The folks from Vogster opened our demo of CrimeCraft at the Game Developers Conference 2009 by letting us know the many locations of the company: Saddle River, N.J., and Kiev, and Moscow, Russia. All I could say was, “You sure do like all of the cold places!” Well, yeah. Then they tell us the backstory. “There’s been an ecological disaster after which the government falls, anarchy ensues and you know the rest.” Never one to miss a chance to be snarky, I say, “So, just like Russia?” I’m not so sure I endeared myself to them at the beginning of the demo.

All annoying the demonstrators aside, CrimeCraft is a non-traditional MMOG in the vein of Guild Wars: There are enormous lobbies or common areas where players, NPCs and shops exist for the sole purpose of gathering and heading out on up to eight-on-eight missions or jobs. This is a free-to-play MMOG, and much like other free-to-play games, microtransactions and customization are involved. Most items will be cosmetic or consumable and will not affect gameplay. Want to look like a gang when you walk the common area? This is the way to do it. I wouldn’t suggest it on the battlefield but then, what do I know? *grins*.

Different common areas exist — a beachside, nightlife — and each is different. Some jobs may require passing from one to another. Jobs and missions have different meanings: Missions are story-based quests that further the progression of the world; jobs are a little more grindy — giving you that bump in experience you need for the next weapon or piece of armor. You can get both from the NPCs in any common area, but they will differ according the common area and your level.

As a first/third person shooter, you’ll outfit yourself in the best equipment (I wouldn’t call some of what the women wear “armor”) and head out to do battle against rival players or gangs. For sanity’s sake, you’ll not be dropped into player versus player (PvP) unless you’re ready for it. Player versus environment (PvE) exists and with three different difficulty levels. You can choose the number of NPCs to fight against and what level — the higher the level the better the loot.

Loot is important for many reasons. There’s the loot you can use immediately to make you better and then there’s the loot for your profession (think crafting). Once you join a gang, you’ll be a specialist in some profession, whether it’s gunsmithing, attachments, clothing or boosts. Boosts are tricky, but the developers assured us that no boost comes without its cost — you’ll get the bad with the good.

When fighting in PvP, particularly with a gang, developers have taken special care to ensure every person can contribute — even if it’s just as a meatshield. The usual leaderboards, auctionhouse and mail (for items) within an MMOG will exist.

So why has this review been rather mundane to this point? Well, it’s because we found the game unexciting. It has all of the makings of other MMOGs out there, and it doesn’t seem to break any new ground. The elements involved are included in many other games, and CrimeCraft didn’t show us that it had something different to offer. From gameplay to theme to music to graphics, CrimeCraft failed to impress. We don't mind old toys, they just need new wrapping paper!

Despite CrimeCraft not breaking new ground, it will offer an option that isn’t currently available to many players — that whole post-apocalyptic shooter for minimal cash investment. However, the audience just seems so narrow that it doesn’t feel like it’ll get much backing. CrimeCraft has some work still to be done, but if it continues on course, it will be quite pleasing on the eye and another way to get the aggressions out without the pointy-eared elves. It’s not a horrible game; it’s just not that momentous either.

If you really like MMOGs and shooters and enjoy the generic beach or city life locales, you may want to take a look at CrimeCraft: The price is right.