We’re back and recovered from the final days of EGX 2017. The crowds were HEAVING, and the flu (H1Nerd1) has left us out of action since Sunday afternoon. Here’s the conclusion of what we managed to get our illness ridden hands on during the last two days.
Star Wars: Battlefront II
So Battlefront was objectively disappointing? We’re all agreed here? It was a fine example of multiplayer shooting, absolutely, and the epic scale alongside some authentic Star Wars action was fun, at least for a while. There wasn’t much there to really hold players attention past the 10 hour mark, and certain little niggles chipped away at your overall enjoyment.
Battlefront II looks set to address these issues that fans have already been so vocal about. We already know about the campaign mode, but these sweeping changes will also affect the multiplayer. After getting some hands-on time with the game at EGX, things look very promising indeed.
The demo we got chance to play was the 20v20 Assault on Theed objective game type. The droids had to push forward in order to capture the palace whilst the Clone Troopers focused on defending the city. The first big change you’ll notice when you boot up the game is the introduction of classes, which have a huge impact over the way you play.
Though the four classes you can choose from aren’t exactly original, they do represent the cornerstones of multiplayer shooters. Assault troopers are your typical first in, last out characters that work best in short to medium range skirmishes. Heavy troopers dominate the immediate vicinity with big machine guns and plenty of health to bring the fight to the enemy. They might be slightly overpowered, but can easily be overwhelmed by concentrated fire.
Officers are the gentleman’s choice, providing buffs to their teammates whilst utilising turrets to lay down suppressive fire and manage objectives. If you’re that rare kind of person who heals people on Battlefield, Officer is probably for you.
Lastly, Specialists operate as snipers, picking off opponents from long range who are foolish enough to wander into no man’s land.
The second, and perhaps biggest change to the multiplayer, is that heroes and vehicles are called in by using Battle Points earned by kicking ass in game. No more waiting for a random drop, only for it to be claimed by some bloody scrub. Battle Points are thrown at you like sweets so long as you’re doing something that vaguely contributes to the team effort, so competent players should consistently be able to play hero characters. It’s a much more rewarding system.
Star Cards still make an appearance, and appear to be much more effective than the previous game. Take the Heavy for instance. His personal shield blocks incoming fire from the front whilst allowing him to continually mow down the opposition. His ultimate card, the heavy minigun, is even strong enough to take down vehicles and heroes single-handedly. Darth Maul never stood a chance.
All in all, Battlefront 2 feels like an example of what a sequel should be. By taking the foundation that was laid out previously and building on them, adding new features and refining the gameplay based on fan feedback, Battlefront 2 has all the makings of fantastic multiplayer shooter. Cue the hordes of fanboys to say it still won’t be as good as the originals.
Strange Brigade
Little known fact: the Strange Brigade is actually the squad name for my drinking buddies. That may or may not have been a lie.
Strange Brigade is actually a four player co-op adventure set during the 1930’s. Think along the lines of Indiana Jones but with 10 times the amount of bloodshed. The game as a whole is presented like an old-timey broadcast, complete with corny British narrator who seems awful fond of the colonies.
It’s fairly similar to Zombie Army Trilogy in formula, where four players must tackle waves and waves of the horde, but Strange Brigade feels much tighter in terms of gameplay. This is much more of shooting as opposed to a sniping simulator retrofitted to be a zombie shooter. No disrespect to ZAT, mind, but Strange Brigade already feels much better as its own IP.
Players can pick from one of 4 characters,with each character possessing their own loadout. These can be customised in game at weapons chests though. Most of the game is spent dealing damage to enemies in order to increase your damage multiplier and charge your amulet. Once charged, you can use those abilities to devastating effect.
Your amulet and multiplier only remain charged by dealing constant damage, something that’s not hard to accomplish when 50 violent tribesman are breathing down your neck. Still, it’s a system that actively encourages you to knuckle down at get immersed in the bedlam.
Once the chaos hits its crescendo and you’re besieged on all sides by the unwelcoming natives, Strange Brigade clicks together. The action is fast, tense and unrelenting, with enemies pouring in from all angles, chomping at the bit to tear chunks out of some intrepid adventurers. Despite being outnumbered at every turn, the amulets and damage multipliers do a great job of ensuring you are never quite outgunned.
