Most gamers aren’t too pleased with the direction of most games today as they seem too derivative and follow a direct formula that may please a portion of gamers while the rest are shaking their head in disgust. It’s understandable why we don't see more original games since it’s hard for a studio or publisher to get the funding required to do a crazy concept that would actually please a decent number of people but not the massive amount that would amount to a “blockbuster” level success. But thanks to the growing interest in free-to-play games developer Digital Extremes is delivering a Warframe, a new co-op f2p shooting game that is striving to deliver an original sci-fi experience.
If you’re like me you may have done a double take upon looking at the debut image of Warframe as it does bear a striking resemblance to Digital Extreme’s Dark Sector, or at least the original concept of Dark Sector. Far from being a direct continuation of the original Dark Sector concept, Warframe does seem to be borrowing some design elements from the project along with Digital Extreme’s core design sense which melds stylish sci-fi influences with manga/anime tones.
Warframe itself is a co-op centric PVE game with unique character classes that can be fully upgraded after successfully completing a raid. When it comes to raids and obtaining loot to upgrade the many weapons and suit abilities in the game, Warframe will keep things interesting with procedurally generating levels for each mission in the game.
The specific classes and abilities of the character classes in Warframe weren’t detailed but you can get a decent look at some of them in the teaser trailer for the game. Comprised entirely of in-game footage, Warframe’s slick visuals and the stellar art direction of Digital Extremes is on display and the game even looks interesting on a gameplay front despite everything being still up until the very end. I mean c’mon, who doesn’t want to play as a sci-fi ninja slicing up massive soldiers?
Warframe will be released as a f2p game right off the bat this Winter and yes, you’ll be able to experience the whole game and not just a small portion of it. Digital Extremes will obviously include micro-transactions for things such as suit enhancements, but the core experience will be totally free-to-play without any kind of catches. Those such as myself who are immediately excited about the potential of Warframe may have the chance to play it early thanks to a closed beta that’s set to kick off this Fall.
