I'm truly amazed at what the TWI devs we able to put together. ROOst was impressive to say the least, and was by far my most loved and played FPS on the market (until now). With RO2, all the mechanics are there to provide the most engrossing FPS experience I've ever encountered.
So far, all my expectations have been exceeded:
Moving around, while not perfect, is still at least 10x better than it was in ROOst. Maneuvering the terrain is easier than ever, and vaulting over obstacles is a breeze (and it looks good, too). My main gripe (which shamelessly belongs to the "minor nitpicking" category) is how the prone function is handled. I'd like to see a way of implementing "unconventional" prone positions, for when you just really need to hit the dirt (again: minor nitpicking. I could live without).
The cover system is an excellent idea and it looks really good, even though it can spaz out on me sometimes (I'll master it, eventually...
). I've yet to exploit its many possibilities, though I've had decent success using MGs.
Soldiers blend surprisingly well with their surroundings. They don't stick out so much, and more often than not, at longer ranges, the first and last thing I see is a muzzle flash followed by swift death. I'm pretty eager to play on servers without any kill reports! (and without any pistols for riflemen, for that matter).
Shooting through materials is a great feature (I really enjoy this one), and it works marvelously well. I'm still unsure at the moment which walls can or can't be penetrated and with what weapons, but when in doubt I just shoot anyway.
Interruptible animations are brilliantly realized, especially mid-reload. I'm not sure if it's bug free at the moment, but overall it seems pretty solid: it saved my virtual life more than once. Together with material penetration, these are my top two features: I just wouldn't enjoy the game nearly as much without them.
Injury and death: I'm not a big fan of being injured and not having any side effects (unless I missed them?), and I personally think the bandaging animation is way too fast. But besides that, it's superb! Slow deaths are much better executed than what I had hoped for, and seeing someone get shot just feels right (or wrong, should one not revel in death). The blood splatters are a very clever touch, and they feel appropriate.
There are no more laser machine guns! They now shoot bullets ! Good job on that one; and they handle much better too.
SMGs are now a viable weapon! I've never been much of a SMG guy (that might change...), but no longer feeling pity for the poor guy spraying at the ceiling trying to shoot me while I casually aim my rifle at his chest is surprisingly refreshing (I now fear SMGs in close quarters, as I'm supposed to).
Rifles be rifles, my most trusted weapons <3. Also, seeing someone shooting from the hip with a rifle in third person looks badass.
AT rifles are awesome. I want to make sweet love to one; and then shoot an enemy through a tree.
Tanks now feel more like complex vehicles, and less like explosive metallic boxes (even thought they do tend to explode quite liberally when shot with AP rounds, for some reason... I'm no tank expert, bear with me). I've had a lot of fun peppering them with the AT rifle, trying to aim for weak spots (with under-average success). Tank on tank is also a lot of fun, and I like how the interiors were rendered, which really helps in giving each tank a particular vibe (I gotta say I really dig those viewports on the Panzer IV's turret )
And the battle chatter is hilarious. Plus, it does a very good job at stressing the adversity between the two parties, and making you feel like you're part of something. I didn't expect to notice (and like) that feature so much. It adds soul to the game.
Now all that's missing is proper hardcore mode (which is not in the beta in its entirety, if I'm correct? I can't really tell, though some options seem available to server admins). In the meantime, I'll learn to play the game properly on whatever settings are available so I can break out of my "cannon fodder" eggshell and start acting like I actually played ROOst since the day it came out
So yeah, great job TWI! The game is incredibly fun and immersive. I'm looking forward to playing the full game on September 13th! I'll try and post bug reports sometime... should I ever have the willpower to stop playing purely for fun.
So far, all my expectations have been exceeded:
Moving around, while not perfect, is still at least 10x better than it was in ROOst. Maneuvering the terrain is easier than ever, and vaulting over obstacles is a breeze (and it looks good, too). My main gripe (which shamelessly belongs to the "minor nitpicking" category) is how the prone function is handled. I'd like to see a way of implementing "unconventional" prone positions, for when you just really need to hit the dirt (again: minor nitpicking. I could live without).
The cover system is an excellent idea and it looks really good, even though it can spaz out on me sometimes (I'll master it, eventually...
). I've yet to exploit its many possibilities, though I've had decent success using MGs.Soldiers blend surprisingly well with their surroundings. They don't stick out so much, and more often than not, at longer ranges, the first and last thing I see is a muzzle flash followed by swift death. I'm pretty eager to play on servers without any kill reports! (and without any pistols for riflemen, for that matter
).Shooting through materials is a great feature (I really enjoy this one), and it works marvelously well. I'm still unsure at the moment which walls can or can't be penetrated and with what weapons, but when in doubt I just shoot anyway
.Interruptible animations are brilliantly realized, especially mid-reload. I'm not sure if it's bug free at the moment, but overall it seems pretty solid: it saved my virtual life more than once. Together with material penetration, these are my top two features: I just wouldn't enjoy the game nearly as much without them.
Injury and death: I'm not a big fan of being injured and not having any side effects (unless I missed them?), and I personally think the bandaging animation is way too fast. But besides that, it's superb! Slow deaths are much better executed than what I had hoped for, and seeing someone get shot just feels right (or wrong, should one not revel in death
). The blood splatters are a very clever touch, and they feel appropriate.There are no more laser machine guns! They now shoot bullets
! Good job on that one; and they handle much better too.SMGs are now a viable weapon! I've never been much of a SMG guy (that might change...), but no longer feeling pity for the poor guy spraying at the ceiling trying to shoot me while I casually aim my rifle at his chest is surprisingly refreshing (I now fear SMGs in close quarters, as I'm supposed to).
Rifles be rifles, my most trusted weapons <3. Also, seeing someone shooting from the hip with a rifle in third person looks badass
.AT rifles are awesome. I want to make sweet love to one; and then shoot an enemy through a tree.
Tanks now feel more like complex vehicles, and less like explosive metallic boxes (even thought they do tend to explode quite liberally when shot with AP rounds, for some reason... I'm no tank expert, bear with me). I've had a lot of fun peppering them with the AT rifle, trying to aim for weak spots (with under-average success
). Tank on tank is also a lot of fun, and I like how the interiors were rendered, which really helps in giving each tank a particular vibe (I gotta say I really dig those viewports on the Panzer IV's turret )And the battle chatter is hilarious
. Plus, it does a very good job at stressing the adversity between the two parties, and making you feel like you're part of something. I didn't expect to notice (and like) that feature so much. It adds soul to the game.Now all that's missing is proper hardcore mode (which is not in the beta in its entirety, if I'm correct
? I can't really tell, though some options seem available to server admins). In the meantime, I'll learn to play the game properly on whatever settings are available so I can break out of my "cannon fodder" eggshell and start acting like I actually played ROOst since the day it came out So yeah, great job TWI! The game is incredibly fun and immersive. I'm looking forward to playing the full game on September 13th! I'll try and post bug reports sometime... should I ever have the willpower to stop playing purely for fun
.
