free-to-play-fps posts

In 2010 developer Zombie Studios released Blacklight: Tango Down, a downloadable near-future themed first person shooter. Pricing for the game was just $15. At the time of the game's release, Big Download learned from Zombie's CEO Mark Long that a sequel was already in the works. Today Big Download has learned exclusively that the sequel will have an even cheaper price; free.

Yes, the Blacklight: Tango Down sequel (which at the moment is titled "Blacklight" for now) will be released as a free-to-play game. According to what Long told us today, "The full game will be free along with premium content that can be purchased in-game. Blacklight will feature a large number of improvements based on the player feedback we've gotten. And we hope going free-to-play will close that loop so we can respond even faster to player preferences."

So why go with the free-to-play/microtransaction business model? Long told us, "The free-to-play model is something we've been interested in since we first began working with Korean publishers four years ago. Free-to play is the model in Asia. It's exploding in China growing fast in Europe and emerging here in Facebook and iOS games."

The sequel will not reuse any of the content of the original Blacklight: Tango Down, according to Long. It will be an all new game with new weapons, levels, items and more. That includes the previously announced drivable mech vehicles. You can see the mech in the background of the first ever publicly released screenshot above (you can check out a high-res version when you click the above image). Long told us that the sequel will use the latest version of Epic's Unreal Engine 3 tech.

The Blacklight sequel does not yet have a release date and Long would not comment on who might be publishing the sequel (the original Blacklight Tango Down was published by Ignition Entertainment). We hope to have more info on the game in the coming weeks and months.

While free-to-play games have been staples in Asia for some time its only been in the last few years that client-based free-to-play PC game titles have really started to gain traction in the US and Europe. Today the strategic market research firm DFC Intelligence announced that client-based English language free-to-play games generated $250 million in revenue (presumably by optional micro-transactions and subscriptions) in 2009 and that number is predicted to shoot up to $2 billion by 2015.

While the study claims that the free-to-play game business has not taken off as quickly as first expected by Korean-based publishers, "this is starting to change and consumers are starting to realize that the game play of top high-end F2P games can be quite sophisticated." DFC claims that by the end of 2010 there will be 128 million registered users for English language free-to-play games and that the conversion rates are "fairly high."

It's rare that the general public is given a chance to name a game before its release but the folks at the free-to-play gaming web site ijji.com is letting gamers do just that. They are going to launch a new first person shooter soon but it still lacks a title so the publisher is running a contest where you could give the game its moniker.

The publisher has posted up a web site for the near-future sci-fi themed game with screenshots and a video (you can see it after the jump) that show off what the title is all about. Submissions are being taken from now until February 10 with the winner selected on February 16. The winner not only has his or her suggestion for the game put in as the official title but also gets an iBuyPower gaming PC.

2008 is coming to an end in a few weeks and for some of us it can't end soon enough. However, we here at Big Download continue to press on with enough major news stories, downloads and original features to fill a Corellian space freighter (every web site should have a Star Wars reference). Let's check out the highlights from the past week:

Exclusive features

• Reviews: We have our final verdicts on Defense Grid: The Awakening and American McGee's Grimm: The Pied Piper.
• Left 4 Dead Game Guide: We have two more entries in our guide to Valve's zombie shooter, focusing on the missions Dead Air and Blood Harvest.
• Stocking Stuffers 08: We have some last-minute small holiday gift ideas for your selection
• Lumps of Coal 08: If you really hate someone on your gift giving list, feel free to select from these games
• Shooting for Nothing: We look at the ever growing free-to-play FPS genre.
• Things we love (and hate) about GTA IV PC: We go over features that are good and bad in Rockstar's recent PC port of their open world action game.
• Happy 15th Birthday Doom!: We take a brief look back at id Software's FPS which celebrated its 15th year of release this week.
• The past (and possible future) for Batman games: With The Dark Knight's release on DVD and Blu-Ray this week we look at the past games featuring Batman and speculate on the character's future.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Macintosh gaming takes a look at the racing game MiniOne Racing
• Independent Minds: Our weekly indie column is all about web browser based game platforms
• Big Iron: Our weekly hardware column looks at if getting and SLI or Crossfire PC gaming rig is worth it.
• Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes is all about if online is the future of games (here's a hint: yep)
• Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games looks at the RPG-arcade-business sim (we are not kidding) Minotaur China Shop

If you are like most of us, the economy's quick drop this fall may have left you with a lack of cash to pay for that new copy of Left 4 Dead or Far Cry 2. However if you want to play a first person shooter game for free and don't feel like paying for it there are actually quite a number of free-to-play titles out there that you can download and play right now.

Big Download has noticed a growing trend of first person shooter titles that are already out there, in beta testing or coming up in the near future that you can just download and play. Some of these games do have or will have premium fees or micro-transactions to get more content but all of them can be enjoyed for free without the need to pay a cent. We decided to do a quick round-up of just a few of the current and upcoming free-to-play FPS titles. And remember, the best things in life are free..or so we have been told.

Click on the image above to continue reading about Free-to-play FPS games

Yep, it's yet another entry in the free-to-play FPS trend that we have seen explode lately. This time its for Parabellum, a title that was announced over two years ago by Germany based developer Acony. The game was originally announced as a typical retail game (console ports and all) but now it seems Acony has decided to give the free online PC genre a try.

The game itself takes place in the year 2018 where your player can pick from one of two mercenary teams that are fighting in various locals around the world, from New York City to South American jungles. Acony promises that as you play you will gain experience and points that will allow you add new weapons, items and more to your character. The title used Epic's Unreal Engine 3 and is currently taking applications for its closed beta test. Parabellum is due to launch in the first quarter of 2009.

We have seen a massive amount of free-to-play FPS titles come down the pike lately, from War Rock to Combat Arms to upcoming games like Cross Fire, BlackShot, Quake Live and Battlefield Heroes. Now Korea based NDOORS, best known in the US for their fantasy MMO Atlantica Online, have announced that they have acquired a FPS game developer and plan to release their own new game in the genre.

The developer is Korean-based CrazyBox Entertainment who have experience in making such games in Asia. Their previous title was called Seven Years of War. NDOORS plans to release an all new FPS sometime next summer that will use the technology developed by Crazybox. No other info on the game was released.

[Via email press release]