There are not a lot of quality multiplayer shooters able to collect and keep to yourself large player base, and in the sub-genre arena shooter, and even more so. From modern games come to mind except that Quake Champions and the Unreal Tournament , which are now undergoing beta tests and prealfa respectively.
So on LawBreakers , the development of which is headed by Cliff Bleszinski, who was responsible for the creation of Gears of War , and the above-mentioned the Unreal , high hopes are assigned. But will she be able to do the same, for example, that a year ago had created Overwatch from of Blizzard ?
Let’s look into this matter together.
Hooks, jetpack and jerks
Each team of five players, and limits on the number of the same characters do not.
A good multiplayer project primarily requires an original idea and its implementation is excellent. With that LawBreakers okay. Imagine that in the classical arena, where all variety consisted of several types of weapons and reinforcements, were the heroes with their own abilities …
It sounds like Overwatch characters transported in Quake. Part of the way it is: the same two or three abilities with a short back, a few passives and one ultimatum. And – on the same button! Even the description of the characters caused by the same F1!
The nine roles available game, and for each party – Law and, you guessed it, Breakers – your own character. For example, the picture Toska-9 and Maverick, two avant.
However, the gameplay much more dynamic and LawBreakers that really there, “vertical”. The key points on maps placed areas with gravity anomalies: some force of attraction is directed to a single point, while in others it is not at all. Fly wherever you want!
Stir in LawBreakers – a pledge of survival, so each character has at least one spetsumeniya affecting his movement: teleport, jetpack, a hook or something else.
For example, the ghost (Wraith) can make a tackle or jump back and using PCM – stab and take a small leap forward. In the arsenal of the assassin has a hook-cat – with him it can be drawn not only to the surfaces, but also to the enemies. Caught, tightened, it caused devastating damage to the dagger. And this is not all the characters skills!
If it is correct to use these skills, you can develop a decent speed and to give flight paths in zero gravity element of unpredictability.
This will greatly increase your chances at the same time to get away from the enemy base and save limbs intact. Your survival depends on your skills: accuracy, response cards and knowledge of game mechanics.
Otherwise any rukasty opponent beat you, even if it cost back to you … because LawBreakers any character can shoot blindly over his shoulder!
The division into classes is not in the game – each character plays its own role. But among them there was a place for “tank” (in the screenshot) and physician (in the video below).
Analogies with Overwatch and suggest themselves: there is also a soldier-76 automatic rifle and a pistol with the exact McCree. However LawBreakers no sniper.
A small but very cool detail: ball Blitzball mode voice of Justin Roiland, the creator and voice of Rick and Morty.
And you know what? It’s fine.
At first, it is impossible to distinguish anything – before the eyes of utter hell, a mess of tracers, flares and explosions … but over time, examining each character and each card, you begin to get genuine pleasure from winning each bout.
LawBreakers focused on team play, but it is not the usual team deathmatch. All modes are tied to one or more objects: Overcharge and Uplink – it’s quite intriguing variations of capture the flag, Turf War – slightly modified capture points and Blitzball most similar to basketball, but without passes and with a fatal outcome. Win the game by yourself is almost impossible here to win you need to either cooperate with the team, either initially play with friends.
A fly in the ointment
But apart from all this splendor at LawBreakers there are also disadvantages. Firstly, the history of the world and the characters. The success of the Overwatch would not be such a big deal of hard work without Blizzard over the setting and the mythology of the game.
There, each character its own unique character and biography-written, and almost none of the players do not give a damn about the world Overwatch. A Blizzard also regularly heated public interest in the new comics and shorts, and every appearance of a new character is accompanied by a burst of artifacts and cosplay on Reddit.
The design of many of the characters … let’s say, like it is not everything.
And here about the history we know only that it is there . In LawBreakers (at least for now) do not have personalities, and there are dolls, the story of which is necessary to get into the fans’ wiki.
And it would be okay for the game attracted much attention, but (and this is the second problem) in LB simply disgusting PR-campaign.
According to the rating service GitHyp, during open beta activity peak reached strips in 7500, and the average LawBreakers simultaneously played only 3,500 people!
For comparison, the open beta test of a similar genre Paladins made his debut with the figure of 38,000 players, and today, ten months after release, “Paladin” steady fall in the list of the twenty most popular games on Steam. And considering LawBreakers indicators involuntarily fear that the game will suffer the same fate as the Battleborn.
Well, of course, where do without trunks with skins? The developers of the Boss Key Productionsclearly learn from the best.
In an interview with GameSpot Cliff Bleszinski he said that he would like to develop LawBreakers the same way as is done with Psyonix Rocket League or Digital Extremes with Warframe . He understands that the game at the start is not balanced: someone will have to “nerf” other “apat”, the interest in the game you need to constantly maintain.
And Boss Key Productions ready for it. They are ready to surprise, to work with the players, collect feedback and make changes, the closed beta test is clearly shown: in the PTA players were asked to add Kill kama after death – and now this option is already in development, and after the release (or a bit later ) we will certainly be able to get information about who and how to kill us.
It is hoped that LawBreakers will find its niche, but the developers did not throw the game as, for example, Ubisoft has abandoned For Honor . What of all this work, we learn very soon: the release is scheduled for August 8 on PC and PS4.
