While there’s dozens of titles we checked out at E3 2011, one stood out among the crowd – Blacklight: Retribution. Published by MMO experts Perfect World, it’s an ambitious multiplayer FPS from developer Zombie Studios, featuring DX11 support backed by Epic’s Unreal Engine tech. Besides the futuristic setting, what sets it apart from several big-budget efforts in this crowded genre is that it’s completely free to play. That’s right, 100 percent free.

Simply put, Blacklight: Retribution raises the bar of what’s expected from free-to-play. This is a title that aims to deliver an experience that competes with the production values of big-budget efforts — all at no entry fee. To me, that’s pretty exciting. So how does the game stack up? Does the gameplay match the flashy looks?

While it’s still early yet, no firm release date has been announced — we gave Retribution a test run at a behind-closed-doors session at E3 and walked away impressed. The playable demo consisted of one map and a diverse array of weaponry — ranging from flamethrowers to rocket launchers. Scattered across maps are weapons depots that allow players to purchase new weapons in the middle of combat in exchange for in-game credits.  Controls are fluid, exactly as you’d expect from a PC FPS with WASD for movement, right mouse button to look through weapon sights, and so on.

One of the key gameplay features demonstrated was the HR Vision mechanic. With the press of a single button, players tap into a full combat awareness system, allowing them to see where enemies are positioned, as well as teammates and control points. Obviously, there are a few restrictions in place to avoid such a feature from entirely breaking the game. In HR Vision mode, players are unable to shoot. In addition, there is a warmup and recharge period. The perk of this system is that it essentially makes campers a non-issue.

As you may have noticed in the above screenshot, mech armor is available in the form of “hardsuits” in Blacklight. When a transaction for a hardsuit is made through a weapon depot, players are given a laser pointer that can be used to call in a mech body. As you’d expect, players are more resilient to attacks inside the hardsuit, but they can be quickly downed with enough explosives. Those agile enough can also take advantage of HR Vision to identify randomly generated weak points on the hardsuit, which allow players to take them down with small arms fire. This also conveniently eliminates any potential balance issues.

The visuals in Blacklight are a sight to behold, ranking among the best-looking games on PC right now.  The map we played was set in a Chinatown-like area at night. Dynamic lights gave a real sense  of depth to the surroundings, which consisted of alley ways and open spaces suited for large firefights.

Enough gushing about the visuals, how well does it run? On the Alienware playtest machines — perfect, a solid 60 frames per second. While we don’t know what kind of hardware those machines were packing, the development team is targeting a wide range of system configurations, noting that it will scale from “super high” to “low end” machines. Good news for those behind on constant graphics card refreshes.

The company also stressed that Blacklight is first and foremost a PC title. There’s no plans to bring it to consoles, and as such, the experience is entirely based around PC. Players can expect an extensive level of weapon customization, along with  clan creation and competitive ladders.

Even in its early stages, Blacklight Retribution is shaping up to be a promising title. Provided this level of polish carries on throughout the remainder of the game, Perfect World could very well have a hit on their hands here, not to mention a huge competitive force in the free-to-play genre for shooters, a space that yearns for quality.

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