Though the single player campaign could potentially be less of a thrilling experience, Strange Brigade has all the makings of a top quality 4 player shooter. This is certainly one to keep an keen eye on before it releases next year.
Racing Apex
For any fans looking for a throwback to the days of Virtua Racing, Daytona and Ridge Racer, be sure to keep a lookout for Racing Apex. It’s a drift-centric racer that requires patience and finesse to truly master. No throwing it round corners on your first try here.
Unlike most racing games, where you can just tap the brake and drift around the corner like it’s a Fast and Furious film, you’re much more in control of the car as it glides around corners. Of course, you’re more likely to fuck things up. Be prepared to fail often during the early going.
It’s about finding that sweet spot of speed and precision. Too fast and too severe will lead to spectacular crashes, but going too slow will lose you precious time in those corners. It requires a much more subtle touch, which only comes with practice. My first race was an unmitigated clusterfuck, but things came together after a few sessions.
Because the physics cause Racing Apex to be more difficult than most arcade racers, the level of satisfaction obtained from nailed a sick drift is huge. With a beautiful retro art style to boot, Racing Apex could be a sleeper indie hit waiting to happen.
Far Cry 5
Hope County is in the shits. The local militia/doomsday cult Eden’s Gate have taken hold of the fictional area of Montana, and leader Joseph Seed has used every method in the book to subjugate the citizens. Those kind of shenanigans simply will not do; it’s time to take the fight to Seed.
If you’re wondering, yes, Far Cry 5 is following the same basic narrative formula laid out by the previous 3 mainline games in the series. You’re dropped into a hostile environment, overseen by a charismatic yet despicable ruler, and it’s your job to end that. Simple enough, right? If it worked before, why not use it again?
To go two for two on the reused ideas, the core gameplay seemingly remains unchanged. Go there, liberate area/outpost by any means necessary, accept story quests, repeat. It’s been that way since Far Cry 3, but again, it works. There’s something rewarding about being given a scenario and having to formulate your own plan of attack.
The demo from EGX, which was also the E3 demo, spawned us on the outskirts of Fall’s End. The town is overrun with psychotic cultists holding normal citizens hostage, but they’re unprepared for their impending reckoning. See: accidentally throwing a pipe bomb because I forgot the controls. Called a mulligan on that one.
The more successful attempt involved ascending a nearby water tower to snipe the enemies and thin out the herd, before approaching the town to mop up any stragglers. More close range players could have sneaked their way down the hillside, stabbing the guards patrolling the perimeter before closing in, whilst complete nutters could have ran down the main street lobbing grenades, before hopping into a nearby big rig to turn the last guys into roadkill.
Your choice of strategy is bolstered by the inclusion of “Guns for Hire”, who will provide assistance in unique ways. Grace is a sniper, who can provide valuable overwatch and support whilst you infiltrate strongholds. Nick is a pilot specialising in the delivery of special payloads; payloads that explode, preferably on those Eden’s Gate scumbags.
Lastly, we have all-time, top tier partner and best virtual good boy at EGX, Boomer. He’s a brilliant attack dog, is loyal to a fault, and will even bring you ammo from dead guys. If you pick anyone other than Boomer, you need to take a long hard look at yourself.
It’s pretty clear that Far Cry 5 isn’t doing too much to revolutionise its own format, but did it really need to? The combat and gameplay is still as enjoyable as ever, and so long as the villain Joseph Seed possesses the same charismatic personality as Vaas Montenegro and Pagin Min before him, Far Cry 5 should still be a winner.
Super Lucky’s Tale
The announcement of Super Lucky’s Tale was met, at least by me, with more than a few groans. The wounds of Yooka-Laylee were still fresh in the mind, and the idea of another nostalgia fest 3-D platformer was off-putting. One EGX play session later, and that tune has somewhat changed, but there are still some concerns.
Because Super Lucky’s Tale is a 3-D platformer, the game is instantly accessible and recognisable to players of all kinds. You know the score, A to jump, X to smack people, collect 100 coins for an extra life etc. No matter what gaming pedigree you may hold, the gameplay of Super Lucky’s Tale will resonate with you.
The art direction and gameplay feels very much reminiscent of the old school Rare games, except with a much better camera. While being like a Rare game isn’t necessarily a bad thing to strive towards, the issue is that Super Lucky’s Tale might struggle to create an identity of its own. Nothing kills a platformer like the absence of a unique personality.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Who saw that one coming?
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