The Global Agenda was launched in 2005 by Hi-Rez Studios. It is an online team-based game developed with Unreal Engine 3. It went live on February 1, 2010, and in April 2011, Global Agenda was re-released as a free-to-play.
The game is played in a third-person camera view. Some weapons allow scoping in first-person view with a mouse action. Characters have jetpacks and other weapons, as well as Global Agenda capabilities, a high degree of player appearance variability with unique, performance-based flair items. Almost all player items can be recolored with dyes for additional personalization.
Dome City is the center of the global agendaThe gameplay and most of the game revolves around mercenary combat (PvP) or instances (PvE). There are two playable open world zones, the Sonoran Desert and Northern Sonoran. Players can also participate in Agency vs Agency (AvA), Global Agenda’s guild-focused competitive mode.
Assault, Recon, Medic, and Robotics are the four classes that the game features. The various functions have customizable skill trees and their own weapons.
The global agenda supports the following modes:
Break – One team defends three points in a row while the others try to capture them in order. The attacking team wins if they capture all three points. The defending team wins when time runs out. Additional time is given after each shot.
Scramble – After each capture, a control point is placed anywhere on the map, and both teams attempt to capture it first. Win three captures (or higher number in case of deadlock).
Controls – Three checkpoints are open on the map at once. Which team has the majority of control points in control slowly gains match points. Whoever reaches 800 points first wins.
Payload – The attacking team is trying to push a bomb to the end of the track. The defending team attempts to halt or reverse their progress. The attacking team wins when the payload reaches the endpoint on the track. The defending team wins when time runs out.
Acquisition – This is a tweak in capturing the flag, except in which case the flag is a robot. Once a robot is “activated” by a player entering it, it can be both damaged and healed. It must be destroyed before it reaches the other side or the opposing team stats. Three points (or higher in case of deadlock) to win.
Mercenary Mode – For more casual play, players can check out the Mercenary Queue. The game will attempt to form two skill balanced teams of 10 players based on each player’s star rating. Players participate in a match whose mode is determined by the player’s filters, if any.
Special Forces – For cooperative play, players can queue up special forces. Teams of 1 to 4 players can attempt to remove instances of hostile non-player characters. Players have 20 minutes to reach the instance boss and then at least four minutes to defeat it.
There are four difficulties with the global agenda:
Medium Security – The easiest difficulty there is Missions are canonically the first undertaken by the armed Revolutionary Militia and focus on eliminating imminent threats to Dome City. Maps offer either bandit bases or recursive hives.
High Security – This is the first mode in which players compete against the Commonwealth. It has high-tech laboratories and weapons manufacturing facilities. Players will occasionally encounter elite enemy agents that reflect the playable classes. Helots mirror Assaults, Assassins, Recons, Alchemists, Medics and Techros, Robotics. Bosses are harder.
Top Security – Patrol scanners appear in this area of difficulty. Their alarms buff the enemy when they are first triggered. Huntsman spiders that can pull agents from security appear. In addition, there are more enemies, more elite agents, and more enemies in the boss room.
Ultra Max Security – In the highest difficulty, Minion Androids are replaced with more dangerous Minion Ballistae and Minion Sentinels. Enemy density is increased. There are larger groups of elite agents. Alarms summon reinforcements each time they’re triggered instead of just once. Guardians appear. The boss room starts with a significant number of elite agents and enemies.