Blacklight Retribution – first-look at NetWar and Siege modes

Free-to-play titles are looking better each year. Production values are rising and with those extra development dollars comes higher quality titles than the ones we were used to seeing four or five years ago. We’re even seeing more Western studios setting their sights on your free time with F2P shooters, developers like the folks at Zombie Studios. While its last downloadable shooter Blacklight Tango Down received mixed reviews from critics, its latest online shooter Blacklight: Retribution seems to be thriving in its current open beta phase with plans to go live later this April with a bunch of new content and game modes. 

For Zombie Studios creative studio head Jared Gerritzen, it’s important that Blacklight: Retribution defies the low-budget look associated with F2P games. “It’s Unreal 3, it’s DirectX11,” says Gerritzen. “We wanted to make sure that it’s a badass experience and that people that are playing a free-to-play for the first time go ‘Holy crap. This is awesome.’”

But it’s not just about the visuals; Zombie Studios also has plans for more Blacklight content with two new modes in the pipeline. Inspired by World of Warcraft’s Eye of the Storm Battleground, the new mode NetWar mixes control points with capture-the-flag. Spread throughout the map are four points your team must capture and hold for points. There’s also a flag that can be captured for bonus points. 

Siege mode will introduce the Scorpion Tank, a new mech with a powerful minigun that players can pilot. The attacking team will be tasked with pushing forward along a series of checkpoints while protecting the player piloting the Scorpion Tank. Attacking team members can also help by repairing the tank, scouting ahead and clearing out defenders and clearing roadblocks so your pilot can press forward. On the other hand, defenders will be doing everything possible to bring the tank down, using everything from explosives and heavy weapons to damage it while flanking the attacking team to rob the tank of its defenders. 

Both modes are scheduled to launch this April. If you want to try Blacklight: Retribution for yourself, the game is currently in open beta – and you can head here to register for an account and download the client.