Crossfire is an incredibly popular FPS in Asian regions on PC, and now Smilegate hopes to bring this game to western audiences via Xbox One with CrossfireX, but does it stack up in today’s crowded military-shooter market?
I got to spend a few hours with this title during closed beta, and I can say the result is a mixed one so far.
To preface this, CrossfireX is a reimagining of Crossfire which released way back in 2008 for PCs. This new version is made for consoles and aims to broaden the titles reach around the world with improved gameplay and graphics.
Never heard of Crossfire? That isn’t necessarily surprising. Crossfire is a big deal within Asian regions and believe it or not is one of the biggest games in the world with over 650 million players – yes, 650 million. CrossfireX feels and plays much like CS:GO, so fans of this tactical series may feel right at home here with the looser feeling controls, but players of more brutal and heavy-hitting shooters like COD and Battlefield may not experience the same amount of enjoyment.
The controls feel very light and airy, with your character almost feeling as if they are sliding around the map on rollerskates and the aiming having a distinctive weightlessness as well.
The shooting for me felt quite hollow, with the weapons not having much of an impact or recoil behind them and the sound effects sounded overall tinny, but this is, after all, aiming for a more arcade-like approach.
The weapon selection is run of the mill, with your usual assortment of assault rifles, SMG’s, shotguns, and pistols, along with grenades and melee weapons.
Speaking of melee weapons, one thing I found odd is the need to switch to a melee weapon first before you can use it. Call me spoilt, but I cannot understand why this would still be a design choice in this day and age, it just felt out of place and counter-intuitive.
“The available maps provide plenty of different route choices to try and win, just don’t expect any maps to “wow” you with intricate layouts.”
There is the usual assortment of game modes on offer, such as capture the point and trying to disarm the opposing team’s bombs. The available maps provide plenty of different route choices to try and win, just don’t expect any maps to “wow” you with intricate layouts.
The game feels and plays OK, nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary here, but I found the matches to be fast-paced enough that I never got bored waiting for the next match to start as I completely suck at being patient.
There are two different modes available to play through, each having their distinctive feel and varying game modes to entice players.
Modern mode, the most accessible to those coming from games like COD enables sprinting and aiming down sights, along with having the more usual respawn feature during matches. There is also the ability to increase certain stats on the fly when you obtain enough kills such as increasing fire rate or movement speed, which added a nice little touch to scoring more points.
Then there is Classic mode, which removes the ability to sprint and aim down your sights, along with having no respawns until the match ends, which makes for more precise tactical thinking as opposed to running in guns blazing. One classic game mode that helps to stand this title apart from its peers is Spectre mode. In this mode, one team is tasked with placing C4 in a designated spot, whilst the other team must stop them and gets to play as Spectres which renders them almost invisible relevant to their movement speed armed with knives only.
If a player stands still they become almost impossible to see, but a clever feature is that their breathing can still be heard if they are close enough to you, which can result in quite tense and exhilarating matches.
There is a balancing issue here though, as the Spectres knife isn’t an instant kill, so getting up close to the opposing team with their devastating weaponry can be quite difficult, though pulling off a kill as a Spectre does feel rewarding. These matches provided the most enjoyment for me, as they seemed to offer something a little out of the box and provided more of a fun experience that felt rather unique compared to its peer’s offerings.
As I said, if you have played CS:GO or any other competitive fast-paced shooter than you may just find enough here to pique your interest with both the modern and classic gameplay options. With its middle of the road graphics and sound design, and often at times loose feeling controls it will take some adjusting for players not familiar with this type of FPS multiplayer, but there is some fun to be had here if it is polished a little further.
One thing that does interest me is the fact that Remedy Entertainment (Control and Alan Wake) are developing the single-player campaign experience which will be playable with the final release of the game. As a huge fan of Remedy and their commitment to polished and entertaining experiences, I am eager to see what their talented team brings to the table
You can participate in the open beta for CrossfireX from the 25th of June until the 28th of June on Xbox One. There is no official release date for CrossfireX yet, but it is slated for a 2020 release.
About the Author
Justin White
He/Him
Justin is known for being the clown of any group and has spent his entire life playing and collecting video games. When he is not playing video games he is usually hanging out with his two American Staffies named Django and King (after Django Unchained characters) or his son Shia (yes, after Shia Labeouf).
