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Preview: Battlecry

Stevivor previewed Battlecry at E3 this year but given the hectic nature of E3 and the extensive amount of time I had with the game at PAX AUS, I thought I should delve into the upcoming title just a little deeper. Battlecry really surprised me. Competitive multiplayer usually turns me off, but I’m starting to think it’s the frequently accompanied FPS element that makes my interest shrug away like a frightened turtle. Battlecry is a third person, 16-a-side multiplayer death-fest that panders to my interest in swords and punching people.

Battlecry takes place in an alternate world where gunpowder has been outlawed and nations battle each other in pre-planned brawls. The two factions in the PAX demo, the royal British empire and the merciless Cossack army, duked it out in gorgeous steampunk landscapes rather than a costly all-out war. A third faction will be introduced at launch, but Battlecry Studios are keeping it very hush hush for now.

There were three playable classes in the PAX build of Battlecry. The beefy Enforcer, the ranged Tech Archer and the Agile Duelist. All have their merits and offer a different play style so choosing really came down to what was more fun. Special attacks are the key to victory or rather choosing when to use them and when to save them. That doesn’t just mean use it when you run into a pack of enemies, it can be much more effective if you use it on just the right swing of your blade or arrow your fire. Timing is everything and thankfully its surprisingly easy to pick up and get a feel for. Special attacks differ between classes (obviously) making clashes between different types of classes interesting but well balanced.

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If you’re in over your head you can pretty easily cheese it and get out of trouble quickly due to everyone — even the lumbering, iron clad Enforcer — being quite sprightly. The levels are littered grapple points you can easily use to traverse the map in no time. Everyone can use them making capture points that look a little hard to get to at first usually easy to reach if you can spot a grapple marker. The real treat is coming up against a player of the same class and duking it out to see who has mastered the skill set better. There is nothing more satisfying than taking on an evenly matched opponent one on one, being victorious and capturing the area for the glory of your nation.

Of the three classes,the Enforcer, was my favorite by far. At first glance it looks to be a class built for brute strength but running into battle recklessly swinging a sword the size of a pony wont get you very far. If you want to have a chance at winning you need to be careful with the timing of both your special attacks and when you block. The Enforcers sword is a handy bit of kit to say the least, it actually turns into a shield making close encounters very tactical. When the shield is active taking hits will boost you special attack bar but if you use it too much it will fail and dish out a whole lot of damage.

The Archer offers a ranged attack for those who want a more traditional style of PVP. Its not all about camping and shooting melee characters from afar though. Players can easily figure out where you are and quickly close the gap and make you pay. Somehow the most traditional character is the hardest class to play well, in the demo anyway. After some practice you’ll find a nice balance between using your ranged attack and getting in close and using the surprisingly effective melee attack.

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The duelist is similar to the Enforcer, using up close and personal attacks, the big difference between the two is the duelists speed and special attack. While the enforce can use it’s shield to protect itself and boost adrenalin the duelist attacks with a flurry of blades taking the approach that offense is the best defense.

There are still two classes to come that weren’t available in the PAX demo, the Gadgeteer and the Brawler. Both look interesting and there is a good chance that battle cry studios have saved the best for last. The Gadgeteer uses ingenuity and something that looks like a gun that obviously isn’t because of the treaty and the Brawler, well he has a cybernetic arm. Ok I say its an arm but you’d be forgiven for trying to chill a beer in it because the thing is huge and looks like a fridge that packs a punch.

There is an upcoming beta for Battlecry on PC soon and I recommend you do your best to get access. It may look like just another competitive multiplayer game but there’s a lot more to it and looks to be more to come.


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About the author

Shane Wall

I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe. A game geek turned audio engineer/musician. Shane's life is a delicate balance of video games, music and science fiction.