It is every man's fantasy to hold a gun and use it. Those that actually try to make that fantasy a reality usually find themselves in the Army or in jail, or worse, whilst others rely on other methods to fulfil that dream.

Enter Alliance of Valiant Arms, which is one of the latest online FPS. I will be talking about the Japanese version, which is the only version I can access and understand, to a certain degree. Hey, what is there to understand about a shooter? You aim and shoot, no?

Alliance of Valiant Arms, or A.V.A for short, is a Korean made online FPS that uses the Unreal Engine 3, which is probably the first for it's genre and region. It has been in "public-playable" status in Korea for quite awhile, but has only been recently available to Japan. The visuals and eye-candy does look spectacular as a result, just don't expect your grandmother's computer, nor your father's work computer to run it.

The game plays like most standard online FPS from Korea, but with a few major differences. Starting off, there are 3 classes available to you to use at anytime, save during actual combat itself. That would be the Pointman, the Rifleman and the Sniper. They are essentially different "kits" in the game (your character does not change look-wise, just his equipment), and can be switched at any time, save during in combat (you can do it when dead).

There are about 5-7 main weapons per kit, 5 sidearms and 3-4 different grenades. Armor wise, there are plenty of slots available, but with little varying choices as it stands. Don't be fooled by how little choice there is in terms of weapons, they all cost a bomb, and are very specific in terms of usage, with the multi-purposed ones just labeled "EASY" to point the new players into the right direction.

Like the current trend in newer online FPS like Combat Arms and Operation 7, the option to customize your weapon is aplenty, affecting each gun in various ways, and making it more specialized, or perhaps, a little more generalized.  Sadly, quite a large number of options do not have a visual presence, unlike Operation 7.

The gameplay itself is fast and furious. Just the act of movement itself does feel a little sluggish if you are used to more "twitchy" games like Combat Arms or the older generation of FPS. The game rewards the player who is able to react quick while still adhering to the basic tactical combat guidelines. Like for example, even if you are a good shot, jumping out into the open, sniper scope to your eye and trying to take out the incoming platoon sized forces is probably going to only get you a kill or two, if you are lucky.

Teamwork is also essential in A.V.A. which has no FFA modes (or at least as far as I am aware of). Even in a simple team deathmatch, the team that works together wins the game. 

 Speaking of teamwork, the one game mode which it is more crucial to have then any other would be "Escort" and "Convoy", which are both interesting modes themselves.

Escort has one team guiding a tanking across a map, with the other team using RPGs (That's Rocket Propelled Grenades, for the un-initiated) to stop the tank, which can be repaired.

Convoy on the other hand, is a round based game mode that has one team defending and object, while the other team rushes for it, and to bring it to a designated point. Imagine a one-sided Capture The Flag match.

With a unique system for earning money, and strangely addictive enough for you to keep going "One more game please!", A.V.A is a game to try out now in Japanese, or to wait for it's possible move to be translated into English for the western market!