War Rock
Developer(s)	Dream Execution
Publisher(s)	Nexon Lievo Amped Games Megaxus GameFlier
Engine	Jindo
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
Media/distribution	Download

War Rock (Korean: 워록) (also commonly spelled as WarRock) is a multiplayer first-person shooter made by the South Korean company, Dream Execution. The game is distributed as a free-to-play, a common form of freeware EULA and available through online downloading. Outside of the Far East, the game is hosted by NexonEU, who service the game for both Europe and North America.

Though the game can be downloaded free of charge, War Rock requires online registration. The retail version came with additional features.

Gameplay [edit]

WarRock is developed in Episodes; similar to TV programming but inverted (four seasons make up one episode). Currently WarRock is on Episode IV, Season 2 - suggesting that WarRock is in its 10th incarnation.

The game is set in the midst of a nuclear war in the fictional Republic of Derbaran. Players select between the two teams and engage in battles using 20th and 21st century military equipment, including a large assortment of infantry weapons and vehicles.^[1][2] Derbaran is the government army (yellow camouflage) and NIU is the rebel army (green camouflage). During most combat modes, players are divided into these two teams and compete as an army against each other.

War Rock games are divided into five main modes of play: Close Quarters Combat, Urban Ops, Battle Group, Hero Mode, and as of 13 October 2010, Zombie AI mode.^[3] These differ in the size of the map, the number of respawns permitted and the availability of vehicles, with CQC being focused on small-scale infantry missions and Battle Group involving huge battlefields with some boats, humvees, helicopters, and jet aircraft.^[3] Objectives in the different game modes include capturing and defending key positions on the map, planting explosives on enemy targets, accumulating points in a team deathmatch-style game or a free for all match or can play in a zombie survival mode. For Urban Ops/Battle Group, there is also Conquest mode which can be played on several maps.

In CQC mode the player has several small maps available and there are 4 game modes available.

1. Explosive, where two teams compete for control of the map. Derbaran's primary objectives are to kill all NIU soldiers or plant a bomb and defend it until detonation. NIU's primary objectives are to kill all Derbaran soldiers (preventing them from planting a bomb) or defuse the bomb once it's been planted. The team which reaches its goal wins the round and the match winner is the team which wins the required number of rounds first (usually 7). Maximum roomsize: 8 or 16 players.

2. Deathmatch, where again the two teams fight each other. Every team has its own counter, which decrements with each frag. There are no flags or bases to capture, also there is an eight player maximum. After a frag, players re-spawn at the team's base and rejoin the battle.

3. FFA, which means 'Free For All'. This mode uses the same maps as the 'Explosive Mode' and there are no teams. So everybody's fighting against each other until a player reaches a predefined number of frags.

4. Knife. Only the 1st weapon slot is available for the game, so either a knife is equipped or one uses the standard 'knuckles' to frag.^[4]

Although War Rock is a free game, players can purchase a premium status, which will grant a preset EXP Boost every game, ability to create rooms with more maps, ability to buy more weapons, more in-game money, and the ability to buy from the "PX" section of the Item Shop.^[5]

The game features deathmatch-based multiplayer modes, all of which feature objectives that must be completed in order for teams to win. Sessions end either when a team has reached a preset number of points, or the allotted time expires in which case the team with the most points wins. It should be noted not all the game modes are kill based.^[6]

The player's performance is tracked with experience points and in-game money which players can earn several ways including defeating opponents, or completing objectives. As players gain experience, they will advance in level, allowing access to new weapons and items, which can be bought with money earned in the game. War Rock features a clan system, that allows members to engage in clan wars whilst representing their specific clans.

As hack protection, War Rock uses HackShield Pro (International, Korea), nProtect GameGuard (Philippines and Indonesia), and xTrap (Japan). In spite of this, many hacks and exploits exist in the game, and are commonly used by unscrupulous players seeking an advantage without wanting to pay for premium accounts or weapons. This is believed to be possible due to poor initial coding, and is exacerbated by even worse enforcement of hacking violations. It is not uncommon to see new hacks appear in the game within hours of an "anti-hack" patch being deployed.

Service Branches [edit]

In WarRock every player can choose from five service branches: Military Engineer, Medic, Scout (Sniper), Combatant (Infantry), and Heavy Weapons Unit. The Medic is represented by a female avatar and the Heavy Weapons Unit is a black (African American) avatar.^[7] Every branch has its special selection of main weapons, which can be equipped into at least one weapon slot. There is the possibility to gain extra weapon slots (up to 3) e.g. by purchasing premium status or special weapons.

In WarRock, each character has its specialties and is selected depending on the map type and player's style. The Combatant is the most popular character due to its all-round ability and firepower. The Medic has the ability to heal itself and other players, which makes it popular amongst players who purchase premium items and weapons. The Military Engineer is the least popular character due to its limited abilities on smaller maps. Only large maps include machinery such as vehicles, tanks, helicopters or planes which the Military Engineer can repair. However the Military Engineer is not required to operate heavy machinery; all characters can drive vehicles and tanks or pilot helicopters and planes. Often, due to heavy combat, it's more common for a vehicle to be abandoned rather than repaired. As well, large maps have repair points which can repair any damaged machine, further limiting the Military Engineer's usefulness. However, Military Engineers can use land mines, take half the damage from mines, and use T-Bombs.

Reception [edit]

IGN rated it a "mediocre" 5.9^[10] and GameSpot rated the game 5.5 out of 10.^[11]

Versions [edit]

War Rock (Korean) - Hosted by Dream Execution

War Rock Global (formally International) - Hosted by NexonEU.

War Rock PH - Hosted by Massive Gaming.

War Rock JP - Hosted by Megaxus.

War Rock TW - Hosted by GameFlier

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• War Rock Global