Insurgency

It's not often that a first-person shooter comes along and astonishes people, giving them an overwhelming feeling of awe. In fact, looking back at multiplayer shooters, it's hard to think of one that has truly had an impact on the genre in recent years. Insurgency does its best to stick out from the crowd, requiring unity between team members  and offering that competitive and social aspect of a game that many FPS fans itch for.   

Insurgency was released as an early access game in April of 2013, with the developers updating the game often throughout the past year. Less than a year later, Insurgency has officially launched. Insurgency features multiplayer and cooperative play set within six unique environments including twelve different maps. Environments include a market square, a government ministry, scenes from the middle east and other typical settings one would expect to find in a modern shooter. The goal of Insurgency is similar to that of other FPS games: complete objectives and kill, or be killed.

Multiplayer matches include five different modes: skirmish, VIP, strike, search & destroy and firefight. Each mode provides varying objectives for a team and in general centers around protecting/destroying supplies and securing strongholds. Multiplayer matches are PvP, whereas co-op matches set up a team of players against the AI.    

When playing multiplayer matches one cannot help but feel the sting of failure. Slowly creeping around the map with sights aligned is often necessary in Insurgency, and when barely poking yourself out from a barrier to spot an enemy, your death is almost guaranteed to be instantaneous. Frustrating, yes, but this lack of confidence is a common occurrence in many FPS games, and like many others, Insurgency requires time and patience to master.

Insurgency's multiplayer mode may discourage a player to the point of cursing the game, and perhaps even the genre, but if you‘re not a seasoned veteran of multiplayer shooters, the cooperative mode may be more up your alley. Insurgency's co-op has a friendlier vibe to it due to the opposing team consisting of AI. This allows for a slower paced game, wherein players can get a feel for the game's controls and seek help from teammates without the anxiety of quickly being killed.

The AI of insurgency are not in fact intelligent. Playing the early access game made this beyond obvious, with updates to the released version making a significant difference on the AI's hilarity. Yet, with the finished product, the AI remain confused, blind and often unresponsive. This is a plus for beginners as they can be much too easy to kill, but an annoyance for those looking for more of a challenging co-op mode. "Don't shoot or the AI will attack!" - words heard during co-op play and a laughable, extreme example of the work that can be done to mend Insurgency's AI.

If Insurgency does one thing right, it’s the realistic feel of a combat setting. New World Interactive seems to take pride in this. Weapon behaviors feel realistic and bullets sound as if they’re actually zipping past your head. Not everyone can choose to be a rifleman or wield a shotgun, this being done on purpose to emulate a more realistic squad. Each player chooses a role and from there can customize and upgrade their weapons and gear. Moreover, little things like the acceptance of friendly fire does not exist. If you accidently, or purposely, shoot a teammate he is wounded and may even be killed at the hands of a comrade.

Unfortunately, Insurgency's solid attempt at making a realistic combat based FPS is overshadowed by yet another game that does little for the genre but spit up that which has already been done. The game is entertaining, but Insurgency lacks that punch that makes players enthusiastic about a multiplayer game, insisting that everyone join in on the action. With New World Interactive saying, "We are continuing to update the game and put together some great DLC for everyone who owns the game," one can't help but wonder if Insurgency is still a work in progress despite its official release.  

Insurgency is now available on PC and Mac and is currently on sale for $13.49 on Steam. With New World Interactive participating in previous Steam sales and promising future updates, it'd be wise to wait for a bigger discount.

Megan Bethke (@XboxBetty), NoobFeed.