Red Crucible - Firestormfor Mac

If you’re a fan of first-person shooter video games and looking for a more affordable version of Battlefield video game series, well you’re in luck. Be ready to engage in an epic war on terror with your friends and players from different parts of the world with Red Crucible: Firestorm, a free-to-play video game developed by the same creators of Red Crucible 1.0 and Red Crucible 2.0, Rocketeer Games Studios.

Using the world’s deadliest and most advanced weapons and vehicles, you can play with up to 24 players in different specialized combat areas designed for infantry, vehicle, and air battles. 

Join the fight and become the strongest soldier

RCF is basically coined as the poor man’s version of Battlefield. Its mediocre qualities can be accepted only as fair trade for its free-to-play nature. Yet, you’ll still be able to enjoy the game.

RCF is an engaging 3D MMOFPS game available for you to download and play for free. You’ll only have to spend a short period of your time downloading the game since it’s only 45 MB. Unlike Red Crucible 1.0 and Red Crucible 2.0, which were both set in the 1990s Cold War, the game is set in a proxy war of terror simultaneously happening in various specialized areas in real-world locations. You’ll be submerged in chaos between China and various notorious military companies. Drive and control tanks, transports, and aircrafts in order to survive, and lead your own ultimate team to victory with the help of the world’s deadliest and latest weapons.

Once you’re in the game, you’ll find yourself in the player’s lobby where you can either choose to start the game immediately or go to a quick tutorial. On tutorial mode, a stereotypical redneck drill sergeant is to teach you the basics, including firing and aiming down sights, as well as survival skills to end the war. If you’re already familiar with FPS games, skip the tutorial entirely and jump right in. Teams playing against each other can choose from various maps and game modes since the game is MMOFPS. RCF has a total of six game modes to choose, to compete with other players within the classic game modes, such as:

- Team Deathmatch: compete with other players with or without vehicles
- Search and Destroy: win the battle by planting a bomb on the other team’s base; teams must defend their bases
- Territories: dominate stretches of lands and various grids of the map
- Conquer: you (with or without teammates) must stay in a designated area to gain points
- Survivor: a free-for-all for players

You can also select weapons based on your purpose/role:

- Assault: primary weapons to engage directly with other players (e.g. M16, AK-74, Famas, L1a1, VsVal, Shotgun, Galil, G3, AKM, SA80, AMD65, and Groza)
- Support: primary defense weapons for direct assaults from other players (e.g. RPK, M16LMG, L86, FN HB, SAW, RPD, PKMG, M60, ATTF, GPMG, and MG3)
- Sniper: weapons to shoot for accuracy from long distances (e.g. MP5 Sniper, M21, L1A1 Sniper, M16 Sniper, AK Sniper, SVD, VSK94, G3 Sniper, AKS-74U Sniper, VSS, OSV96, and M82)
- Demolitions: weapons to cause larger catastrophic results, such as crashing of aircraft, bombing of buildings, and tank explosions (e.g. RPG-7, AT4, RPG-16, RPG-18, SA7, and M82)
- Secondary: weapons to substitute for primary weapons out of ammo (e.g. M9, Makarov, M1911, UZI, D17, Magnum, Skorpion, FK9, MAC-10, MP5, MP412, and D18)
- Melee: secondary weapons to engage directly with other players at closer range (e.g. bayonet, knife, butcher knife, brass knife, machete, tanto, cleaver, shovel, gutter, karambit, combat knife, and jagger)

Simplicity at its finest

The game serves its main purpose as a 3D MMOFPS game, which you can play for fun without feeling the urge to spend money. It falls short on basic aspects, such as lousy game design, bad quality of music and sound effects, and lack of physics. Creators should consider changing their game engine into a more appropriate cut for MMOFPS games or simply make it into a browser-based game.

Where can you run this program?

The game is free to download for Windows and Mac OS X. The download link is available on Steam and Rocketeers Games Studios’ official website. Even though you can play the game for free, some of the gears, such as premium weapons, are left locked unless you pay. The game isn’t exactly pay-to-win since both premium and basic gears have the same stats but differ only in style.

Is there a better alternative?

Since RCF doesn’t have anything new to offer other than its generic yet honest gameplay, check out other free-to-play battle royale games for Windows like Apex Legends. Developed by Respawn Entertainment, the game fuses elements from video games, class-based shooters and battle royale games, and games with unfolding storylines. You can play this game with approximately 60 online players, all of whom are scavenging an island in squads of three. You may choose from 9 heroes, although 3 are locked by default. Communication within your group is essential if you want to mark supplies, locations, and even your enemies. The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and players because of its great gameplay, narrative, and elements.

Our take

The game does not offer the same production values as other 3D MMOFPS games, but it does give you an authentic fun free of charge. Although simple and problematic at times, it still can deliver a few hours of light entertainment. Its charm lies in its simplicity, captivating the heart of the gaming community in spite of criticisms received after its release.

Should you download it?

Yes. If you’re looking for a free-to-play alternative to game series like Battlefield and Arma to fight boredom for two to three hours. On the other hand, if your expectations are extremely high, drop a bit of cash and go for the other, more well-curated alternatives.