Fallen Earth First Impressions

I recently had a chance to check out Fallen Earth, a relatively new MMO from developer Icarus Studios. By "relatively new" I mean it came out last year, September 2009.

The game is set in the post-apocalyptic year of 2154, and the gameplay feels a lot like Fallout 1 or 2. However, the tone is not so much 50's-style. Instead it's got more of a Road Warrior vibe to it. This isn't bad however, and it works to the game's advantage.

As far as gameplay goes, you've got some standard MMO features in there. The skillbar at the bottom of your screen, mapped to the number keys. An inventory, Stat building, etc. However, the thing that sets this game apart is it's intuitive use of shooter controls. Instead of clicking on an enemy and waiting for your skills to re-charge so you can attack again, you simply equip a weapon, or multiple weapons (which you can switch between by holding ctrl and using the number keys), and attack with the left-click for primary attacks, and right-click for secondary attacks. The game also sets itself apart by allowing you to zoom all the way in, and go into a first-person mode. This turns the game into more of an action game than an MMO.

As far as social aspects go, I didn't see many people once I got out of the tutorial. I might of not been in a big hub world, or maybe the game just isn't very active. However, I do like the emotes they give you.

The big problem with the game is it's polish. The game isn't polished whatsoever, the shooting feels really bad, with the camera changing when you start shooting and changing again when you stop. It feels very shaky, but it's definitely not intentional, and doesn't feel as smooth as other first-person or third-person shooters.

I guess it might be a little unfair to compare it to other shooters, but even compared to other MMOs, the game seems a bit too glitchy, I almost got stuck in one part where I had to sneak past some irradiated creatures, and by stuck I mean stuck in the wall. If they just took 6 months to put a nice layer of polish onto the game, I think it would have turned out much better, but as it is I'm not currently interested in playing anymore of it.