In honour of its latest update, this edition's Previews of Note will be about the fantastic free-to-play sci-fi third-person shooter, Warframe.
The warframes are a mysterious technology designed by the long-dead Orokin race, and inhabited by you, the Tenno. It is unclear whether the Tenno are futuristic humans, aliens, or even simply data which inhabits the warframes – regardless, there are enemies inhabiting the Milky Way who want control of them and it is up to you to stop them.
Warframe features a number of enemies, the most prominent of which are the Grineer, the Corpus, and the Infested. The Grineer are the first enemies that the Tenno encounter upon awakening, and inhabit almost the entire Mercury system. They are produced via cloning, and have a number of variants, though the generally specialise in heavy armor. With enemies ranging from the whip-bearing Scorpions, to the fire-blasting Napalms, the Grineer can be a formidable enemy to the Warframe with the wrong tech.
The Corpus, however, are a Merchant Cult, “built on the foundation of salvaged technology and Robotics.” Corpus groups scavenge for the remains of the Orokin wars, highly prizing warframe armour – any Tenno captured are treated as salvage, and the remains sold to the highest bidder. The most common Corpus enemies encounted are the MOAs – bipedal turrets that carry either rapid-firing lasers, or high-power railguns. They have regenerating shields which can make them formidable in groups, especially when paired with shield ospreys. Enemies range from the robotic MOAs, the flying Ospreys, and the box-helmeted crewmen.
The Infested are perhaps the most interesting of the enemies that the Tenno face. Taken over by the technocyte virus (which you, as the Tenno, are also infected with) they have become mindless creatures that will attack any non-Infested on sight. Low-level Infested include the exploding Runner and poisonous Crawler. The more dangerous Infested are the Ancients, comprised of the Healer, the Disruptor, and the Toxic.
Warframe has a great deal of variety suitable for almost any playstyle, with stealth options and high-power sniper rifles among the items that can be chosen. All items in the game can be crafted from blueprints, though there is a relatively expensive cash shop available. Male and female Warframes are available, and there is an almost endless variety of colour customisation. As a free game in open beta, I cannot recommend Warframe highly enough!