Operation 7 (Unofficial Review)
Lets start off with the gameplay. Which is what makes Op7 stand out from most fps's. Op7 takes features from a lot of already famous fps games, such as COD and True Combat Elite. Not very many games have strayed from the traditional CS knock-off routine, and I applaud Mgame for thinking outside the box, which many game developers these days seem to have forgotten about.
The main feature in the gameplay department, for me, has got to be the lean feature. I've seen it implemented in other games, but in those games, it was abused all to hell. It had been so engrained into the players mind that leaning is all important, it became impossible to play the game without leaning to the left or right the entire time. Op7 doesn't though. It pulls it off beautifully, just too much of you sticks out while you're leaning, forcing players to think before they lean. At the bottom left of the screen is a radar, that also has been pretty absent in most f2p games these days. Its a really nice addition, and definitely helpful when you pay attention to it. When another team-mate runs into an enemy, it'll show the location and movement of said enemy for a brief moment. So you don't run head on into a bullet around the corner. Very nice addition.
In most FPS's, we have a stamina bar. Its present in this game as well, but I feel its a tremendous improvement. In most games, running a very short distance will deplete your stamina so far, so fast, its almost as if you're character is fainting mid-run. Don't even mention jumping, I think the developers in other games must've programmed the characters after physically retarded soldiers, because jumping once would oft-times cut your stamina in half. Not the case here. Not only is your stamina used in a more realistic manner, you can also find water bottles in fallen enemies' backpacks to help replenish them.
The game lets you carry three weapons from the get-go. A primary, secondary, and a type of grenade, which, I just found out, expires. Oh well. Some people are complaining that you can't have your assualt rifle and sniper rifle with you in-game, but this is not the case. In the cash shop, there is an option to buy another primary weapon slot. Oh and before I forget, wouldn't you love to be able to get one last squeeze out on your trigger as you fall to your death? Well you can in this game. Its a wonderful feeling when your gun sprays your killer to death as you fall to your knees. I find it comical when it happens to me, better than dying behind cover due to lag, but I'll talk about that in a few.
With Op7, the gameplay is rather refreshing, but its not without its flaws. Now don't get me wrong, I think it was programmed beautifully, but other factors easily make and break this game. For gameplay, however, it renewed my faith in f2p fps's.
Graphics:
7/10
Graphics aren't something I pay much attention to when gaming, but I do take notice, especially when I decide the game is worthy enough of a serious review. Now, my computer is rather rubbish so I have to go on what I've seen of HD youtube vids of people playing op7 at its highest quality. From what I've seen its rather realistic. Of course, though, when the graphics are all turned down, its as if I'm playing it on the N64. Yeah, the textures are pretty much gone from the game at its lowest settings. Its too bad they couldn't have had a better way of dealing with graphics, Combat Arms did very well with its graphics. I still had to turn down all the graphics for that game, and it looked almost the same as when the graphics were turned up. Aside from motion blurs and effects. Speaking of which though, there are some very impressive effects in the midst of battle. Grenade splash damage is very top-notch. You can survive a blast from a grenade a few feet in front of you, but not without hearing loss and vision blur. Also your character moves very slowly while this is happening, as if dizzy from the explosion. For whatever reason though, the screen blurs when running, which although isn't much of a bad thing, since everyone else has it as well, its still a bit distracting, and makes it harder for you to pay attention to your surroundings. The blur surrounds your crosshairs and pretty much forces you to stare at the area you're running too. There are some minor glitches in the game, I sometimes see through walls when the screen shakes, and sometimes a small sliver of a wall will turn completely black for a few seconds. But in terms of bugs, the graphics are fairly well done. I can't complain, I don't exactly have a good computer (its a laptop, so that doesn't help), but at least its playable.
Network
6/10
This is where the game breaks down. I know its still in Beta, but the lag here is inexcuseable. I don't know how they programmed the game in terms of bandwidth, but they really should think of a better way to handle it before they release this game. In Op7, lag handles a bit differently than in most games. Instead of freezing your character on screen, or teleporting to make up for lag, you yourself slows down while everyone else is runnign full speed. Let me spell it out for you, if you lag, your character will act as if its a braindead monkey high off sniffing exhaust. In other words, your gun will shoot slower, your reload time increases dramatically, and your character can't move faster than a snail's pace. This is a huge problem, and probably the main downfall of this game. I hope netgame gets better servers for this before its officially released, instead of rushing to get it out without any actual work done on it after the beta is over, much like some other games I can mention. I've noticed too, that when you're lagging, bullets will still connect with you when you move out of the way of them. There are times when I notice that his bullets should be connecting, but they don't. A few moments later, behind cover, I'll recieve the damage for it, and die. I don't know why, but this is much more frustrating than teleporting and freezing. Its as if the game tricks you into thinking you're awesome for dodging that bullet, when only ten seconds later it smacks you in the face with a reminder that you're not. And you're dead.
