Planetside 2 Preview

Finally, the return of Planetside is almost here with a launch date set for late November. Since the original, MMOs have almost exclusively been RPGs. But now Sony Online Entertainment (SoE) has revived Planetside on an even greater scale and with a free to play model.

It was easy to miss the first the game, which was somewhat ahead of its time when MMOs were still niche. The technology back then could only handle a few hundred players on the same server. Now the battle for Auraxis has been expanded to thousands of players per server, each fighting for one of three factions.

The Terran Republic is the official government of Auraxis, providing law and order, but labelled a dictatorship by their opponents. The rebels known as the New Conglomerate are a rag-tag bunch of fighters with backing of industrial giants. And the Vanu Sovereignty who don’t care for the politics of Auraxis, but instead are focused on finding and utilising the alien artefacts scattered across the planet.

Currently the Beta is still expanding to include all the elements of the final release. At present the majority of the game assets are available to use. With almost all classes, weapons and unlocks being used in the Beta war.

Most importantly the FPS gameplay is solid. Each of the weapons has its own feel that comes from the various elements that define it, such as damage and recoil. The five classes have access to different primary weapons. Infiltrators utilise a deadly mix of a stealth suit and sniper rifles whereas the Heavy Assault carries a powerful light machine gun and anti-armour rocket launcher.

All classes have a personal shield which will regenerate out of combat. Any damage to your health bar has to be patched up by a friendly medic, or by spending resource on medi-packs. Going into battle with both filled makes you an incredibly tough target. Fire-fights are often won by the most accurate shooter as it can take whole clips to take out opponents. It adds a real sense of franticness and desperation to every encounter. Of course if you get flanked you’ll need good reactions to recover. 

Anyone who has played a Battlefield title will feel right at home. Vehicles are the lifeblood of any offensive action. There are several land and air vehicles accessible to each faction, with core vehicles shared between them. Battles are often won with the simple Sunderer. An armoured personnel carrier with two turrets; it has neither the punch nor speed of other vehicles. But it acts as a spawn point for all players who are part of your group, as well as letting you resupply ammunition and swap class. They are the linchpin of any assault; their value usually means they are parked in dense cover to protect them while troops pour out.

When battles get underway, they quickly reach an epic scale as the map alerts all players to the conflict. You soon find yourself fighting amongst armies over key objectives.  In one session, I found myself swept up in a two hour battle for a bridge linking facilities. We were outgunned by the tanks on their side, with no tanks of our own to return fire. Instead we brought a lot of Heavy Assault, running between the large support struts that provided cover. The bridge quickly became an alley full of rockets, their engineers unable to cope with the incoming fire. Sadly we were still outnumbered and unable to push forward off the bridge.

The stalemate was broken by a change in the enemy tactics.  Suddenly our forward squads were being picked off in cover. Their Infiltrators had stealthed in behind our positions while Light Assault troops had jet packed on top of the structure, reigning down fire from their vantage point. It wasn’t long before our position was broken. We were pushed back to our spawn point, and their armoured superiority meant it was only a matter of time before the facility fell. Having lost the battle, it was clear that Planetside 2 was going to distinguish itself in the FPS market. Not only because of its scale, but the fact strategy plays an important role. Planning you actions and acting as a team is the key to victory.

So far I only have one complaint; however it’s a fairly big one. The game doesn’t explain itself. Currently there aren’t any tutorials, so working out how to play beyond point gun and pull trigger has meant searching the internet for answers. The most important part of the game is teaming up with others, which can be simply done by pressing ‘p’ to bring up the party menu. It’s simple and clearly labelled in the key bindings, but you’re unlikely to stumble across it by searching through the menu. Any new player will quickly have a long list of questions they need answers too.

There are a lot of menu screens with many options. All are very functional with little clutter, but your first half an hour will be best spent understanding them. Hopefully the final release will have tutorials included to explain the basics. If SoE want the game to be a success, they need to remove this large barrier to entry so new players can quickly get into battle.

Play Expo

Last weekend Play Expo made its debut in Manchester, and it was a welcome sight. There’s a real lack of gaming events in the UK considering how large the sales of games are here. The event was billed as cosplay, retro games, pro gaming and new releases all under one roof. My real hope for the event was that the major publishers would showcase their upcoming releases, considering the Christmas period is just around the corner.

Sadly the event was a little disappointing on this front. Some big names attended. EA brought the latest Need For Speed and Medal Of Honor. Halo 4 was playable in a small multiplayer area and Nintendo brought a WiiU / 3DS booth. It was great that they attended, but the booths themselves were small and run by marketing firms. It was a long wait to get hands on for anything. The Nintendo area was quite open, so it was easier to just watch the WiiU in action rather than queue. It seems that the best way to play upcoming releases for Brits is to make the trip over to Germany for Gamescom.

