A fast paced free online first person shooter that offers fun and challenge for both the hardcore and casual gamer.
Review by Jimmi G (aka WolfWatch)
82.5 = Very Good
(Personally I would give it somewhere between a 85-90 but I won't argue with the grading system)
A.V.A (Alliance of Valliant Arms) is a free to play first person shooter that developed and was released in South Korea in October 2007. Open beta for North American and European gamers began in October 2009 with the official release on November 11th. The story behind A.V.A, unbeknownst to most of its gamers, is a fictitious war beginning in 2011 between the Neo Russia Federation and the European Union in a battle for control of Europe. The result is a battle between the NRF and EU forces on several different maps and gameplay modes utilizing different character classes and weapons to lay siege to the enemy.
Upon entering a room (with a maximum of 16 players; 8 per team) you are able to choose the side that you will fight with (NRF or EU). Before the map begins you can change your equipment in the inventory (weapons, armor, grenades, etc...) or even purchase new equipment in the shop using the game money (Euros) that you've earned. Before start you have the option to select your class for the first round (Pointman, Rifleman, and Sniper). After each round, and before the next, each player has the option to change classes (but not change equipment).
The pointman is your close-quarter's gunman. He is most effective at countering enemies in close range distance and especially useful at flanking enemies, sneaking behind enemy lines and taking out snipers, and camping ambush points with a silenced weapon. The pointman suffers from the inability to effectively fire at mid to long range. Being out in the open is folly for any pointman. The pointman has several unique skills which can be permanently acquired to help him perform in the battlefield. Much like an assassin, the skills of a pointman allows him to be able to perform a faster sprint, faster standing run and crouch run speeds, farther radar range and leader binocular survey, and increased knife damage and striking distance.
The rifleman is your core, mid-range, and well balanced soldier. He is able to perform well at all ranges and will be the unit who directly carries out the mission at hand. The rifleman must keep an eye out for pointman since it is likely that pointman will try to move behind enemy lines and take out the team's snipers. The rifleman has greater damage per shot than the pointman but a lower rate of fire (excluding shotgunners). The rifleman's greatest enemy is enemy snipers who will be preying upon them as they enter an open area. The rifleman has several permanently unlockable skills that help him perform better in the battlefield. These include: increased defensive strength, helmet drop decrease, increased grenade throw and toss distance, and increased mobility and accuracy when using aimed fire.
The sniper is behind-the-lines support unit. He is able to take out unaware enemies who wander into open spaces or enemies who are attempting to make a flank on the main force of troops. When the sniper is able to clear the battlefield of troops of enemy troops the succeeding team is able to advance much quicker. The sniper is also very useful for guarding doorways or hallways where an enemy would be trapped within a small perimeter. The sniper is highly vulnerable in close-quarter combat. Without a secure area of operation the sniper is blindsighted when using the scope and an easy target for lurking pointmen. The sniper can unlock permanent skills to improve his combat, including: increased scope accuracy, increased crouch and moving accuracy, and increased movement speed.
A.V.A has several different game modes where two teams compete to achieve their objective. In annihilation mode EU and NRF compete in a smaller map to score 80-180 kills. The team to score the most kills when time runs out, or reach the limit, is declared the winning team. Upon dying there is a maximum of a ten second wait before respawning (this depends on whether or not another team member has died and has started the respawn countdown).
In demolition EU must plant a bomb at one of two bombsites. NRF most prevent EU from planting the bomb and, if planted, must defuse the bomb before it explodes. Demolition most commonly is played using tournament rules where each team remains on the same side for six rounds. After six rounds the teams switch (NRF to EU and vice-versa). The team to score seven wins is declared the winner. In this version, upon dying, players do not respawn until the beginning of the next round (either by all team members eliminated or successful bomb plant or defusal).
Convoy is a mode in which EU has to take possession of a nuclear suitcase and transport it to one of two extraction points. NRF is responsible for guarding the suitcase and preventing the EU fro successfully transporting the suitcase. The mode typically follows tournament rules which are the same as listed in the demolition prior.
