If I’m brutally honest, I was somewhat hesitant about playing Fuse when I visited the EA offices two weeks ago. Having played the game at the EA Asia Pacific Showcase late last year, it didn’t exactly leave me with high hopes. At the time, what was on offer was a co-op based wave-mode that proved far too difficult, where I spent more time dying and wondering what I was doing, rather than actually enjoying the combat.
What I experienced the second time around though, was something completely different. Something so much better.
The preview started with your Overstrike 9 team heading to the Hyperion Base, an underground US research facility, with the task of securing some classified technology. Soon into the mission however, we discover that the base is under attack by a group called Raven, who are also after whatever the Overstrike team have been called in to retrieve.
As the mission progresses, we learn that this technology is “fuse,” a volatile alien substance with weird (and destructive) properties. It is here that the Overstrike team come across Xenotech weaponry, which harnesses fuse to aid in combat. For example, some weapons use fuse to create shields that can protect your team mates from enemy fire, some weapons use fuse to incinerate your opponents, while others can use fuse to create what seems like small black-holes which completely decimate your targets. Each character has different weapons that all use this substance differently, and it’s up to the player to select which they like best.
Moving away from the story however, what really makes Fuse enjoyable (and what turned this around to one I’m really keen on playing) is the gameplay. While the combat is basically your standard third-person cover shooter (not that there’s anything wrong with that), what makes it particularly awesome, are the special fuse-powered weapons. Equipped with a long-range cross-bow that I’d upgraded to include exploding tips, it never got boring sniping my enemies from a-far, then once the bullet hit, detonating it for extra damage. It just adds a different layer to the combat and sets it apart from being your standard shooter. I’ll also be honest in saying that it’s probably the most fun I’ve had in an action game since Mass Effect 3… and that’s saying a lot!
After finishing the first level of single-player, l I checked out Echelon, Fuse’s second (and only other) game mode. Consisting of 12 rounds which are spread across six different maps, you’ll find yourself taking out waves of enemies, teaming up to destroy a heavily-armoured mech, protecting a fuse container and more. Oh, and it’s hard. Very hard. Despite doing our best, we were still only ever to get up to the fifth level before the entire team was killed. That all said, it was still surprisingly fun to play. Ted Price, CEO of Insomniac Games, did mention that it is aimed to provide gamers a real challenge and he wasn’t kidding! A nice feature of Fuse is that all progress and experience in single-player is transferred into Echelon and visa-versa, so regardless of what mode you are playing, your progress in the game continues.
Some may wonder how an offline, solitary gamer will be able to play a game that has been developed with four-player co-op in mind. Whether you play with friends or solo, you still work as a team of four – it’s just that the AI control any characters your friends don’t. Playing through the first level in pairs, we had two AI-controlled team members and to be honest, it worked. They never felt useless, they helped out in combat (both taking out targets and healing falling team members), and they rarely required reviving (if at all). If I’m honest, it’s perhaps the best AI I’ve seen in a game… ever.
While we’ve yet to see the final version of the game, Fuse certainly looks promising. The game contains a feature called “LEAP” that you can use to switch between any character in the team (assuming they aren’t being controlled by another person), so you are never restricted to just one character, weapon or class. The skill tree system is also simple, yet in-depth enough for all players to understand (which I found was a massive plus). All this combined with accessible and satisfying gameplay/combat mechanics, I know I’m certainly looking forward to Fuse later this month!
This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.
