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CrossFire

Crossfire is a tactical 3D first-person shooter that emphasizes teamwork in a modern warfare setting. Choose between one of two mercenary corporations and engage in a large variety of game modes.

Publisher: Z8Games
Playerbase: High
Type: MMOFPS
Release Date: May 3, 2007
Pros: +Lightweight client. +Varied game modes. +Daily rewards. +Permanent weapons.
Cons:-Items locked behind in-game currency. -Dated graphics.

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Overview

CrossFire Overview

CrossFire is a first-person tactical shooter developed by South Korean video game developer SmileGate. Players choose between two mercenary factions, Global Risk or Black List, and compete in a variety of game modes. Objective-based scenarios force players to work together. Players receive experience for every match they play, and can rise through over 100 ranks. New ranks unlock more items to purchase using CrossFire’s in-game currency Game Points (GP). Premium items and special skins can be purchased using real money to distinguish yourself among players. CrossFire is a lightweight FPS reminiscent of early competitive shooters that throws players into combat moments after a match begins.

CrossFire Key Features:

  • Fast-Paced Gameplay – reminiscent of classic FPS games.
  • Multiple Gameplay Modes – including team deathmatch, co-op waves, search and destroy, and free for all.
  • Low System Requirements – CrossFire is playable on most modern computers.
  • Customization – extensive character, gun, and item customization through the in-game shop.
  • Active Development Team – releases frequent updates to help balance the game and bring new content.

CrossFire Screenshots

CrossFire Featured Video

CrossFire - Official Trailer

Full Review

CrossFire Review

By Sean Sullivan

CrossFire is a lobby-based first-person shooter set in a world at war. Two nearly identical mercenary factions, Global Risk (GR) and Black List (BL), fight for supremacy of battlefields around the globe. However, the story isn’t important in CrossFire and barely exists. The central focus of Crossfire is its exhilarating gameplay. Moments after entering a game, you’re thrust into combat where only one well-placed bullet is enough to render you a corpse. Building on the legacy of Counter-Strike and other classic FPS titles, Crossfire is an accessible first-person shooter perfect for pick-up games.

Basic Training

Right from the menu Crossfire had me pumped to run and gun my way to victory. The menu music is suited for an action movie montage. Needless to say, my trigger-finger was itching. Starting off, you pick your player model from a sparse selection. No model is particularly suited for any purpose and only serves to differentiate you from other players. The same applies to factions. Both GR and BL are essentially the same. Neither has access to unique guns or items; it’s just a way to break players into two teams.

The lobby interface can be overwhelming at first, but like adjusting to sunlight after leaving a darkened room, everything soon becomes clear. A small layout box on the left tracks your experience earned, kill/death ratio, win/loss ratio, and currency accumulation. Below, your stat tracker shows you who else is in the lobby: your friends and clan members (if you have joined a clan). It’s a rather simple layout where all relevant information can be easily accessed from the same menu. There is a tutorial mode for players unfamiliar with FPS elements: WASD to move, “Ctrl” to crouch, “Shift” to walk, and number keys for items. I elected to skip it because the tutorial is unnecessary for anyone who has played a shooter on PC. From the lobby, players can see a list of servers. Acronyms indicate what type of game is being played (e.g. TD for Team Deathmatch). Quick join exists if you're indifferent or don't see any matches.

Riddled With Bullets

Crossfire boasts a large number of game modes but only a few are widely popular. Team Deathmatch is the golden standard, as with most FPS games. Some of the Maps like “Egypt” are rather small, suitable fast-paced gameplay. A long hallway sees each team starting at either end. I threw grenades in the general direction of the opposing teams spawn, just hoping to land one under an opponent's foot. It only takes a couple of shots to frag a player. Well aimed headshots eliminate enemies before they can tell where they're being shot from. In a sniper-only team deathmatch, I found myself looking at the death cam frequently before learning the best vantage points to pick off enemies. Fortunately, death is only a momentary release. Within a few seconds, you’re thrust back into the game. It makes for a great pick-up match where you’re confronted with action in a few moments after a game begins.

There is an enormous variety of maps, offering various themes and locations around the world. Often times maps are designed for a specific game mode. One such mode places you in a soccer stadium. Both teams are spread evenly on the field, equipped with only their knives. A soccer ball is dropped in the middle. Players can pick up the ball by running over it, but being killed drops the ball. Whichever team can pick up the ball and run it to the opposing team's net wins the round. It's a novel spin building on the game's mechanics.