Escort consists of two rounds in which EU is responsible for protecting and repairing a tank that travels a specified path. NRF's objective is to use RPGs to immobilize the tank and then prevent any EU soldiers from repairing it. The tank can be repaired and destroyed indefinitely. The tank does not move unless there are EU soldiers accompanying it and under the condition that it is not destroyed.
There are a few other game modes that have yet to be introduced into the western release of A.V.A. These include: Free-for-All, Suppression, Domination, Survival, and Escape. On December 8th the A.V.A will be introducing Prison Break. There are two modes to Prison Break: Escape and Survival. In Survival a team of four will attempt to survive an indefinite or specified raid after raid assault of possessed prisoners. The prisoners will be armed with an array of melee weapons, and upon their death, will drop either health or ammunition. When a player dies they spectate the remaining players or, in some cases, have a certain number of respawns (possibly respawning after a prisoner raid has completed. In the escape mode players have to survive and escape through several rooms performing various functions in order to eventually to escape by helicopter.
The game also contains some unique features. Each team has a team leader who is able to call out commands and list checkpoints that the team should follow. The leader is also equipped with a pair of binoculars which can be used to scout out enemies. Marked enemies, for a certain amount of time, will appear live on the radar and will be marked on the screen. Weapons are able to be upgraded with several different parts (such as a different scope, barrel, trigger mechanism, etc) which will effect the weapons' statistics to better form to the player. Game money is awarded either by filling the supply points' percentage bar or by being awarded a permanent medal. Players can also buy g-coins (with real cash or credit) which are used to buy special items (such as: 100% experience increase, 30% supply points, nickname change, thirty day balaclava with 110,000 euros, etc). There are also different backpack upgrades users can buy (using game money) which offer a wide variety of possibilities (such as an extra grenade slot or 10% extra helmet defense).
There is too much in such a free game to describe shortly in a review. It is best for you to download it and give it a try yourself. To say that it takes from one particular game, or even a few, would be an overstatement. Some originality and incorporating the best gameplay that is apparent in several first person games makes this game highly addicting. Being able to use real money to buy game money and special items does not give any particular advantage over gamers who do not.
Pros:
-Three classes to choose from
-Wide selection of weapons per class
-Several game modes
-Several maps per game mode
-Purchasable items (with g-coins)
-Many quick radio commands
-Leader ability
-Unlockable skills, medals, and ranks
-Largely active community forums
-Quick graphics and mouse sensitivity altering keys
-Active anti-hack/cheat system constantly being developed
-Free
Cons:
-No in-game voice chat
-Poor user kicking/banning system
-Not nearly enough host options
-Cannot access options while in-game
-Hackers/Cheaters
-Clan member count limit
-Barely sufficient euro reward from supply points
-Cannot keep picked-up-weapons from one round into the next
-Difficult to precisely predict enemies locations based on sounds
-Game currently has less features/weapons/modes/maps than its Asian family
Game Rating:
Storyline: 7/10 (sufficient for the game)
Gameplay: 9/10 (no particular problems; nothing extremely outstanding)
Visuals: 8/10 (clean and nice)
Music: 10/10 (Wow it is really nice but you'd do best to turn it off/down)
Sound FX 7/10 (It's alright)
Replay Value: 9/10 (Hours upon hours upon hours and days upon...)
Overall Value: 9/10 (It's free and it's worth it)
82.5/100 = Very Good
How does the grading scale work?
Storyline gets multiplied by 2.5, so it became 17.5/25.
Gameplay gets multiplied by 2.5, so it became 22.5/25.
Visuals get multiplied by 1.5, so it became 12/15.
Music, Sound FX, and Replay value stay the same (10, 7, 9).
Overall Value is multiplied by .5, so it became 4.5/5.
Add all the back numbers (the denominators) and you get 100.
Add all the front numbers (the numerators) and you get 82.5/100.
Grading Scale
100 = Genre God
95-99 = Incredible
90-94 = Amazing
85-89 = Great
80-84 = Very Good
75-79 = Good
70-74 = Average
65-69 = Mediocre
60-64 = Bad
0-59 = FAIL