The free-to-play PC game market is a battleground of experimentation and publishers fighting for the next best thing. Often overlooked by big-shot game publications, free-to-play games make up a huge portion of the video game industry, and often bring with them some of the most creative concepts in gaming. I’ve had quite a bit of experience with free-to-play games, ranging from Runescape to DJMAX to GunZ: The Duel. Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Wook Kim, the project manager for the revolutionary free-to-play game, Alliance of Valiant Arms hosted by ijji.com, one of the biggest names in free-to-play gaming. Learn all about AVA in our exclusive interview below.

BLAST: Could you start by introducing yourself and ijji in general?

WOOK KIM: My name is Wook Kim, I’m the project manager for AVA (Alliance of Valiant Arms), our game portal is ijji.com, and our company is NHN USA, a subsidiary of NHN, which is the largest game portal in Korea. We’re a free game portal where you can play several free-to-play games, all you need to do is register a free account.

BLAST: Could you give us a quick rundown about what AVA is all about?

WK: AVA is a free-to-play first person shooter game. The storyline of the game is set in Europe in an urban environment there is a fictional war between the European Union and the NRF (Neo-Russian Federation). There is a struggle for power in the region. It’s multiplayer (up to 16 players) and offers various game modes like Demolition, Domination, Escort, and we also have a co-op mode called prisonbreak. So you can team up with your buddies or other players that you meet in the game and clear your missions and fight against zombies.

BLAST: Could you explain the game modes in greater detail?

WK: Yeah, demolition is similar to other games’ “search and destroy” mode, it’s where one team sets up a bomb to blow up an objective, and the opposing team needs to either eliminate the other team, or once the bomb is set, they need to diffuse it.

Then we have an escort mode where one team needs to escort a tank to the opposite side of the map while the opposing team uses rocket launchers to shoot at the tank to stop it from achieving its goal to get to the other side of the map. While you’re doing that, you can either rush ahead or stay back and camp with the RPG’s. Basically, it’s a very strategic gameplay mode where everyone has their roles. It’s better if you communicate with your team and set certain roles and determine who’s moving the tank and who’s escorting the tank, because you need to be within a certain radius of the tank to keep it moving if you’re on the escorting side, and once it’s taken out by the rocket launchers you need to repair the tank to keep it moving. It’s a lot of back-and-forth actions, very exciting.

Domination mode is something new, we just added it last month. Basically it’s like a king-of-the-hill style game mode. The objective of the map is to hold the middle of the map called the “holding area”. Both teams start at opposite ends of the map, and the team which holds the center of the map for the longest time will win the game. In this map, you can call an airstrike where your buddies in a helicopter will come and eliminate members of the opposing team. There are also trains going across the map, and you’ll have to watch out for that, of you’ll get run over.

BLAST: We do remember that!

WK: (laughs) We have other game modes too, such as annihilation. This mode is a team deathmatch which pits one team against another, whoever scores up to 100 kills will win. Depending on the host’s decisions, the kill count can be increased up to 250 kills.

BLAST: Here are a lot of first-person-shooters on the market, I was wondering what in particular sets AVA apart from the others. Obviously there’s a leveling up system which is pretty well fleshed out, but is there anything in particular that you can point out that would make people want to play the game?

WK: In the free-to-play FPS genre, I believe AVA is the best, highest quality game. Right away you can tell by the difference of the game graphics. With the Unreal 3 engine, no other free-to-play game compares to it.

There is a three-character-class system, with the pointman, the rifleman, and the sniper which you can switch between during the game. There’s also an achievement system whereby achieving certain goals, you can gain skills. For example, let’s say you complete a few achievements, you can increase your running speed, throw your grenades a different way, etc. Not only can you level up, but you can also increase your “game perks”, similarly to Call of Duty 4. There’s the escort mode, which is my favorite mode, and there’s really nothing like it on the market.

BLAST: I really appreciated the level of balance in the game, it seems like even if you are a skilled player, you can perform well even in the lower levels.

WK: Yeah, you know, the classes are balanced, the weapons are balanced, and the weapons allow for a high level of customization. In AVA, you can add custom parts or modifications to your weapon depending upon the weapon itself. By adding parts to your loadout, you can increase your damage, your range by changing the stock or barrel. There are a lot of cool things about AVA which users have never really seen in a free-to-play game.

