PCOverview
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online (or "First Assault" for short) was a free-to-play online first-person shooter developed by Neople and published by Nexon Corporation for PC. Using settings and characters from the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series, players must work together to defeat the opposing team.
The game originally launched into Steam's Early Access program on December 14, 2015. Though the game was in a playable state for months, it was not officially launched until July 28, 2016.
On August 21, 2017, the dev team announced that they would be ceasing operations with a message on the official forums:
We’re sorry to inform you that we will be sunsetting Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online in North and South America, Europe, and the Oceania region, with final closure scheduled for December 6.
Characters
Upon starting the game for the first time and completing the tutorial, players will choose from a roster of familiar characters working for Public Security Section 9, including some brand new game-original characters.
| Name | Description | Ability |
|---|---|---|
| Motoko Kusanagi | The Major and leader of PSS9 who has spent the majority of her life in a prosthetic body, to the point she can barely remember her original identity. | Thermal Cloak (linkable) |
| Batou | A former Ranger in the JGSDF and the number two operative of PSS9. An outgoing jokester who is quick to anger when his ideals are threatened. | Rocket Arm |
| Togusa | The only fully-human member of PSS9 with a loving wife and daughter. A detective by trade who is relatively inexperienced in combat. | Seeker Drones |
| Ishikawa | The information warfare/technology expert of PSS9 with a big beard. A relatively laid-back man who served with Batou in the war. | Sentry Turret |
| Saito | The tactical sniper of PSS9 with the cybernetic "Hawkeye" in place of his left eye. Barely survived an encounter with the Major after encountering her as an enemy during a past mission. | Thermal Vision (linkable) |
| Paz | A rumored ex-Yakuza who joined PSS9 as a jack-of-all-trades. | Super Speed (linkable) |
| Maven | A former engineer who helped evacuate war refugees from Bolivia, was forced to work with local police when her company was shut down. | Thermo-Optic Barrier |
| Borma | Explosives expert of PSS9 with cybernetic eyes and a bald head. Sometimes backs up Ishikawa on more technical tasks. | Nano-gel Body Armor (linkable) |
| Kuro | A JSDF veteran who replaced most of his entire body with a cyborg prosthesis to stay battle-ready. | EMP Generator |
| Azuma | A highly decorated JGSDF Ranger. | Tactical Shield/Dome |
| Reiko | Trained in cyberbrain engineering, relatively jovial around her comrades. | Net Jump |
| Sitara | Former CIA counterterrorism operative, her strong engineering and survival skills kept her useful, but weak social skills kept her from advancing within the Agency. She jumped at the chance to join PSS9 as an outsider. | Siphon Drone |
Gameplay
Two teams of PSS9 operatives fight each other in one of three modes for dominance. To help alleviate confusion in identifying friends and foes, all allies appear as their character skin with a bluish tint, while all enemies appear as a generic terrorist skin with a reddish color. However, all players are capable of using the same cybernetic enhancements and abilities linked to their chosen character in the match.
Modes
- Team Deathmatch: two teams of agents attempt to get more kills combined than their opponents. Matches end after 10 minutes or 10000 points are reached, whichever comes first.
- Territory Control: Two teams fight to take and hold a series of control points on the map. Victory can be achieved one of three ways -- capturing the final control point at the end of the map, capturing a total of five points first, or capturing a point in sudden death if neither of the first two conditions have been met in 10 minutes.
- Demolition: Similar to Counter-Strike's Bomb Defuse maps, in that one team has to plant a bomb at one of two points on the map, and the other team has to defuse the bomb if it has been planted, or eliminate the enemy before the bomb is planted. Also, each player has one life, and cannot respawn until the round is over. However, any member of the attacking team can plant the bomb. The first team to win 6 rounds wins the game.
Economy
Characters, as well as some weapons, can be purchased with a mix of earnable and paid currency before they can be used. Cosmetics, such as costumes and weapon skins, can also be purchased.
