Warframe

Warframe
Developer(s)	Digital Extremes[1]
Publisher(s)	Digital Extremes
Artist(s)	Michael "Mynki" Brennan
Engine	Evolution
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release date(s)	Microsoft Windows October 24, 2012 (closed beta) March 25, 2013 (open beta) PlayStation 4 NA November 15, 2013 EU November 29, 2013 Xbox One September 2, 2014
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Distribution	Download

Warframe is a free-to-play cooperative third-person shooter video game, under development by Digital Extremes for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Although the game is free to download, players may purchase in-game currency called "Platinum".

Players control members of the Tenno, a race of ancient warriors who have awoken from centuries of cryosleep to find themselves at war with the Grineer, a race of militarized humanoid clones; the Corpus, a mega-corporation with advanced robotics and laser technology; and the Infested, disfigured victims of the Technocyte infection. To fight back, the Tenno use advanced exo-armor with unique abilities—the eponymous Warframes.^[2]

Gameplay

In Warframe, up to four players work together to complete missions, such as eliminating enemies, retrieving data from terminals, assassinating high ranking/dangerous targets, defending an artifact, or surviving as long as possible. Players wear a battlesuit called a Warframe, each with its own set of abilities and statistics; and are equipped with three weapons—a primary weapon (such as a rifle, bow, or shotgun), a secondary weapon (typically a pistol, but sometimes ranged bladed weapons like kunais), and a melee weapon (such as swords, axes, and hammers). Players earn Affinity (experience points) for killing enemies and completing challenges and missions, which allows them to level up their weapons and armor. Warframes and weaponry have access to modifications, or "mods", that can be installed, removed and upgraded before and after missions; the higher the Affinity rank of any one piece of equipment, the more mods it can accommodate.

The camera is positioned over the shoulder for third-person shooting. The player can jump, sprint, slide, and roll, as well as combine techniques to quickly move throughout the level and avoid enemy fire. The game also allows players to utilize parkour techniques to evade enemies, bypass obstacles or gain access to secret areas. Maps are generated procedurally with prebuilt rooms connected together so that no levels have the same layout. At times, the enemy faction can initiate a lockdown of the area, forcing players to hack security terminals by completing a puzzle minigame within a small time limit.

Credits, ammo, resources, and mods can be found in set locations, such as lockers and destructible containers, as well as dropped by enemies. New weapons, Warframes, and equipment can be purchased in the market (either the items themselves or their blueprints), using either Credits earned in-game, or Platinum purchased via microtransaction.^[3] Blueprints can be constructed using resources found during gameplay.

Missions

There are currently 14 available mission types, scattered across the planets of the solar system, along with the moon Phobos and dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, Eris and Sedna. These missions can also be played in a pocket dimension known as "The Orokin Void" or "The Orokin Derelict" that can be accessed through the use of keys. Occasionally, a new objective may either be added after completing the original objective or may override it during the mission. The mission types are as follows:

• Assassination: Players must eliminate an enemy boss unique to the given planet. Such boss usually has much more health and unique abilities and weaponry to distinguish them from common soldiers.
• Capture: Players must find the VIP targets within an enemy ship or stronghold. Once a VIP is located, it must be incapacitated before then being captured. Depending on the difficulty level or level setting, some VIPs are able to fight back or have longer head start to a safe zone where they cannot be captured. After all VIP targets are captured, players must fight their way to extraction.
• Survival: Players must fight endless hordes of enemies that grow progressively more difficult, while grabbing life support pick-ups to maintain a limited supply of oxygen. An additional reward is given for every five minutes that the players stay in the mission.
• Rescue: Players must locate a hostage inside the location, then escort them to extraction, with the option to arm the hostage with the player's secondary weapon.
• Sabotage: Players must find and destroy either a ship's generator or a random number of mining machines.
• Deception: Players must take a "datamass" to the ship's navigation core, upload the datamass to the target, and then escape to extraction.
• Spy: Players must locate and hack a number of terminals located in high security rooms. If player is detected in a high security room alarms will sound and the information on the terminal related to the room will be destroyed in a matter of seconds.
• Defense: Players must protect an artifact from waves of enemies. The waves become more difficult each time and every five waves there is an opportunity for extraction with an additional reward.
• Mobile Defense: Players take a datamass and must fight their way through the ship/outpost to a set number of consoles, activate them and defend them from waves of enemies for multiple minutes.
• Extermination: Players must wipe out all hostiles in the level, with the number remaining displayed on the upper-left below the minimap.
• Infestation or Invasion: Players will team up with either the Grineer or the Corpus in order to fight against an opposing faction. It was first offered through the Gradivus Dilemma event held in October 2013. Main rewards are offered as a Battle Pay, given after completing the mission either 3 or 5 times depending on the request.
• Recovery: Players must retrieve their captured gear and get to extraction after being captured by The Harvester.
• Interception: Players must capture 4 towers, used to intercept data transmissions, and defend them from the enemy. After 100% of the transmission has been decoded, the players must kill all remaining enemies, and are then given an opportunity to extract with an additional reward.
• Hijack: Players must take control of a Grineer Fomorian-class ship core, and lead it through a set of tracks for destruction in deep-space. Introduced in the "Tethra's Doom" event.
• Hive: Players must traverse throughout a Corpus ship that has been taken over by the Infested in a modified Sabotage mission. Instead of one target, however, there are three Hives that must be destroyed before extraction, each of which transfer special hazards to the map upon destruction. Introduced in the "Breeding Grounds" event.

