank, while trying to stop the other team from hampering your ability to do one of those two things.
When you boot the game up for the first time, you'll be blown away by the graphics, as they are very impressive for a free-to-play game, which shouldn't come as a surprise as AVA uses the Unreal 3 engine. Graphically, this means more human looking character models, weapons that look more realistic, and lots of excellent texture mapping help pull you into the war torn environments. The game also sounds very good, as explosions, whizzing bullets, and background music really help set the mood.
Alliance of Valiant Arms is an overall remarkable game, especially considering the fact that it's a free-to-play game. It could've fallen into the usual trappings of its gameplay model, but instead it goes beyond them to show all free-to-play games aren't created equal. Besides a thoughtful item mall that doesn't try to siphon as much money as it can from you, you've also got excellent production values and tight controls. The only thing hampering the game is a lack of modes, maps, and occasional lag spiked games. If it can get over those hurdles it will be a beast. As it is now, however, it's still an amazing game and one that you definitely owe it to yourself to download and enjoy.