By Relly Carpio
INQUIRER.net

MICROGAMING Technology Corp. officially launched Thursday the beta testing phase of the newest online free-to-play game in the Philippines. Special Force, an online first-person shooter. The installer is available online at MyGame.Ph, MicroGaming Technology Corp.’s game portal.

“We invite those who loved and played Counter-Strike years ago to try this game as it gives the same feel and pulse racing action as Counter-Strike, but online. It’s free to play, and players can customize everything about the way their avatars look from gear to weapons,” Paul Buencamino, marketing associate of MicroGaming Technologies, said in an interview with hackenslash.

The game provides maps on which players can either duke it out in a classic Deathmatch with up to 16 players, or Team vs Team Battle with up to eight members in each team. There is also the familiar Demolition scenario among others. There is the Retrieval scenario where one team is to take a token and bring it back to their base, much like Quake’s Capture the Flag scenario. The game also has the Extraction scenario where one team must make it to a designated dust-off point while the other team tries to prevent them.

Unlike Counter-Strike on which the game is based, there is a rank-up system. “Players get experience points as they play and eventually they rise in rank from Trainee up to General. Though rank may have its privileges, it does not insure immortality. Those with higher rank may move a little bit faster, or resist damage more than those of lower rank, but does not mean one becomes eventually invincible,” said Buencamino.

Characters retain all gear that is purchased in the pre-scenario setup phase even when killed, unlike in Counter-Strike. Multiple set-ups and gear-sets are available per character, allowing in-mission specialization and further customization choices.

“The game developer Dragonfly built on the taste and flavor of Counter-Strike but added that little oomph to it,” Buencamino added.