We kick some bot ass, and bots kick our asses back, in this hands-on video of Crescent Moon’s upcoming online shooter…
Last week we posted details and screens of Deadlock, a new multiplayer shooter that I described as a cross between Counterstrike & Mini-gore. After playing it this week I can confirm that it is not a bad description, but while it does feature the same angled top down view, cute big headed-style characters and twin stick controls as Mini-gore, in the action stakes it’s certainly more in-line with Counterstrike.
In the preview build – which I must state is still early in production with a good month-and-a-bit left of spit and polish to add – I had access to five maps including a parking lot, snow base, an office, warehouse, and a bank. The first two are more open spaces, however, I found that – much like COD: Modern Warfare – there is more fun involved in gun fights in the tighter hallways of the office and warehouse.
In this preview my adversaries were lowly bots and not the human kind that will set foot in the games lobbies in a few weeks time. They were not pushovers however, and I had my ass served back to me on plate more times than I would like to remember. There are three flavours of game type in this build. The usual suspects of Death match, Team Death match and Capture tand hold (a mix between capture the flag and headquarters).
As this is a top down game and not a first person shooter, you cannot always see what’s ahead and so you must rely on onscreen arrows which let you know where the enemy is (the arrows a re smaller the further away the enemy is). Using the twin stick controls, you manoeuvre your soldier in any direction with the left stick and control your aim direction with the right. Successfully take out an enemy and you can retrieve their weapons.
On the subject of weapons, the armoury is pretty well stocked. Much like COD: Modern Warfare, you can select a primary and secondary weapon, as well as head and body armour, and of course grenades. From the primary weapons you can select from rifles, SMGs, LMGs and Shotguns, and from each of those you select from a sub category of around twenty or so models. The same can be said with the secondary, though most of these are variants of the handgun. Depending on how many points you have earned from matches will dictate which weapon types and more powerful models you can unlock.
Deadlock is certainly shaping up to be a promising title, giving a refreshing twist on the usual FPS’s for iOS. If they can get the online system up and running without a hitch, and the balance for rookie and experienced players alike, the then we should be in for a treat when the game hits.
Check out our in-game footage in action below:
