That transparency and capitalization on modding’s popularity is a wise move on Epic’s part. The official website houses plenty of sketches, work-in-progress videos, and milestone updates (highlight: the return of the insane ChaosUT mod) all freely viewable. Instead of opting for a closed development team in a studio, the next UT pulls talent from scores of ambitious modders, level designers, concept artists, and anyone else willing to fire up the Unreal Engine and add their mark. For me, Unreal Tournament’s greatest achievement is portraying the concept of deathmatch as a blood-spattered spectator sport complete with rising stars, monolithic corporate sponsorships, and officiated leagues.Įpic isn’t done with UT, and it’s coming with shock rifles blazing with a new iteration grounded almost entirely in community input. Even after a decade and a half, we’re still reverentially reminiscing about our favorite arenas and tools of destruction in Epic’s groundbreaking FPS. Play it because: You’ve stapled your finger to your jump key you think air resistance is a quaint concept Prev of 9 Next Prev of 9 Next First up should be repainting placeholder textures to something less spartan. Developer Turbo Pixel’s proprietary engine better accommodates layering extra features such as matchmaking and map editing, and what’s planned looks extensive: regional ladders, LAN support, dedicated servers, co-op modes, custom HUDs, Steam Workshop integration, and other goodies. Reflex reflects those qualities near identically.Īfter a shaky Kickstarter campaign, Reflex hopped over to Early Access last November with regular updates in the following months. Rules turn quite competitive under the mod’s settings almost every facet of gameplay-air control, damage values, momentum, even weapon swap speed to name a few-is tweaked for deathmatch at supersonic speeds. Translation: Reflex is a spiritual and modernized incarnation of the prominent Quake III mod Challenge ProMode Arena (CPMA). I’ll nutshell Reflex with some Quake-speak: it’s a glossier Q3 CPMA. Play it because: You like a mix of vehicular and foot combat you think the floor is lava you’re fond of firing a gun named “Violator” Prev of 9 Next Prev of 9 Next It’s somewhat weird and rare having a developer trumpet the old-fashioned as a marketing strategy, but that eccentricity hopefully shouldn’t hamper Toxikk’s potential, as it’s really one of the best chances for seeing new ideas blossom from an established legacy. Its debut trailer boasts the discarding of iron sights, skill trees, cover systems, and other modern mechanics in favor of a “no bullshit” mindset spurning the apparent anathema of free-to-play. Less stellar is Toxikk playing the nostalgia card a little too strongly. The lustrous Unreal Engine 4 tops off Toxikk’s tribute with shiny bloom effects, motion blur, and deep colors. Consider Unreal Tournament its heaviest influence: vehicles, double jumping, wall boosts, sprawling outdoor areas akin to UT’s Onslaught mode, gritty city maps, and a focus on clan competition are all in the mix. Toxikk’s name wouldn’t feel out of place on a Call of Duty scoreboard, but past the showy label is a shooter tenaciously honoring its roots. Play it because: “Of Rats and Railguns” you’re a fan of cheese-based taunts you’re secretly a cat researching the enemy Prev of 9 Next Prev of 9 Next At this stage of Early Access it’s a good start for developer Lino Slahuschek, who has plans for extra modes, cosmetic unlockables, and more map variety in the full release. Don’t worry about weapons, health packs, armor shards, or damage amps-just grab air with a rail boost and plink away. Like many of the games in this gallery, Ratz Instagib keeps simplicity in mind while smoothly counterparting core arena shooting. Good news: it’s also theoretically limitless, which means a bunch of bipedal rats zapping each other in giant living rooms and kitchens makes perfect sense. Once a spinoff mode from standard deathmatch, instagib’s emphasis on juking shots of snap-death before poking someone’s skull across the map deserves full game status. If a game of tag used super-accelerated projectile beams instead of hands, its name would be instagib.
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