Since the release of Team fortress classic and counter strike, undeniably, two of the most played online shooters of all times, producers of MMO games have taken quiet and interest in the genre and over the last several years, there have been a number of games which easily fit into the genre of both worlds. Essentially, the marrying of these two facets of gaming results in the MMOFPS and is apparent in titles such as Wolf Team, Combat Arms, Crazy Shooter and recently, Net Game’s newest title Operation 7 which has recently launched its closed-beta test and I was among the lucky few to road test the title prior to its official release.

Operation 7, like all MMOFPS games, comes to life in the shadow cast by the ever popular Counter Strike and thus reflects many features similar to its predecessor. With all the glitz and glam of a high end engine, the game, visually speaking, is fairly impressive and has some fairly cool particle effects which are clearly presentable in gun-fire and explosions. The sound effects of course match this perfectly and do not fail to uphold the sense of realism this title is attempting to convey. However, I must admit the music, both in game and waiting room, became fairly annoying and I soon found myself turning it off, replacing it with my own play list.

As with other MMOFPS titles, Operation 7 offers little in the way of character customization and simply offers several avatars from which you can choose. However, one of the coolest features I found in this game was the fact that this was replaced by other areas of player personalization. So, instead of being able to hand pick your character, you, instead, get to hand build your own weapons. Yes, that’s right, you can swap and change just about every component of your primary weapon to suite your play style or role in the mission. This feature was present in Nexon’s Combat Arms, a title released earlier in the year. However, the options given to you in CA goes nowhere near the complexity and depth afforded by Operation 7 and already I can hear gun nuts getting excited about this little feature.

The game itself is set in the normal waiting room format which will be familiar for many players. For those new to the genre, however, the waiting room is your central hub from which you access each facet of the game including the store, your inventory and games which are currently in play. You can either choose one of the latter, or make your own. There are several game modes such as death match, survival and other team and non-team based matches. Though skill and hair-trigger reflexes are all good things to have when playing a game like this, strategy is also important, so, when playing with others, you might want to run through some plans with your team-mates and work together to ensure victory.

Modern in its foundation, the game represents a air of realism through its weapons and every gun in the game is based on those used in real-life and represent both their strengths and weaknesses. For example, sniper rifles, though deadly accurate and powerful, has limited firing capacity and in a close combat situation, it would pay to switch to one of the more high-powered automatics such as the M16 or AK. Upon this, players can also equip other items such as side arms (pistols), melee weapons (combat knives) and frag weapons (grenades).

The game is good and a fairly solid contribution to the MMOFPS genre. However, much in the guise of Combat Arms, the first Counter Strike, WarRock and the countless other modern war/military combat thing, Operation 7 leaves much to be desired in terms of originality. The controls being WASD for movement and mouse for aiming, are essentially the same. This is one game which I am happy to call a clone. I’m giving it a 3 out of 10 because I hate repetition. Take my advice and wait for something more unique to come out.