Since the release of
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
way back in 2007, there hasn't really been a lot of room for innovation
in the console shooter. Developers have sought to replicate COD as
closely as they could to attract the brain-dead masses. For the
discerning gamer, like
you, dear reader, this is not good. As such, it gives me pleasure to report that Lightbox Interactive's Ps3 exclusive Starhawk breathes some much-needed new life into the sector.
Set in a space-faring sci-fi western universe that owes a lot to
Firefly, Starhawk is a third-person team-based shooter with open maps and vehicle gameplay in the vein of
Battlefield, outwardly similar to its spiritual predecessor
Warhawk, a decent third-person shooter that was sadly completely overshadowed by being released about 3 weeks before the original
Modern Warfare. Two teams square off across a wide, open battlefield in objective based-gameplay,
as you might expect, but there's a twist- players can summon structures
to be dropped into play from orbit, changing the face of the arena in
real time.
Turrets, vehicle spawners and fortifications are all available from this so called "Build & Battle" mechanic, and this is what sets
Starhawk apart
from the crowd. It demands more thought from players than the average
shooter- correct use of it is vital for both team and individual
success. You spawn with an assault rifle and a handful of grenades. This
is fine for fighting some other punk that just spawned, but to mount a
serious assault on the enemy base, or a concerted defense of your own?
No chance. Call in a a siege tank depot or a supply bunker, though, and
maybe you can have a go at it. Building is done with a straightforward
radial menu, usable enough that it doesn't get in the way, and can be
done by anyone- there's no commander or support role in charge of it.
And it works, even in an uncoordinated public server team- walls go up,
turrets placed strategically and vehicle structures placed where they
can be readily accessed. I'm impressed that a mechanic like this has ben
made to work as well as it does in the notoriously anarchic console
shooter environment, probably down to the design devotion of the
developers- improvements have been made from beta, and more are
promised.
The broader gameplay
is pretty good- while unmodified infantry combat can be a little flat,
things get much more interesting when structures and vehicles are
involved. Genuine excitement comes from the constant shifting of a
match's dynamics as buildings are alternately erected and obliterated-
you gotta keep on your toes. Infantry weapons are pretty standard-
general purpose assault rifle, close range shotgun, sniper rifle, rocket
launcher- but all have their uses. Vehicles play a big part- the
firepower of tanks and aircraft is needed to break a siege and the speed
of jeeps and jetbikes to whisk the flag away- and handle well.
To my surprise, there is a singleplayer, and even more surprisingly it doesn't feel completely divorced from the multiplayer.
Story hinges around the precious so-called "Rift Energy"-
space-crude-oil, essentially. Out in the space frontier, there's a
constant battle between Rifters (roughneck space cowboys)
and Outcasts (once-men mutated and consumed by the energy). Our
player-character is somewhere in between; a rifter with just a hint of outcast glow. It's a pretty decent space western, with colourful characters and animation cutscenes, but nothing earth-shaking. Starhawk does, however, buck the shooter trend once more by using largely the same mechanics in singleplayer as multiplayer- success rides on the use ofbuildings
and vehicles just as much in both cases. This lends a good chunk of
player choice to what might otherwise be a fairly dreary campaign. The
setting is really cool, though, with a real frontier vibe and great artstyle.
One thing that does strike me about Starhawk
is the amount of really neat design features incorporated; I get a
feeling that a lot of love went in from the designers, who were
dedicated to do the shooter thing a little differently. Instead of just
popping on to the map as if by magic, players drop in from above in a
pod, able to make subtle flight adjustment to land exactly where they
please. It's not just show, either- land your pod on an enemy player or
vehicle for an instant (and hilarious) kill. Bunkers have team-exclusive
doors and one-way shields on the firing ports to allow occupants to
fire out safely- to take them out requires serious firepower
or a
daring dash up the external ladder to drop in and butcher those within.
The "Hawk" aircraft is suited not only to dogfighting as is so often
the case with air vehicles in shooters, but bombing as well, and can
transform to a walker form to really take part in the ground fight.
These things and more are real sparks of creativity and are very welcome
indeed in the stale shooter market.
It's so easy to make an average shooter in today's market- just copy
Call of Duty.
Starhawk
shies well away from this approach and does its very best to do
something very different from the norm, and manages it, providing a
unique action experience with its unconventional design approach. I like
it quite a lot, but there are a couple issues I must mention; were it not for the dynamicism offered by the building mechanic, I don't think the shooter gameplay would work- it doesn'y play as well as a conventional shooter as a good conventional shooter does.
Additionally, there are a few balance issues lingering still,
particularly with vehicle spam- every player on a team can build himself
a heavy tank, and if they all do it stops being much fun for the enemy.
Nonetheless,
Starhawk is living proof that different things can be successfully done with console shooters- take note, developers.
This article was originally posted on www.invalidopinions.com -
check it out, it's totally awesome.
