I should explain something before I get into talking about an intriguing new game that you can play on Facebook: I don’t like Facebook games. I don’t hate them, mind you. I’m not anti-Facebook gaming… I wouldn’t march in a protest against them or anything, I just prefer consoles, PCs, handhelds, and the odd mobile game. When I receive invites to play games on Facebook from my friends, I don’t blame them for spamming me with invites – there is usually some in-game benefit to them inviting me like more credits or the like – but I usually ignore them. I may also judge them a bit, at least the ones that I can’t convince to play titles like Portal 2, but who have no problem spending hours and days playing Bejeweled Blitz. I like Bejeweled and all, but come on.
On its surface, it’s a traditional first-person shooter, and that includes all the familiar tropes. It doesn’t have an especially deep progression system or weapons library, but the levels are big and well designed, the gameplay is smooth responsive, and it’s incredibly convenient. Aquiris and Rumble have claimed that they are bringing AAA quality gameplay to Facebook and browsers, and I’m hard pressed to contradict them.
Ballistic isn’t a jump forward for the genre, nor will it convince people to abandon their consoles and PC games in favor of it. What it does though, it does incredibly well. It offers gamers looking for a quick diversion the option of casually jumping into a game built around one of the most popular genres in the world, and it does so without forcing you to do much more than open a Facebook page. Countless hours are going to be lost to this game, as people planning to just jump on and play a game or two find themselves hooked. More importantly, however, may be what it signifies.
It might take a while – years at least – before platforms like Facebook and web browers can hope to truly rival console and PC AAA releases, and honestly, it may never happen; gaming hardware is sophisticated and designed specifically for gaming, so the industry is always advancing. But if Facebook and the like can offer a comparable facsimile, a new era in gaming may be about to begin.
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