GDC 2009: CrimeCraft Impressions

SAN FRANCISCO--Vogster's CrimeCraft is one of many online games onhand at GDC 2009. The game takes place in a virtual gangland in which you and your posse of fellow gangsters (who can be outfitted in the same outfits to simulate actual gang colors) compete to control contested turf in brief...

SAN FRANCISCO--Vogster's CrimeCraft is one of many online games onhand at GDC 2009. The game takes place in a virtual gangland in which you and your posse of fellow gangsters (who can be outfitted in the same outfits to simulate actual gang colors) compete to control contested turf in brief team-based first-person shooter battles. Since the setting is contemporary, you'll primarily be using conventional firearms like assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols, though you'll also be able to equip your character with handful of miscellaneous "abilities" (about 40 abilities are planned for launch) that may include things like tossing Molotov cocktails and using first aid kits.


You and your gang buddies will shoot up other gangs and take performance-enhancing drugs in CrimeCraft.

CrimeCraft runs on the Unreal engine. Matches are fast and brutal, and dying happens often, but since you can respawn a few seconds later, it's more of an inconvenience than anything else. The game's play modes include free-for-all deathmatch, team deathmatch, and a control-point mode that requires you to capture and hold various key points on the map. Competitive players will want to play in the game's regular tournaments, which will list rankings for various gangs on Web site leaderboards. Successful player-versus-player champions may even be rewarded with exclusive in-game items.

For those who want to take a break from the action, you'll be able to use a crafting system that lets you create various types of clothing, weapons and weapon modifications (such as gunsights, gunbarrels, and triggers), and even performance-enhancing drugs, so that you can become a virtual drug dealer if you care to. You'll also be able to use player housing, or "cribs," which higher-level gangs can outfit with amenities like crafting stations and a pawnbroker shop--also known as the game's auction house system. However, all these features, along with the beta version's newly implemented matchmaking system (which will let you send and accept invites to instantly join matches), will feed into the game's first-person shooter gameplay and empower players to jump into the action immediately without having to traverse the world.

It should be noted that CrimeCraft is not going to be a free-to-play game, but will instead carry a subscription fee. It's scheduled to launch later this year.

14 Comments

  • SuperUberMike

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 8:19 am PT

    The monthly subscription is turning me off. They will need more than a few in-game items to make me buy this one.

  • lathan94

    Posted Apr 21, 2009 6:18 pm PT

    Heck no, a subscription fee for this. They are going to have to make it a lot more impressive than this to convince me.

  • ratm247

    Posted Apr 2, 2009 8:21 pm PT

    @turaaggeli: crimecraft may not be a great name, but there are only so many titles before you have to think of something original. other options are crimequest, crimehammer, runecrime, crime & dragons, star crime galaxies. from those i think crimecraft is the better choice.

  • Karl319

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 11:29 am PT

    April foo...l..s ?

  • turaaggeli

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 7:42 am PT

    Seriously, Crimecraft? I'd like to meet the creative genius who thought up with that so I could punch him in the face. The name alone will make me steer clear of this garbage.

  • sleepychicken

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 8:31 am PT

    I do not understand how all these developers are planning to put out team based shooters with light RPG elements and charge a monthly subscription. Oh wait, they have clan support and stat tracking!... oh, wait, most shooters have that for no monthly sub. Forcing players to unlock "abilities" like tossing grenades or using first aid kits? Freakin' joke. So now tossing a grenade in a shooter is an ability that requires an unlock. I can shoot a gun just fine, but not toss a grenade? They are terribly complicated... A persistant world I can pay a fee for. Not something like this. Reminds me of Phantasy Star. Co-op shooter with an online server with light rpg elements, but charge 10 bucks a month for. Game was fun, but why pay 10 bones a month for something most other games offer for free.

  • Yotamho

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 2:46 am PT

    This game sounds great, Im sure that Im gonna buy it

  • DarkWolf81

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 2:20 am PT

    I thought the idea of an MMO crime game would be awesome...and then I hear it's just some team-based deathmatch FPS game? That sucks big time. And not even in a decent modern setting. What developers need to do is take a concept like The Godfather (the structure of it) and mix it with the quality of GTA and have a proper RPG style crime MMO.

    Wth comes up with these ideas? It's not like games development/production is cheap.

  • tholgair

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 8:22 pm PT

    Title is soooooo original warcraft, starcraft, crimecraft! Bizzared entertainment presents hey, i goat a better one! how about crapcraft

  • Dilbert3k

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 2:19 pm PT

    I love how all these games that might make a decent FPS suddenly throw in a 3D meeting room and call themselves a MMO and charge a $14.95 a month fee.
    So what do you get for your $14.95 a month? Smaller matches then TF2 or CoD4.... Hummm.... I think not.

  • storrmbringer

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 3:10 am PT

    crap

  • mspranav

    Posted Mar 28, 2009 11:19 pm PT

    not impressive ..

  • mpoverege

    Posted Mar 28, 2009 1:35 pm PT

    looks great!

  • mpoverege

    Posted Mar 28, 2009 1:35 pm PT

    looks great!

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