During Bethesda’s pre-E3 media day for The Evil Within, Daily Dead also had the opportunity to preview a brand new multiplayer game, BattleCry, which will be Bethesda’s first time entering the free-to-play space. The game is also being developed by BattleCry Studios.
BattleCry is a 32-player, team action combat game set in an alternate version of the early 20th century, where a technologically advanced world war is taking place. A treaty has been signed, banning the use of black powder during warfare; this small fact is a major theme in BattleCry as this eliminates the use of traditional guns. Instead, your weaponry includes sophisticated melee weapons, dependent on which class of character a player chooses. While the game is using groups from actual history, their weaponry and environment is well beyond realism. The game comes from Art Director, Victor Antinov of Half-Life 2 fame.
When the Beta launches in 2015, players will be able to choose between three factions and five warrior classes. During my recent time with the game, I had only 2 factions and three classes available to me. Staying in the alternate history theme, the two factions or teams were The Royal Marines and The Cossack Empire. Both factions have a distinct look to them as well as specialized weapon load-out and movement styles for their warriors.
Within each faction I had three playable warrior classes. The first was the Enforcer, a big guy with a big sword that can transform into a shield. Next was the Duelist, who, as you would expect, is a more precise sword-wielding warrior, but also has a cloaking ability and can charge up her sword for arch-strikes. The last playable warrior was the Tech-Archer, which was essentially a sniper character, using mostly range attacks with the ability to charge up to four shots at a time.
Moving around the FPS-style maps, as with battle itself, BattleCry was fast-paced and highly animation-driven. While running, warriors automatically sheath their weapons for faster movement and strategically placed grapple points around the map are accessed by simply pressing the right bumper when prompted. Grappling seems to magnetically pull you towards the grapple point, no matter the distance or elevation. This made for quick movement between different levels of the map.
It seems that BattleCry was created with the intention to never stop moving, with a seamless approach to grappling to high ground or across platforms done with a well-timed button press. All battles take place in designated “warzones” according to the game’s back-story and these are areas where the land has manipulated to include chasms and battle areas.
I really enjoyed the demo version of BattleCry, as it was just really fun to play. Running around a FPS-style map with 31 other players, while wielding a huge sword, is pretty awesome and fans of team action combat games should have a blast with it. Look for BattleCry when it hits PC/Digital in 2015.
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