Gameloft’s Modern Combat 5: Blackout update brings new content, moves game to Freemium model

Remember when Modern Combat 5: Blackout was released last year July, Gameloft promised there would be no In-App-Purchases (IAP's) because it would be a one-off payment upfront? Then they hedged a little by introducing optional IAP's a few months later. Well, that promise has been well and truly shattered by the news that the First-Person-Shooter (FPS)is turning into a Freemium game thanks to the update that is due to go live any minute. And we all know what that means tight? More details after the break.

So how does this shift to the Freemium model affect players? Well, the Freemium model brings restrictions with it. A major one being how many missions you can sit through in one session before the energy meter runs out. Naturally, players can then buy extra energy to extend the session. Another addition is the credits system that has been implemented, giving Gameloft another way to milk the player out of some cash.

What about people who have already purchased Modern Combat 5: Blackout for its one-off payment? There's some good news there, in that they will receive Veteran status, unlimited energy, 200 credits and other goodies as a thank you.

It's not all bad news. To sweeten the pot, Gameloft is adding more content to MC5: Blackout in the form of an additional class of soldier, the Support class, as well as new weapons and a new multiplayer game mode called Zone Control, details of which are below. If you haven't purchased MC5: Blackout yet, and would like to avoid being restricted by the energy monitor, the update has not yet reached the Google Play Store at the time of writing. So, if you hurry, you can skip over there and buy the game outright for £2.99 ($3.99) by clicking the Play Store link below.

• New Soldier Class: Support
  • Combat skills include:
    • Heal: drop a health box that heals himself and nearby allies for a period of time
    • Purge: debuffs like EMP, Slow and Flashbang have reduced durations
    • Bloodlust: healing starts after performing a kill and is amplified
    • Solid Grip: stability increases the more you shoot the weapon
    • Emergency Reload: increased reload speed when below 15% ammo in clip
    • Endurance: player's movement is increased when using a light machine gun (LMG)
    • Synergy Perk: players who die within a certain area around the Support will get the option to respawn on their death spot
• New Weapon Class: the Light Machine Gun (LMG)
  • Used by the Support class
  • Slightly higher rate of fire than the submachine gun and delivers slightly more damage than an assault rifle, but has lower accuracy than all the other weapons

• New Weapon Tier
  • 6th tier weapons now available for all weapon classes
• New Multiplayer Game Mode: Zone Control
  • Based on capturing zones placed in certain areas of each map
  • The team that manages to secure a zone starts to score points
  • To secure a zone, a team member needs to stay a certain amount of time in that particular zone.
  • More teammates in the zone shortens the time needed to capture it.
  • If an enemy enters the zone, the capture progress resets
  • The more zones you secure, the more points you get and the shorter the way to victory
• Controller Support
  • Standard, formfitting and extended controllers
• New Character Customization Options
  • Such as weapon camos, masks and perks, solo and squad logos & kill signs
• Server Updates:
  • New servers in different geographical locations will help decrease lagandprovide a better multiplayer experience.
    • A player's internet connection remains extremely important, but our server split will provide the basis for more fluent multiplayer gaming.