Features
9/10
Ah, this has got to be what won me over. Netgame is taking a very risky course by letting users actually KEEP the weapons they buy with their hard earned money! Yes, thats right! You don't have to go with a **** weapon for months before you have enough money to buy that God-weapon you once owned. You can KEEP it! Just like real life!!
Ok, sarcasm aside, this is a really great thing in my opinion. This is the point when I usually decide not to ever touch this game ever again, but Op7 lets you keep your weapons. That makes me a very happy Jacksterson. Alongside this feature is something completely new to the franchise. Building your own weapons, oh and character customization. Lets start with the weapons first. You can start off by buying from a list of different handles that will decide which parts you can place on it. I.e., you can't buy a sniper handle and have it shoot automatic, however awesome that may be, (and useless). But you can, however, place a scope on an assault rifle. Which surprisingly is useful from time to time. You can also change the camoflauge of each individual part, giving your weapon a personal feeling to it. I named mine Molly Mk. II. Anyways, customizing weapons is endlessly fun, I can spend an hour just messing around with this feature. Because of this, it gives you incentive for reaching that next level, or gaining enough money for parts, which adds to the reasons I think I'll stay with this game. Many of the games I never touch anymore, are soulely because there is no incentive to playing it, other than getting a higher rank. But whats the point of that, when a game is dependant on skill? Ranks can be very misleading, so they've never been a key feature I've ever been interested in. Oh, you can create your own character. By this I mean, choose from a few faces and pre-set clothing. But wait, theres more! When you get into the main menu after choosing your server and channel, right next to your primary weapon and secondary weapon options is the "wear" option. Whats this? Well its an entire shop devoted to customizing your character's looks! Whats the significance of this? Well, it one more innovation (at least in f2p fps's) to add to Op7's list, thats what! The customization here is much like weapon building. You can choose a body part (head, legs, torso, belt, backpack, etc) and choose from a list of styles. Each style has different clothing. Now you can just choose to wear that whole style, or you can mix and match the different styles to create your own. Also, you can change the color of each piece of clothing you buy. A huge plus when it comes to camoflauge. But I don't think I'll be spending much time in here at all. Even though its something I've been wishing for for the longest time in FPS's. You can't keep your clothing like you do your weapons. Each piece expires after a few weeks. Which honestly, is a lot longer than most games (cough, one day, cough), its still a weakpoint. I'd rather spend my hard-earned money on weapon customization that on something that won't last forever. Actually, it seems a bit mixed up here though, don't you think? Wouldn't they put limits on the guns, not the clothing? But I digress, its a really neat feature, but I won't be messing with that until I'm well endowed with gold, the game's main currency.
Cash shop
7/10
I'll be brief about this one. Everyone knows what a cash-shop is, and most everyone hates them. Except of course, those loaded with cash and nothing better to do with it. This is not me, however, so my review on this will be biased. I have noticed they have one more option besides buying weapons and clothing with gold or ncash. Its gold+ncash. Oh great, on the off-chance I ever get any money, I won't be able to get something I may want because I haven't played the game long enough to make enough gold. Awesome.
Actually, this is probably a gift in digsuise. It'll significantly reduce the unfair advantage that cash-shop users have over those without weapons by balancing it with people who have money AND are good at the game. What effect that'll have on the poor players, we'll have to wait and see.
The Final Word
Open Beta is not finished, and neither am I. I haven't put much faith into a game since the debut of Warrock. Hopefully Netgame won't go the way of K2 and bombard this game with cash, hackers and lag. If Netgame manages to do this, and fix that horrible lag problem, Op7 will dominate the field of f2p fps's, I'm sure of it. The lag and cash shop are problems, that although are in every f2p game, are what gives me my main negative opinions on this game. But overall, I definitely think this is a game with some major potential. Don't mess it up, Netgame.
Overall: 8/10