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- Aug 8, 2004
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Well at last! My word it has been a long time waiting for Firearms to resurface after the glorious years the original mod brought us. For those who missed the boat with the original mod, it was hugely popular sitting right behind Counter Strike and Day of Defeat. Never did the mod get catapulted into the official status of a game, however it remained a popular classic amongst the community.[br]Firearms has been on a bumpy road since then with a major split between two separate Source versions of the mod being developed but these are long in the past with the current Firearms: Source team getting the blessing of all to recreate an experience we've been itching to relive.[br]
[br]Check out all our exclusive media below[br]
It has been roughly 4 years in development and on the 23rd July, FA:S will open it's doors to the public. There are masses who have played the original and will know what they want to see but there will also be a lot of new players with an open mind. So I will try to approach this from both perspectives.[br]
Tell me it feels the same<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
That's what she said. And by she I mean Dyspatch and his team. FA:S doesn't feel quite the same as the original mod but then it is on the Source engine. That is not a reason to curl up and cry though. There is a delicate balance which few mods manage to capture but is something FA always managed to and that is the ability to mix an arcadey style with the realism we pretend we don't care about. This has always been the backbone of the mod and something the team have evidently worked on by providing fast paced action combat with realistic weaponry developed with information from military experts consulting for the mod. This is something to be very happy about.[br]
[br]
Gritty Details<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
The game works very much the same as it always did with 4 recognisable gamemodes returning. Capture the intelligence, push, search & destroy and territorial control will all be available with the initial 8 maps released. Although the main objective with FA is to reduce your opponents reinforcements value by killing more opponents. After their tickets hit zero there is no more respawning and the last team standing wins. The 8 maps are of terrific quality for a mod is built on the Orange Box engine (Source 2007) with impressive use of effects and custom textures. In fact from my experience there were little or no Half-life assets making this a total conversion giving the mod it's very own Firearms feel. The range of environments are of significant variety to keep things fresh and interesting with snow & desert climates in urban and forested locations, you may even recognise some returning favourites.[br]
Maps<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
We were lucky enough to play some really fun maps. Iwojima a territorial control map has a great mixture of open forested zones with claustrophobic tunnel networks. The varied combat is a refreshing experience although it can be tricky to identify the range that a control point extends to. We also played Dragovo, a beautiful map shrouded in a red sky evening which plays as a search & destroy map. The large bridge in the middle is a dangerous sniper ground while the underground areas and street combat provide medium and close quarter combat. We also played Mine (TC) and Snowstorm (push) which was my personal favourite. Extremely well balanced with a variety of routes suiting several gameplay styles. The central point brings some exciting combat scenarios![br]
It's all about the guns<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
That is what you really want to know, I'm sure. Well wow, I haven't seen a mod with this many guns before. With this initial release you will have a choice of 33 guns, there will be more in the future I understand. Your load-out is completely up to you, its fully customisable with primary & secondary weapons, explosives, armour & other items. You have open to you 100 points to spend on your kit with each weapon priced accordingly to its attributes. Depending on how you want to play you can play with a good assault rifle and average pistol, frag grenades & bandages, or a sniper with just a pistol or a SMG with a desert eagle. Customise your load out to your play style.[br]
[br]
With all those guns you have a lot of models and animations. There were a few bugs here and there but on the whole they look terrific and felt incredibly satisfying to use. The guns are modelled realistically with great attention to detail. Word of advice...you'll get shot often so always carry bandages so you don't bleed out. Balancing the weapons has been a tough job for the team but from our early game sessions the players were all experimenting with a variety of weapons with no one weapon outclassing the others (No BF:BC2 M60's here!)[br]
Perks, Sound & Stability<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
A few extra points to pick up on. As you rack up the kills you will gain the ability to earn points for the perk system which allows you improved levels of perks as you progress. These include things such as healing team mates, reduced recoil, improved accuracy, ability to use mortar strikes and much more. The extra features really change the game as the round progresses adding new mechanics to the mix for the player to think about, changing the way you attack or the way you approach the enemy.[br]
[br]
The sounds in FA:S are astounding. All the guns have a reassuring kick to them, the voice commands are highly authentic and the musical pieces throughout the mod are made by Richard Douglas the well respected musician working on several Source mods including The Rising. The sound work is a great complement to the chaotic gameplay which enhances the overall atmosphere.[br]
Throughout the testing the team have come across some stability issues causing server crashes which they have worked tirelessly to fix. At the time of writing this I'm assured by team leader, Dyspatch, that these issues have been ironed out and that come the release on the 23rd, players will be able to enjoy the mod with no major issues. There will inevitably be fixes and bugs to squash and some further optimisation as well as content updates in the future (we hope!).[br]
[br]
Last Word<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
You may be an old school Firearms player ready to relive those childhood memories or completely new to the concept, regardless you should certainly jump in to see the old girl come out of retirement. This mod was astoundingly successful and I'm sure based on the support I've seen it will gather a significant following once again. If you're tired of the saturation of realistic shooters out there right now, Firearms:Source is bringing back that arcade style with a generous dose of nostalgia served on top.[br]