BLAST: Do you have any plans for future content in the game?

WK: Yeah, so on the 25th we’re having an update which will add a new Escort map which is called Storm Blitz. Also near the end of March we will be adding a free-for-all mode. So in this mode it’s every man for himself. Do it will definitely help new users learn the maps and get to know the game without the stress and competitiveness of a team-played match.

BLAST: OK so what kind of replayability does this game offer? Once a player reaches the highest rank, what kind of things do they have to strive for to maintain interest?

WK: Well, there are the achievements, and we’re looking to farther enhance our achievement system. Right now there are so many achievements that nobody has actually completed all of them, but, we believe that once users get to higher levels, they will complete all of their achievements. We’re hoping to constantly update our achievement system to keep players coming back for more. We also host competitions; so far we’ve had an international tournament, which was hosted last year in November. We had a US national tournament and flew the winning five clan members to an international tournament in Korea. It was an all-expenses paid trip and they had a great time! We have three more tournaments planned for 2010, with the last tournament’s victors coming for our second international tournament with China also involved.

BLAST: We noticed that free-to-play games are very popular in Korea. How have you seen these games’ popularity sprouting in the United States?

WK: For us it was a struggle at first, but we started in 2006 and four years in we have about 10 million users. Four years ago there were not many free-to-play portals, but right now they are almost countless! The field is definitely growing, and there is room for this free-to-play microtransaction system in the US market.

BLAST: So you’re actually seeing players latching on and buying certain items in the games?

WK: Yes, the microtransaction system definitely works. Users are free to play whatever games they want, but if they choose to add G-Coins to their account they are free to do so!

BLAST: Okay, that about sums up everything! Can you tell us any future ijji releases other than AVA releases before we wrap this up?

WK: I can’t tell you the exact game titles or specifics, but we’re definitely working on some great new, high quality games, so look forward to that!

BLAST: All right, thank you for your time, and we look forward to seeing what ijji has to offer in the future!

WK: Thanks a lot!

Expect a full review of AVA in the coming days.

Like Harcos Mana Potions? You can now buy them in-game for your characters in Lunia, an online game where things like energy drinks are a must. What’s the best part though? Buying Mana Potions in the real world means you get free ones in the virtual world, and vice versa. We talked to Harcos about this neat promotion, which, if you’re into energy drinks and Lunia, is definitely worth checking out.

BLAST:‚  Tell us a bit about your promotion.

Aaron Rasmussen: If you buy a real-world Mana Potion with a code on it, you can go to Lunia on ijji.com and redeem it for a virtual Mana item. If you buy a big pack of virtual Mana in Lunia, we’ll actually ship out real-world Mana to you. We may have torn the very fabric of reality, and we think that’s awesome.

We’re fairly positive this is the first time anybody’s done something like this.

BLAST: Does your Mana Potion promotion rival the pure stealth and deadliness of Solid Snake? Can I make a better convoluted and cheesy gaming reference?

AR: Nothing rivals the stealth and deadliness of Solid Snake. Nothing! It’s heresy to even ask that question.

Calvin Yang: The promotion is nothing like the pure stealth or deadliness of Solid Snake. Besides, Solid Snake is too grumpy and self-centered for the comparison, not to mention he smokes too much. Lunia is a much friendlier and livelier environment. I suggest a comparison to Mario instead “" kid-friendly, yet surprisingly deep and involved. When boosted with power-ups, Mario is invincible. With our collaboration with Harcos, we give power to the gamers both in-game and in real life.

BLAST: On a scale of 1 to 10, do Harcos potions rank a Spinal Tap-ian 11?

CY: Have you ever tried Harcos potions? They’re off the charts!

AR: This promotion ranks a sqrt(2) * e^2. Close, very close.

BLAST: Are they better than the Ragnarok of Final Fantasy 6?

AR: As a sword or as an esper? This promotion is more akin to the esper version of Ragnorak. I would say yes, it is better, because drinking it doesn’t convert you to an item.