The European Gaming League took up the majority of the expo floor. Rows upon rows of 360s were set up for competitive Call of Duty and Gears of War. It was easy to spot the more professional teams, turning up with team jerseys and matching headsets.  At the back of the event there was a large stage area set up. Unfortunately it was never used while we were there on the Saturday. It would have been great to see teams competing on the large screen. Instead, watching any part of the competition meant crowding around the teams, peering over their shoulders. There were no leader boards set up anywhere, so it wasn’t possible to keep track of anything.

The real highlight of the show was the large retro area. Once you got fed up in the queues for the few new releases, you could always grab a seat and enjoy some classic gaming. There was massive variety of games and consoles on show. I took the opportunity to play some Lemmings on an Amiga 600, alas the poor thing crashed after level 3 and needed resetting. There was also a large retro stall which at the start of the day had a selection that could rival eBay.

The best part of the event for me was the array of Pinball machines. They were a rare sight when I was young. So it was satisfying to sample an era of gaming that was before my time. All the machines had clearly been cared for and looked like they had come fresh from the arcade.

All in all, it was a fun event. And it’s good to see these events taking place as they are few and far between in the UK.

DLC and Play Expo

It's been a busy week, so only a quick update this week. Borderlands 2 has had it's first DLC appear sooner than expected. The Mechromancer is now available and is possibly the best class for playing solo. The class is designed around a summonable companion Deathtrap. A bigger and meaner version of the ever irritating Claptrap.

Deathtrap comes with the amazing power of no clip, which initially looks a bit silly, but makes sense as he's a melee death machine. He comes armed with a pair of combat claws and gets stuck in. This distracts enemies a lot and alleviates the problem of being the only target in single player. Most importantly the character is unique and doesn't feel like a re-work of a character from the first game.

This weekend has seen the Play Expo visit Manchester. The Saturday was definitely well attended. I was hoping to see a lot of current games on exhibit, but the majority of the expo was the EGL and the rather fantastic Re-Play event which I had seen earlier this year. Ninetendo brought a small booth to demonstrate the Wii U, but it wasn't big enough to accommodate the crowds. A full write up here next week!

Borderlands 2: Even Shootier!

One hundred and eighty, one hundred and eighty one, a critical hit for two hundred and fifty! Bingo! Destruction! Numbers swarm around your screen like a pack of angry maths Bees in Borderlands 2 and it never gets old. Unfortunately the same can’t be said of the NPCs and objectives they give you.

The sequel has built lightly on the foundations of the original. Tweaking the little things and putting a high polish on the funky fusion of FPS and ARPG. Still set on the planet of Pandora. A fresh group of four vault hunters set out on their quest for riches. Utilising the random weapons and explosives you loot along the way to build your arsenal and take down Handsome Jack. And find the real vault of Pandora.

Handsome Jack is the driving force of the game’s narrative. Having tricked the vault hunters in the first game. He’s now using his power as CEO of the Hyperion Corporation to unlock the real vault. Of course he’s not going to get it all his own way. You quickly become a thorn in his side by escaping his trap to kill any new pesky Vault Hunters. Only to discover a planet ravaged by his efforts. You quickly side with the resistance. The Crimson Lance led by Roland, one of the original Vault Hunters and set about taking Jack down.

Currently there’s only a choice of four characters. Salvador the Gunzerker, Maya the Siren, Axton the commando and Zero the assassin. They are all very familiar in theme to the first game’s characters in that their powers are similar. But this is where Borderlands 2 takes its first step forwards. The old powers were very disruptive to the FPS gameplay, which made them feel as if they had very limited use. The new powers synergise with the FPS nature of the game a lot better; either increasing your firepower or providing damaging support.

However it still suffers from a lack of active actions you can perform. Shooting is the majority of the action, with a few on-kill effects and your class power to liven things up. It would have been nice to see some minor powers thrown into the skill trees, giving the player more tools and active abilities to throw at enemies. Admittedly it would be a push for space on a controller, but it would help with replay-ability.

Another mechanical improvement is the introduction of badass ranks. These replace the old gun levelling system which married you tightly to your favourite gun in a literal shotgun wedding. Now you gain badass points for achieving the mass murder of hostile locals in a variety of ways. Get enough points and you can choose from five random character stats. Each provides a small percentage bonus to gun damage, shield capacity, melee damage etc. The bonuses have diminishing returns to discourage min-maxing.

The scenery also received a much needed upgrade. You’re no longer stuck in a desert environment for hours on end. Instead Borderlands 2 starts in a frozen tundra and within the first few hours of gameplay, the story takes you through other settings. Each of the new locations fits well with the cell shaded aesthetic.

