Hi Poo,
I got Global Agenda as a Steam Download & my first impressions are quite favourable though, as explained below, it has a few aspects which could be improved. To give you an idea of the perspective from which I approached the game, I've been playing MMOs (originally starting with the original MUD as hosted at Essex Uni over 20 years ago) since they were invented & much the same with FPS (MOH, CoD, etc.), so I've seen a lot of games come & go.
GA had a very smooth launch after thorough Beta testing, & seemed remarkably free of bugs & glitches compared to every other MMO launch I've ever seen. Of course there were some problems with the servers going down every few hours for maintenance & fixes but these were dealt with swiftly, usually after a few minutes, & are nothing compared to Galaxies or the laughably inadequate WoW release (possibly the most unfinished MMO on release?).
Pros:
Good Game Mechanics - One of GA's strengths is it's simplicity, both in gameplay & general design. If you've ever played a shooter you know what to expect.
Basic, uncomplicated character classes: Healer, Tank, Stealther, Engineer - In this case less is more. Think HellGate, but good. They've given players nicely balanced classes with abilities that allow them to be playable in teams or as loners.
Skill Tree & Levelling - Like so many MMOs you get skill trees & points on levelling to allocate to said trees to gain or enhance various abilities. Unlike other MMOs you can reallocate your skill points for free whenever you like to
Optional Monthly Fee/Content - A novel idea. To play the instanced co-op missions is free, but these are limited in scope, as you know there's a subscription to play the territory/world-PvP. I fully expect the majority of players will opt for the subscription, it's only £8 a month & the potential for open world shooter combat is huge. One of my pet-hates are the little brats & cretinous 'leet'-speaking nob-ends who tend to populate these things, so if I had my way it'd have an 18 certificate & a compulsory monthly fee of £50 to keep them out, but that's just me.
Gear - At the moment there isn't much of an emphasis on gear. You get your standard greys, greens, blues & purples but they're few & far between, relying on specific upgrades (equivalent enchantments/gem slots) to really make a difference. Crafting is simple, taking the bog standard MMO format of crafting gear & weapon/armour upgrades using PvE mob drops as materials.
Cons:
Limited Co-Op Missions - There are only a handful of these, & they're indistinguishable from each other. having said that, it's inevitable that additional content will be patched.
Only TPS not FPS - A first person perspective would have been better, & I imagine it will be implemented at some point. After all, how hard can it be to add a zoom-in function to the mouse wheel?
Lack of Narrative - The game has a nice premise, but as yet there is no meta-narrative to give it any richness.
Solo Play - There isn't any. To a degree players can solo in the PvP matches, but some solo missions would be nice in the PvE instances. I haven't played the world PvP yet, but for those inclined for solo style this sounds like it'll be the way to go.
Bear in mind that this is just a brief first impression, but as first impressions go it's made a good one.
All in all it's a very polished product with huge potential.