CY: Oh”¦ I like this old school reference you’re throwing out here. Our promotion is nowhere near as difficult to get as the Ragnarok though and you don’t need a secret key to unlock it, luckily. You can pick up the promotional potions at your local retail stores or buy the 100 pack in-game with a mere 200 Gcoins.

[Editor's Note: Go with the esper. It's useful in the Tower of Fanatics, after all.]

BLAST: Although “Mana Energy Potion” denotes a sort of role-playing game experience, does the drink still work if you’re playing a first-person shooter?

CY: I guess it all depends on the setting. I’d imagine that in a traditional first-person shooter, drinking a Mana Potion could cause serious advantages and imbalance in the game. The gamer would have super accurate aim and inhuman response times. The in-game character would recover 100% of his energy instantly, causing other players to suspect cheating. In Lunia though, use of Harcos Mana Potion is all fair game!

AR: Yes! I’m a huge CounterStrike and FPS fan, and while you might expect the energy effect from the potion to be totally neutralized by the inability to level, it works just as well!

BLAST: Regarding the other tie-in to this promotion, why should gamers be interested in Lunia? ‚ Is it the peanut butter to the Mana Energy Potion’s jelly, or is Lunia more like the jelly?

CY: I would say Lunia is more like the bread. Lunia is the foundation that enables gamers to enjoy the boost of energy with this promotion.

AR: Lunia is a refreshing departure from what you’d usually expect in an MMO. It’s an action role-playing game, so it combines fun arcade button mashing with RPG leveling. And we’re definitely the jelly in this one, “Ëœcause we’re blue.

BLAST: Will drinking Mana Energy Potion give me special powers? Also, if you had the choice between shooting a fireball out of your hands, Ryu and Ken-style from Street Fighter 2, or telekinesis, like Jean Grey, which would you choose and why?

AR: After much discussion around the office, we have decided on Jean Grey’s telekinesis powers. You could always light something on fire and use your telekinesis to throw it. Last time we lit a bowling ball on fire, we had to build the giant RoboPult to throw it. It would be much easier if we could just use our minds. It’s not quite as cool as a Hadoken, but you could spend a lot of time just messing with people if you had telekinesis. You can only light so many people on fire before it becomes a problem and you have to stop.

CY: If you have the time, I definitely recommend you to schedule an appointment and visit ijji’s or Harcos’ offices. We have people flying around shooting laser beams all the time. We each have our own special powers. In fact, I’m not using my keyboard to type these answers right now. I think it, and the words just appear.

BLAST:‚  What are some of the favorite games of the Mana Energy Potion and Lunia staff? How about some favorite old school systems?

AR: At Mana Energy Potion, we have an original Donkey Kong arcade machine from the early 80′s. Eli’s scored 146,000 and I’ve hit 118,000; both are past the 3^rd elevators. As for other games, we all love the Final Fantasy series, anything with Star Wars on it, Vampire: The Masquerade “" Bloodlines, CounterStrike, and of course Left 4 Dead.

Here are some oldies but goodies that we all voted on (we had this discussion recently).

1. Tetris – Multiple Consoles (as “Addictus” on my old ColecoVision)

2. Super Mario Land “" Game Boy

3. EarthBound “" NES

4. Rescue Raiders “" Apple 2

5. Altered Beast “" Sega MegaDrive/Genesis

6. Chrono Trigger “" SNES

7. Contra “" NES

CY: My all time favorite game has to be the Quest for Glory series by Sierra. I must have played through each one of those games at least four or five times. As a little kid, the wonders of trying different word combinations to open a box or start a fire”¦ and when it actually worked, it was like magic. A close second would be Taiko no Tatsujin, the Drum Master series. This was the rhythm game that took away years of my life.

BLAST: Where can gamers purchase Mana Energy Potion and your other energy drink, Health Energy Potion?

AY: We keep an up-to-date list of all our outlets at Manapotions.com. There’s also a store locator so you can see who carries it around you.

BLAST: If gamers are interested in Lunia, where can they sign up and play?

CY: Easy! Just visit http://lunia.ijji.com

BLAST: ‚ Thank you guys for taking the time to answer my somewhat snarky questions!

HARCOS: ‚ Thanks for taking the time to ask them and putting up with our answers!