Not every game mode pits two teams against each other. One PvE based game mode requires players to fight cooperatively—Zombie Mode. Hordes of NPC controlled zombies rush at player-teams until a colossal boss appears. In one of my matches, we faced a boss that looked strikingly similar to one of the monsters from Pacific Rim. I picked up a mini-gun to mow down hordes of zombies and eventually killed the brute. In Zombie Mode, players earn points for every shot fired into an enemy. It's one of the few instances in CrossFire—or any FPS— where spray and pray is the optimal strategy.

Upgrading Your Arsenal

You start with two weapon sets: a standard M16 rifle, knife, and grenade and an M700 Sniper rifle with the former sub-weapons. Upgrading your arsenal requires spending the in-game currency Game Points (GP) or buying the games cash currency ZP. The standard weapons dish out enough damage that you don’t have to worry about upgrading right away. But if you want to play with any gun other than an assault rifle or standard sniper, you will be spending one of the two currencies.

GP is earned simply by playing the game. A representative amount is allotted based on in-game performance. It can be used to purchase weapons, items, characters, or black market crates—caches that contain items not purchasable in the store. Most guns do have rank requirements. You can't buy an overpowered sniper rifle off the bat. Furthermore, guns cost about 40,000 GP a pop—players start with a measly 36,000 GP. It also takes quite a while to earn GP so the best advice for new players is to hold on to their money until they figure out exactly what they want to purchase. It’s important to remember that gear eventually degrades as you use it, forcing you to part with some hard-earned GP to repair.

The fastest way to earn GP is to exchange ZP for it. ZP is the real-money currency of Crossfire. Five dollars is enough to buy most ZP-only items but they are time-dependent, typically running out in seven days for items such as the Katana or M98B. You’re paying for the uniqueness of items—a camouflaged AK-47 or a grenade that releases hearts upon exploding. Then, there's a third currency, FP. It’s earned by having new players refer you, leading to you gaining 10% of their experience after each game. The rate at which you earn FP from them decreases as they level up, so you can’t exploit the system.

Ranking Up

As you play Crossfire, you earn experience that translates into a higher rank. Ranking up unlocks new gear for purchase in the shops as well as access to some servers that limit what tier players can join. Apart from restricting access to certain aspects of the game, rank is about showing off. Once you’ve earned enough experience, you earn a new title associated with your rank. You can boast that your “Second Lieutenant 6th Grade” to newbies. Early on, you gain experience and rank up rather quickly. But with over 100 ranks, it will require many hours of gameplay to rise through them all.

Final Verdict - Great

CrossFire isn't revolutionary, but builds upon the foundation left by its predecessors. The graphics are dated, looking like they belong in 1999. But the small client size and low-performance requirements make it easily accessible for nearly anyone with an internet connection. And focusing on gameplay over graphics has enabled the developers to build on game modes and create cash shop incentives. I was not surprised when I learned that CrossFire is one of the most profitable MMO's in the world. It's an example of how mechanics can trump graphics.

Screenshots

CrossFire Screenshots

Videos

CrossFire Videos

Links

CrossFire Links

CrossFire Official Site
CrossFire Wikipedia
CrossFire Wikia [Database/Guides]

System Requirements

CrossFire Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7 32 bit
CPU: Amd Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 2GHz
RAM: 4GB Ram
Video Card: GeForce 9500 GT, AMD Radeon HD 6450, Intel HD 3000
Hard Disk Space: 15 GB

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7 / 8 / 10 at 64 bit
CPU: Amd Ryzen 3 1200 Processor @ 3.1 GHz, Intel Core it-3470
RAM: 8GB Ram
Video Card: GeForce GT 630, Radeon HD 6570, Intel HD Graphics 6000
Hard Disk Space: 15 GB

Music

CrossFire Music

Coming Soon!

Additional Info

CrossFire Additional Information

Developer(s): SmileGate
Publisher(s): Neowiz Games

Game Engine: Lithtech Jupiter EX

Korean Release Date: May 3, 2007
China Release Date: April 28, 2008
North American Release Date: January 30, 2009

Open Beta: January 30, 2009

Development History / Background:

CrossFire was developed by South Korean video game developer SmileGate. The development company worked directly with Neowiz to publish CrossFire, and all other publishers must work through Neowiz to publish the game in their region. In China, CrossFire was published by Tencent—exclusively—on April 28, 2008. In North America, CrossFire is distributed by Z8Games—also responsible for distributing Lost Saga and previously Metin 2. CrossFire has over 400 million subscribes globally (50 million active users) and generated more than $4.5 billion since 2007. SmileGate is currently working on Lost Ark, a overview hack-and-slash MMORPG.