[br]
[br]
[br]
Firearms: Source is recorded in front of a live studio audience and will be released on the 23rd July. Download links will be available from the Firearms: Source website.[br]
Written by Hectic Glenn[br]Played by Dekstar, smash, fade, foxholeboy & Hectic Glenn
[br]Check out all our exclusive media belowIt has been roughly 4 years in development and on the 23rd July, FA:S will open it's doors to the public. There are masses who have played the original and will know what they want to see but there will also be a lot of new players with an open mind. So I will try to approach this from both perspectives.[br]
Tell me it feels the same<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
That's what she said. And by she I mean Dyspatch and his team. FA:S doesn't feel quite the same as the original mod but then it is on the Source engine. That is not a reason to curl up and cry though. There is a delicate balance which few mods manage to capture but is something FA always managed to and that is the ability to mix an arcadey style with the realism we pretend we don't care about. This has always been the backbone of the mod and something the team have evidently worked on by providing fast paced action combat with realistic weaponry developed with information from military experts consulting for the mod. This is something to be very happy about.[br]
Gritty Details<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
The game works very much the same as it always did with 4 recognisable gamemodes returning. Capture the intelligence, push, search & destroy and territorial control will all be available with the initial 8 maps released. Although the main objective with FA is to reduce your opponents reinforcements value by killing more opponents. After their tickets hit zero there is no more respawning and the last team standing wins. The 8 maps are of terrific quality for a mod is built on the Orange Box engine (Source 2007) with impressive use of effects and custom textures. In fact from my experience there were little or no Half-life assets making this a total conversion giving the mod it's very own Firearms feel. The range of environments are of significant variety to keep things fresh and interesting with snow & desert climates in urban and forested locations, you may even recognise some returning favourites.[br]
Maps<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
We were lucky enough to play some really fun maps. Iwojima a territorial control map has a great mixture of open forested zones with claustrophobic tunnel networks. The varied combat is a refreshing experience although it can be tricky to identify the range that a control point extends to. We also played Dragovo, a beautiful map shrouded in a red sky evening which plays as a search & destroy map. The large bridge in the middle is a dangerous sniper ground while the underground areas and street combat provide medium and close quarter combat. We also played Mine (TC) and Snowstorm (push) which was my personal favourite. Extremely well balanced with a variety of routes suiting several gameplay styles. The central point brings some exciting combat scenarios![br]
It's all about the guns<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
That is what you really want to know, I'm sure. Well wow, I haven't seen a mod with this many guns before. With this initial release you will have a choice of 33 guns, there will be more in the future I understand. Your load-out is completely up to you, its fully customisable with primary & secondary weapons, explosives, armour & other items. You have open to you 100 points to spend on your kit with each weapon priced accordingly to its attributes. Depending on how you want to play you can play with a good assault rifle and average pistol, frag grenades & bandages, or a sniper with just a pistol or a SMG with a desert eagle. Customise your load out to your play style.[br]
With all those guns you have a lot of models and animations. There were a few bugs here and there but on the whole they look terrific and felt incredibly satisfying to use. The guns are modelled realistically with great attention to detail. Word of advice...you'll get shot often so always carry bandages so you don't bleed out. Balancing the weapons has been a tough job for the team but from our early game sessions the players were all experimenting with a variety of weapons with no one weapon outclassing the others (No BF:BC2 M60's here!)[br]
Perks, Sound & Stability<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
A few extra points to pick up on. As you rack up the kills you will gain the ability to earn points for the perk system which allows you improved levels of perks as you progress. These include things such as healing team mates, reduced recoil, improved accuracy, ability to use mortar strikes and much more. The extra features really change the game as the round progresses adding new mechanics to the mix for the player to think about, changing the way you attack or the way you approach the enemy.[br]
The sounds in FA:S are astounding. All the guns have a reassuring kick to them, the voice commands are highly authentic and the musical pieces throughout the mod are made by Richard Douglas the well respected musician working on several Source mods including The Rising. The sound work is a great complement to the chaotic gameplay which enhances the overall atmosphere.[br]
Throughout the testing the team have come across some stability issues causing server crashes which they have worked tirelessly to fix. At the time of writing this I'm assured by team leader, Dyspatch, that these issues have been ironed out and that come the release on the 23rd, players will be able to enjoy the mod with no major issues. There will inevitably be fixes and bugs to squash and some further optimisation as well as content updates in the future (we hope!).[br]
Last Word<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>
You may be an old school Firearms player ready to relive those childhood memories or completely new to the concept, regardless you should certainly jump in to see the old girl come out of retirement. This mod was astoundingly successful and I'm sure based on the support I've seen it will gather a significant following once again. If you're tired of the saturation of realistic shooters out there right now, Firearms:Source is bringing back that arcade style with a generous dose of nostalgia served on top.[br]
[br]
Firearms: Source is recorded in front of a live studio audience and will be released on the 23rd July. Download links will be available from the Firearms: Source website.[br]
Written by Hectic Glenn[br]Played by Dekstar, smash, fade, foxholeboy & Hectic Glenn