Alongside the set missions on a given planet are Alert missions. These are modified mission which temporarily replace a default mission on a given point on the map, but are only available for a limited window of time (from 30 minutes to up to 24 hours). These missions are often more difficult, but have increased credit rewards, along with occasional special rewards (such as rare equipment, blueprints or resources). Alert missions will also frequently instance the Infested enemies, which do not typically appear on the solar map. Another mission modifier is Nightmare Mode identified by a skull mark in-game, which greatly increases the difficulty of a preexisting mission through a multitude of mutators (while keeping the original mission type and faction intact) but rewards players with unique modifications with dual stat effects. In Nightmare Mode players may have to complete the mission without a shield, while constantly losing health or energy, or in reduced gravity, among others.

Factions

There are currently 4 major factions present in Warframe, three of which serve as enemy factions.

The playable faction is the Tenno—descendants of warriors from the bygone Orokin era. Following an unspecified war, the surviving Tenno were cryogenically preserved for centuries before being awakened by The Lotus (voiced by Rebecca Ford, community manager of Digital Extremes), a mysterious (though benevolent) figure who guides them during missions. The Tenno are extensively trained in the use of Warframes, suits that grant them various abilities for combat and support.^[4]

The primary antagonistic faction is Grineer Empire, fascistic, militaristic brutes who dominate the solar system. Relying on mass cloning and cybernetic enhancement, they primarily use sheer numbers to overwhelm and overpower their foes, occasionally supporting their troops with specialized or heavily armed soldiers.^[3][5]

The second major enemy faction is Corpus, a proto-corporation who control the trade routes across the solar system and reverse-engineer their technology from any Orokin artifacts or Warframes they find, viewing said artifacts as a resource exploited at any cost. As a result their soldiers—while frail compared to their Grineer counterparts—are equipped with advanced technology and are assisted by sophisticated mechanical drones.^[6]

Infested is the last enemy faction. Being victims of the "Technocyte Infection"—largely unfortunate Grineer and Corpus soldiers—they have been warped into monstrous abominations. Much like the Grineer, they rely heavily on sheer numbers to overwhelm their targets but lack any significant ranged abilities. Occasionally scattered in the Infested swarms are Ancients, individuals in much more advanced stages of infection and endowed with unique abilities.

While the Orokin are not directly encountered, missions that take place in Orokin derelicts are inhabited by "Corrupted" foes; raiders and trespassers (composed of soldiers from the previous factions) who have been brainwashed into protecting these derelicts at all costs. Occasionally players may be accosted by Stalker, a vengeful figure (strongly implied to be a rogue Tenno) who appears in response to a successful assassination for revenge, The Grustrag Three who appear in response to supporting Corpus in invasion missions, or the Harvester (also known as the Zanuka Hunter) who appears in response to supporting the Grineer in invasion missions. Defeating these enemies may reward the player with blueprints or parts of unique weapons.^[7]

Development

The video game Dark Sector was officially released by Digital Extremes' in 2008. It was originally intended to take place in a science-fiction environment in outer space, with players taking the role of a character that inhabits a sleek mechanical suit with incredible powers.^[8] However, it was overhauled, and most of the science fiction elements scrapped.^[9] In 2012, Digital Extremes announced they were working on Warframe, which borrows heavily from the original Dark Sector concept, with character and level design as well as various names making a reappearance.^[10] Digital Extremes started the Warframe closed beta on October 24, 2012. Since then it has had several version and hotfix releases,^[11][12] and the open beta was launched on March 21, 2013.^[13] A PlayStation 4 version was also developed, and was released at the console's launch,^[14] while the Xbox One version of the game launched on September 2, 2014.^[15]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score Metacritic (PC) 68/100[16] (PS4) 64/100[17] (XONE) 62/100[18]

The open beta of the game has received 'mixed or average reviews' by critics, holding the score of 68/100 on Metacritic, based on 9 reviews.^[16] The PS4 version of the game has also received mixed or average reviews, holding the score of 64/100 on Metacritic.^[17] GameZone's Mike Splechta gave the PS4 version an 8.5/10, stating "If you already enjoy games like Monster Hunter which require you to farm for items in order to craft better ones, Warframe follows that very same formula, except with much more satisfying and faster paced combat."^[19]

References

External links

• Official website

Digital Extremes Video games Solar Winds Epic Pinball Silverball Extreme Pinball Unreal Unreal Tournament Championship 2003 2004 Adventure Pinball: Forgotten Island Pariah Warpath Dark Sector BioShock 2 (Multiplayer component) Homefront The Darkness II Star Trek Warframe