Preview: Offensive Combat: Redux! Beta
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NB. This is an early preview of a beta and so does not warrant a review score. A full review will be available once the final game is released.
Offensive Combat: Redux! is a competitive shooter – playing off the successes of Counter Strike & more recently, Overwatch. Claiming to show players a new take on the game genre, the zany shooter comes this year as a revamp of previous title – Offensive Combat in an attempt to regain its original player base, and attract fresh new players; but will the zany and unique shooter sink, or fly?
Starting off, for a BETA OC:R! plays bug, & lag free. Though played on a mid-range gaming PC, the game’s requirements will be more than playable on laptops for on the go shooting, striking against the low-poly CS:GO and Overwatch; also playable on lower-end machines & laptops. Speaking of, for a low-poly design, OC:R! comes across as a visually appealing game to the players, its maps hold up well and character models are wonderfully identifiable; aided by the thousands of possible customisation options for your characters. Based on an in-game credits system, players have the option to buy interchangeable items for their legs, arms, hands, bodies, and heads; from parodies of the US President to goth & skater outfits, players can shoot up their friends in style.
The gameplay feels fluid, and movement lacks restriction. Though the gun reloads often feel slow, and can quite frequently slow & damage a player’s kill streaks or K/D ratios. Lack of movement is aided by thoughtful map design, allowing players to take the high ground and sneak on enemies from above, or bruteforce the battlefield on the ground-levels; thus allowing each player to find their own play-styles & exploit their enemy’s. The range of such maps is good, from environmentally dangerous areas to urban city streets, the game holds up well when looking for a range in gameplay styles and experiences.
The variety in firearms available is great, from modern weaponry like the M4A1 to futuristic alien rifles, adding to the possibilities of players finding their own styles to own the battlefield with. However, the weapon sound-design lacks a punch, causing them to feel like they lack power, which is continuous throughout the game’s armoury. This is exemplified by the lack of powered recoil in any of the guns, and that they all feel the same when the trigger is pulled; frustratingly contrasting the otherwise great range in possible styles. Though the varying weapon customisation is good, it feels exclusively cosmetic, and has little impact on actual gameplay, failing to change the overall usage of the guns. Moving to melee combat, this feels slow, and pointless. Every time I went in for a melee kill, I was easily outmatched by any opposing weapon no matter the distances – holding truth to never bringing a knife to a gun fight; melee is something to avoid in this game.
Going on to actual multiplayer, the player-base felt non-existent, I rarely was able to be placed into a match with other players; and when I was it was with no more than three at a time, making the larger maps feel pointless, and lacking substance when playing. Though matchmaking was smooth, and I encountered no issues with game connectivity or bugs over networks – so kudos to the OC devs for making a more playable BETA than many triple A developer teams of the year. When not playing online, the game thankfully has an AI skirmish mode, where I spent most of my hours. The game does fall victim to stupid AI, often found to be standing in corners, waiting for movement prompts. They failed to create a comparable challenge of a multiplayer match, as is with most multiplayer-based titles.
The overall user interface of the game feels closed off, and basic. A more fluid interface would be more than appreciated – though the live backgrounds are interesting – their dark colour palettes often cause interface text to be covered up, causing players to have to struggle to view on-screen text & information. More care & planned design into the interface would definitely not go amiss, and be more than welcome.
Offensive Combat: Redux! is available for purchase now on Steam for Windows PCs.
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