One waypoint was located upstairs on a balcony overlooking the the city. Somehow we were able to finish the scenario and actually push through all of the objectives to the end. Other times I’d get headshot from a third story window half a block away. Another time an enemy creeped up from behind and somehow sprayed an entire magazine without a hit, giving me plenty of time to line up a shot. Sometimes an insurgent would clearly get the drop on me around a corner. The AI wasn’t incredible in my demo, particularly with regard to aiming, but the map layouts and scenarios were clever enough to keep it interesting. If I could see an enemy’s face, they were already far too close for comfort. Spotting a group of enemies across a courtyard for example would elicit a reaction of ducking to find cover, peeking and leaning around edges to get a clear shot - rather than charging ahead with a shotgun or spraying at groups to rack up kills. The worrisome tension was palpable and I really felt the intensity of war. Sitting behind the keyboard with a headset on is a different experience with this game. As far as I could tell there was no health respawn at all since you’re just an everyday normal soldier. Getting shot in Insurgency isn’t like getting shot in other shooters. On the flip side, it’s incredibly exhilarating to hear your teammates cheer you on if you’re the last man standing trying to hold a point all by yourself amidst an onslaught of enemy fire. It creates a frantic and desperate struggle if you’re close to capturing a point with only one or two members of the squad left. So if your team is having a particularly hard time taking a point or a lot of people have died, it’s only going to get harder since you have fewer and fewer allies helping out. Instead, you and all other dead teammates will respawn once a new waypoint is captured.
Across the city we had a series of about a dozen or so waypoints that we needed to capture in order to advance and continue moving.īut being the hardcore, intense shooter that it is, Insurgency: Sandstorm didn’t feature automatic respawning in this game mode. The game mode we were playing had our entire squad of what seemed like around eight or so people slowly pushing through a Middle Eastern town battling NPCs. So naturally that meant dying almost immediately on my first spawn. I’m more of a Titanfall, Battlefield, and Halo kind of guy than an Arma, Squad, or Insurgency player. I’ve played my fair share of shooters, but I don’t typically lean towards the hardcore simulation style. But I couldn’t do that in Insurgency: Sandstorm. It’s like the gamer version of Jesus Take The Wheel. With most shooters I usually just let my muscle memory take over and guide me. At E3 2018 last week we got the chance to go hands-on with a live co-op gameplay demo. Now, New World is poised to release an ambitious and expanded sequel dubbed Insurgency: Sandstorm.
What originally started as a Half-Life 2 mod over a decade ago morphed into one of the most popular and best-selling (multi-million copies, to be exact) shooters on Steam. Ever played a "hardcore" mode in another shooter that meant you die in one shot? Insurgency was one of the first to implement that, and the sequel is entirely based on that premise. With dozens of weapons, tons of maps, plenty of game modes, and a focus on tactical teamwork, it set itself apart. ARMA does it well, and so does New World Interactive’s Insurgency. One of the hardest subgenres to really nail for developers is that hardcore simulation shooter. From traditional military FPS games, to hero shooters, to MOBA-FPS hybrid games, survival-focused shooters, tactical shooters, and everything in between, you’d be hard-pressed to not find something you enjoy.
There is so much diversity out there in the world of PC gaming, especially with regards to shooters, that I honestly think we’ve absolutely reached the point that there is literally something for everyone.