Combat Arms Mini Review

Combat Arms is a free to play MMOFPS game from Nexon and developed by Doobic Studios. The game features a nice selection of play modes and weapons as well as a growing library of maps. There are some pretty nice features that are quite interesting, such as the ability to add limited modifications to your weapons, and much more to your character. Combat Arms also contians a kill set system similar to games such at Unreal Tournament in that you can achieve kill bonuses like double-kill, multi-kill, ultra-kill, fantastic, and unbelievable. They drive you to frag even more. If your an FPS fan, then this game is worth adding to your list.

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Game Play Modes:


Elimination (aka Team Deathmatch)

Its pretty much the same as any other deathmatch. The first team to reach the designated number of kills wins the match. In the case of Combat Arms, its Team Alpha vs. Team Bravo. I really don't play Elimination that much, I am more into OMA and CTF, but its still a great deal of fun none the less. I find myself playing this mode a lot on maps I don't play that often.

Search and Destroy

In this mode the objective is to either eliminate the other team, plant an explosive device, or disarm a planted device in a designated area of the map. Once the device is planted, the other team has a set amount of time to disarm it or they loose the round. The entire time the planting team tries to defend it. I don't much care for this game mode, and is my least favorite.

One Man Army

Not much to say about this mode other than its FFA (Free For All). No teams, every man for himself. It's quite fun and very fast paced on a small map like Junk Flea or Brushwood! The primary drawback to this mode is in the game mechanics. You spawn with a 3 second invulnerability that, on smaller maps mainly, negates some of the players skill. It becomes a "whoever's spawn protection runs out first, looses". They addressed this issue by making your spawn protection disappear if you fire your weapon before your 3 seconds is up, this made an exponential improvement in this game mode. Other than that, its a fun game mode that yields a lot of money and experience. I play this mode quite a bit and love the fast pace and kill sets that are so easy to obtain. On a side note, you may want to only play in rooms or make rooms where explosives are disables on smaller maps. There are players who like to do nothing but run the map, drop mines, die, rinse and repeat. Takes a great deal of enjoyment out of the match on smaller maps like Junk Flea.


Capture the Flag

This mode is my favorite and the primary reason I play this game. It's classic CTF across the board. You must capture the enemy flag and return it to your base to score points while at the same defending your own flag. It promotes teamwork and is good for most all game styles. Rusher, camper, sniper, you name it. Having a good mix of the three will often result in a good team and greatly increase you chances of winning. If your a multi-style gamer such as myself, you can change rolls often and mix it up and still have a great deal of fun.

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My Favorite Maps:

"Snow Valley" is probably my most played map. I primarily play it in CTF or Elimination mode, although OMA mode is available for it as well. Although the Bravo side most often has the tactical advantage, as with many maps, I like to play both sides on this map. It's the largest map in the game thus far and takes place mostly outside. I am often a fan of larger outdoor maps, so the fact I like this map so much comes as no shock to me.

"Brushwood" became one of my favorite maps the day it was released. I found myself playing it in OMA mode often and loving every minute of it. It's a small jungle map with somewhat thick foliage that's easy to blend into if you have the right camouflage. Elimination mode is just as fun on this map, especially if you have a good team. There are advantages to playing both sides of this map, but like Snow Valley, Bravo is at the advantage most of the time. However, if you have a good enough team, Alpha can dominate the map, and that's a blast! This map is also best played with explosives disabled, if not, gameplay can suffer just the same as on Junk Flea.

"Junk Flea" was one of my two favorite maps from beta, its a smaller mostly outdoor map, that's is a great deal of fun no matter the game mode. Its faced paced and can earn you a lot of experience and GP if you play it enough. I still play this map often and unlike many other maps, it really don't matter what side your on, the maps balance is almost perfect. The only downside to this map is if you have explosives enabled, its small size and configuration make it land mine and nade spam fest if you let it go unchecked. If I host the room, explosives are always disabled.

"Rattlesnake" is a great jungle map that takes place in something similar to a prison camp. I found myself liking this map from the day it was released and playing it more and more. Its a great deal of fun and, for me anyway, best played in Elimination mode. Even though some say the Bravo side has an advantage on this map as well, it's not as bad as the others in my opinion. Again, it comes down to your team and your level of skill.

"Pump Jack" is a map I rarely play anymore, but it still ranks as one of my favorites. I spent 90% of my game time early on in Junk Flea and this map. It's a larger train station style map that offers multiple avenues of attack and is a blast in both the Elimination and CTF game modes. I really do miss playing this map on a regular basis.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY "Combat Arms System Requirements (In Detail)" BLOG