Combat Arms
Encyclopedia
Combat Arms is a multiplayer game, free-to-play
Free-to-play
Free-to-play refers to any video game that has the option of allowing its players to play without paying. The model was first popularly used in early massively multiplayer online games targeted towards casual gamers, before finding wider adoption among games released by major video game...

 modern first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...

 developed by the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

-based developer Doobic Studios, and published by Nexon
Nexon Corporation
Nexon Co. Ltd. is a South Korean video game developer and publisher of online games and MMORPGs. Founded in Seoul in 1994, Nexon's headquarters is currently based in Tokyo. Nexon provides over 30 games which are serviced in 72 countries globally, reaching 1.14 billion players...

. The game uses the Lithtech
Lithtech
Lithtech is a game engine which was initially developed by Monolith Productions in collaboration with Microsoft. Monolith later formed a separate company, LithTech Inc., to deal with further advancements of the engine technology and currently, after a change of its corporate identity, LithTech Inc...

 game engine to produce its graphics.

Gameplay

Combat Arms gameplay is similar to commercial games such as CrossFire
Crossfire
A crossfire is a military term for the siting of weapons so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I....

, Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...

, Ghost Recon 2 and Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...

. The game offers many different modes of play, including One Man Army
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...

, Elimination, Capture The Flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...

, multiplayer co-op
Cooperative game
In game theory, a cooperative game is a game where groups of players may enforce cooperative behaviour, hence the game is a competition between coalitions of players, rather than between individual players...

 (known as Fireteam), Quarantine Regen, Elimination Pro, Search and Destroy, Seize & Secure, Spy Hunt, Bombing Run, and Hired Guns. During the 2009 winter season of the game, a special mode known as Snowball Fight was introduced, but was later removed. Combat Arms uses a player ranking system based on total experience, using common military ranks that players can obtain. Completing objectives, killing other players, and levelling up one's rank gives the player money in the form of Gear Points (GP), which can be used to purchase new equipment. Equipment includes weaponry, weapon attachments, and accessories for one's character. Players can also purchase equipment from the Black Market (previously known as the Nexon Cash Shop) using NX (Nexon Cash) that is bought with real-world money. Primarily, the Black Market equipment is cosmetically different from regular shop items and have no rank or level requirement that many of the free items require. In addition, some items may only be obtained through the Black Market. All items purchased have a time length of anywhere from 1 to 90 days,(some weapons can be purchased for a permanent duration from the black market shop), after which the gear is deleted from the player's inventory; however, players can buy most NX standard items for permanent with NX and can be extended with the Weapon Renewal Kit, and on the rare occasion, Gear Points.

Combat Arms has over 6,000,000 registered players .The game supports community features such as clans and an in-game friends' list. There is one current official gaming league known as the World Online Gaming League that Nexon America sponsors, in addition to an upcoming league known simply as Combat Arms League.

Development

Combat Arms closed beta started on May 30, 2008, exclusively through FilePlanet
FilePlanet
FilePlanet is a video game download service that provides demos, patches, mods and other gaming media and other gaming media downloads to its users. FilePlanet was launched, and is run by, GameSpy, which is now a subsidiary of IGN, and is one of the most used video game download sites on the...

 and ran until June 6. This beta was limited to users from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

. In the closed beta, 4 maps and 30 weapons were available. On June 26, Combat Arms went into its Pre-Open Beta Phase, whereby the game was open to the public, but it was still being tested and changed to prepare for Open Beta. Pre-Open Beta was still limited to users from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

. The Official Launch of Combat Arms started on July 11, 2008.

On the August 8, 2008, Nexon announced that a Combat Arms service would be started by Nexon Europe for European Players. On September 25, 2008, the Combat Arms Europe Teaser website was activated by Nexon Europe, and on October 28, 2008, Nexon Europe started the Combat Arms Europe Closed Beta testing. Closed Beta testing finished on November 11, 2008, and the Open Beta testing began on December 16, 2008 and lasted until January 15, 1350. The game is now fully released in Korea, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. On April 2, 2009, Nexon America announced that South American service for Combat Arms would cease on April 9th of that year. Those who had any amount of NX were allowed to play until October 9th, or until their NX fell below an undefined amount, whichever came first. An in-game voice chat system, provided by Vivox
Vivox
Vivox, Inc. specifically provides managed communication services in the form of integrated voice chat, Instant Messaging and presence to online games, virtual worlds and other online communities...

, was implemented in the game on November 25th, 2009.

On June 29, 2010, Level Up! Interactive, the premier Brazilian free games publisher announced that it had attained publishing rights of Combat Arms in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. The teaser website was launched.

In 2011, Combat Arms continued to receive updates on a regular basis. This includes the inclusion of new maps, new weaponry, and new character skins. There are currently 32 maps available to battle in as of October 1st, 2011.

Critical reception

Metacritic aggregate reviews place Combat Arms with an average of 71. Reviewers cite many bugs and glitches in the earlier versions.

GameZone's Michael Splechta reviewed the game on March 11, 2010, saying "Combat Arms is fun. Simple as that. If you can overlook the annoying players, then anyone looking for a competitive online shooter should look no further. This is free to play Fun-FPS at its best."

External links

Official Website (Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

/Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

)] Official Website (United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

/Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

) Official Website (Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

only)
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