'Firefall' preps for public beta with trailer, online celebrities

With less than a week to go until its open beta, the vibrant free-to-play massively multplayer 'Firefall' annonuces plans for an online Firefall Fest.

Designed and developed at Red 5 in California and backed by Shanghai-based firm The9, 'Firefall' comes from a studio founded by Mark Kern, whose rap sheet includes key work on 'World of Warcraft,' 'Diablo II' and 'StarCraft,' with design led by Scott Youngblood of prototypical online shooter 'Starseige: Tribes.'

The game invites players to don mechanical battleframes in a futuristic world where conflict revolves around a energy source called crystite, and players can team up or scrap with each other for it.

The latest 'Firefall' trailer gives context for its lush environments, when a huge spacecraft crashes into the Brazilian metropolis of Fortaleza after opening a rift in the fabric of the universe.

Various stages of closed beta testing have been in effect since 2011, but all restrictions will be lifted come July 9, at which point Red 5 will launch a schedule of live streams with prominent gaming personalities.

Affable YouTuber SeaNanners teams up with Tybee Diskin of the 'Fallout: Nuka Break' fan film for the 10am - 1pm PST slot on July 9, followed by Minecraft expert Sevadus and pro-gamer Melonie Mac from 3pm - 6pm.

Then the MMO specialists of GamebreakerTV and determined completionist MANvsGAME take the first shift on July 10, while two giants of the eSports scene, commentator Day[9] and veteran figure Scott Smith, cap things off in the afternoon.