The sequel makes further improvements over the first game. Most notable is the ridiculousness of the guns. The designers have clearly had a lot of fun coming up with new designs. The combinations of gun parts the game generates keeps providing moments of looting glee. There’s a lot more variety within the gun types as well, so you have a choice to make between guns. Do I go for the assault rifle that’s masquerading as a mini-gun, or the high power single shot for the tougher enemies? And these moments keep happening throughout the game, although the start is still a case of pick the one with biggest numbers.

If only the same variety could be found in your quests. The vast majority can be categorised into kill this and fetch that. Even worse, quests that make you back track through weaker enemies. After doing a few, I found they served little purpose. They weren’t even entertaining distractions. It was just a check-list of things to do, which exposed the shallowness of the experience. When you notice you’re doing tasks that pad-out the game, the numbers driving the ARPG side of the game take over. Everything you do simply pushes up arbitrary bars until you’re awesome enough to progress.

The problem would be muted if the minor NPCs actually did anything interesting. After a usually dramatic introduction with a funky splash screen, they promptly hand you their first list of chores. If they had back pockets, you’d see a whole wad of them stuffed in there. It would be nice if they actually played an active part in the quests they gave. I’d love to go out in the world and box some locals with Sir Hammerlock, but no; he just stands in Moxxi’s bar not even drinking. Barking fairly polite orders at you over the radio.

Thankfully the major NPCs aren’t quite so unanimated. Every now and then plot allows some of them to join in the fun. Handsome Jack steals the show as the best written character. His lines strike the right balance between the silliness of the world, and atrocious acts of evil. Brilliantly voice acted by Dameon Clarke. You get the sense that every line is delivered with a sadistic smile.

Ultimately Borderlands 2 is still a game that is best enjoyed in multiplayer. Playing solo is ok, but after a while you do get tired of all the enemies shooting you. Having allies makes the combat a lot more satisfying, hiding the monotony of the gameplay. It also allows you to get something out the equipment and skills with team benefits. If only the game was designed to let characters at different levels join the same game. You can always join a friend at low level, but you’ll be able to kill everything with a single melee attack. The game sticks to rigidly to a levelling system. Borderlands 2 is a high quality game, but if the series wants to progress for good to great. Quests and multiplayer need a big overhaul.

Raiding, What’s it all About?

Raiding is the part of gaming I’ve been asked the most questions about. Usually it’s a very simple question, why do you do it? From the outside looking in, it’s a strange thing. Large groups of players, meeting a set time and place too battle through a dungeon. Sometimes spending an entire evening achieving nothing, just for it all to reset next week. What’s the appeal?

Well for all the time it consumes, it is the best co-op experience you can have in gaming. Taking on the most difficult content the game can throw at you, and beating it with a group of friends is epic.  Every player in the team has a role to play. Be it simply damaging the boss, or keeping its attention with taunts and taking the heavy blows. It all counts, but a few mistakes can lead to disaster. No individual can make a difference to success. You have to play as a team, sharing victory and defeat.

But surely you’re just fighting an AI, what’s so difficult about that? Well the best raiding content adds new game mechanics. This makes each boss fight feel unique whilst providing extra challenge. Using WoW as an example: I’ve flown dragons, driven steam powered siege vehicles, invaded volcanic lairs, battled on airships and list could go on. All whilst prodding ginormous bosses with a pointy stick, which by rights should just squash you. Each mechanic adds its own twist, which keeps the game feeling fresh and provides new challenges.

The best boss battles are designed around overlapping abilities. They are carefully controlled to avoid unfair scenarios. But the added element of randomness keeps you on your toes. Pushing your reactions to their limits; creating some tense gameplay that can last a good ten minutes or longer on big final bosses.

The only problem with raiding is the human element. No not the part where you sacrifice your evenings. Despite popular belief, MMOs are highly social games. Games are played by a wide variety of nationalities, and being on a European server lets you meet a large mixture of people. However raiding requires a large group of players on a regular basis, which creates a logistic nightmare. Some poor soul always has the task of managing spread sheets. Keeping track of who’s done what, when people are available, and most importantly who gets the shiny loot.

And it’s not easy. You’d think a group of adults could all play a game together, but make one error and you have a world of drama. The simple act of handing out loot from a boss can spark a silly disagreement. Watching grown men argue over an entirely fictional object is embarrassing.  But the lure of the best gear in the game is part of the hook of raiding.

If you can spare the time for raiding it provides incredible and memorable moments. Finding the right group of people to play with is important. In doing so you can find yourself making some enduring friendships, but only if you can afford the time. It would be interesting to see large scale PvE content in games outside of MMOs. Not an easy design concept to translate to other games. At the moment it looks like raiding will only existing as long as MMORPGs are popular, which is a shame.