Atomfall: The Red Strain DLC
The Red Strain is the second DLC for the RPG Atomfall. It provides another interesting side story that is adjacent to that of the main game. Set in the new region of Stafell Crag, the player finds a secret installation called Test Site Moriah, run by C.O.R.E. (Co-ordinated Orbital Research Establishment). C.O.R.E. have seniority over B.A.R.D. (British Atomic Research Department) and have taken much of their research and used it for their own experiments. This includes the Red Strain, a genetically modified version of the Blue Infection. However, this has escaped containment and spread throughout the entire site. Once again the player must explore the zone, looking for leads and collecting resources, while trying to piece together what has happened. As in the previous DLC and main game, not every NPC that you meet in The Red Strain can be trusted.
Atomfall: Wicked Isle DLC
Wicked Isle DLC for the RPG Atomfall was released on 3rd June, two months after the base game launched. As with its predecessor there are no specific missions, the DLC requires the player to explore the environment to pick up leads. These ultimately provide a coherent story but the clues may not necessarily be obtained in the correct order. Hence, again there is a requirement for players to look, listen and think. Referring to the in-game notebook is beneficial for narrative clarification. As well as a new story, Wicked Isle DLC also has new weapons, items and skills. This includes a Blunderbuss shotgun which inflicts huge damage but has a limited range, as well as a cutlass and some ritualistic weapons. There is also an upgraded metal detector along with the Decomposition skill, which causes enemies to rapidly dissolve into fungal spores after a takedown. This means that dead NPCs cannot be discovered.
Atomfall
By default, I’m not always drawn to first person games. I see their merits in genres such as shooters but in an RPG, I prefer a third person perspective. So I was somewhat ambivalent towards Atomfall when I first saw promotional videos for the game. However, its uniquely British setting and period ambience piqued my interest. I also enjoy the Sniper Elite series which developers Rebellion also produce. So I recently bought the deluxe version of the game and began my play through. I made sure that I didn’t do too much research beforehand, because it was clear that the complexities of the plot are a major selling point of the game. Twenty two gaming hours later, I had completed two of six possible endings. Despite discovering a wealth of “leads” and diligently scouring the four main zones of Atomfall, I still feel there is much left to find and explore. Hence I have begun a second playthrough.
Sniper Elite Resistance
Let me start by stating what Sniper Elite Resistance isn’t. It is not the next iteration of the franchise. It is a tangential sequel to Sniper Elite 5 with a story that runs in parallel with the events of that game. While Karl Fairburne is tackling “Operation Kraken” in Sniper Elite 5, Sniper Elite Resistance sees fellow SOE operative Harry Hawker assisting the French Resistance uncover a new German “Wunderwaffe” (wonder weapon). Sniper Elite Resistance shares the same setting, game mechanics and soundtrack with its predecessor. There are seven new missions, set in pre D-Day France, which take place in very expansive maps. There is more to explore, a greater degree of choice with regard to how you tackle each mission and increased scope for long range sniping. The game also benefits from a lot of new weapons along with established favourites.
Sniper Elite 5: Invasion
I was playing Sniper Elite 5 on launch day, slowly working my way through the single player campaign, when I came face to face with the new “invasion mode” that’s been added to the game. It is enabled by default and allows for another player to enter your game and hunt you down. The game does inform you of this mechanic and gives you the option to disable it if you so wish. However, I was so focused on fighting my way through the hedgerows of Normandy, I really didn’t pay attention to any of these prompts. Hence, when a message popped up stating “Axis Invasion”, I just assumed that reinforcements had been called after I alerted enemy NPCs to my presence. The next thing I knew, I was cut down in a hail of SMG fire only to be informed that I had been killed by another player. It didn’t take me long to figure out what happened and despite my initial surprise, I couldn’t help but feel that this is a pretty cool game mechanic.
Remastered Games
I played through Sniper Elite V2 Remastered this week and the graphical overhaul is impressive and the addition of photo mode provides an amusing diversion. It is a superior iteration of the game than the original 2012 release. However, I have read reviews that have found this new version unsatisfactory. There have been complaints that the game lack the scope and sophistication of Sniper Elite III and 4. If you explore such comments further you soon find that those who have made them seem to fundamentally confuse a remaster of a game with a remake. Sniper Elite V2 Remastered has been lovingly dragged up to visual standards of the latter versions of the games by Rebellion Developments, but it’s original 2012 structure, mechanics and limitations are still present. If you require a succinct metaphor it is the difference between redecorating and refurbishing a house.
Maintaining a Standard
I do not advocate that mindset that some gamers pursue, where they don’t see game publishers as a company selling them a product, but instead see their vendor/consumer relationship in a more personal light. I think it is both wise and healthy to see things as they are; namely that buying a game is a transactional relationship governed by consumer law. That is not to say that we should by default, think ill of all video games publishers, but it is pertinent to reflect upon what we know about the business practises of such companies as Riot Games, Blizzard- Activision and more recently BioWare. To be concise, some video games companies are shitty to both their customers and their staff. Others are not. Let the buyer beware and all that.
Strange Brigade Reveal
Rebellion, the creators of the Sniper Elite series and the Zombie Army Trilogy, announced on Wednesday a new game called Strange Brigade. The trailer shows the game to be a four-player co-op third-person shooter. The rather droll video, shot as a faux newsreel, appears to show a story set in the pre-war era with a group of quirky characters indulging in Indiana Jones style shenanigans on behalf of the British Empire.