I played mostly as Rath, a melee character with swords that look like lightabers. Rath was one of the characters I tried over at GameStart 2015. Also, did try a few other characters during the Open Beta though.
Heres's some Gameplay vids that I recorded using the PS4's Share feature. All while playing as Rath!
Some vids on the Story Missions..
From the Beta, I realised that the story mode isn't the usual campaign mode where you progress through a 10-12 hour storyline. There's several episodes which you can choose from (2 in the Beta) and each episode is a map with several objectives and bosses to beat.
I chose the 1st episode and started out as Rath, level-ing up as I progressed through the map. With each level, I had the option of choosing between 2 skills. Press 'up' to bring up the skill options and choose between R2 or L2. Quick and easy.. an important feature due to the nature of this game. (Yes, you will need a few seconds to read the description, but more on that later)
Unlike Borderlands, there's no gun loot.. but there's a lot of other things to keep your eyes open for. Picking up credits allow you to purchase drones that can heal or attack enemies depending on what you choose.
There's also score points which adds to your total score. The higher your total score at the end of the mission, the better gear loot you get, and there's different types of temporary boosts that you can pick up.
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| Smashing my way through.. |
So what happens at the end of the mission? Check out the video below..
I'm not 100% sure how this works, but from what I saw this is what I think it is.
Command rank determines the type of gear you get. As you climb up the levels, you unlock better gear.
Character rank is the mastery of each character. You get to unlock more taunts & skins for your character.
Here's another video explaining the different menus and how the gear items work..
One thing to note.. The skills that I acquired as I level up your character in-game is reset each time I start a new game mode. It is a MOBA game after all. Unlike traditional RPG games, the character that I chose doesn't progress through the different modes.
If you played games like Dota, you will understand how it works.. So as mentioned above, as you keep playing a certain character, you will be familiar with the skills on each level and it will soon become second nature when choosing between the 2 skills.
Speed is crucial in Multiplayer.. You don't want to be standing in the middle of the map. choosing skills while your enemies are closing down on you...
Speaking of Multiplayer..
My first time.. So didn't go too well but it was fun. Not entirely sure what I was supposed to do, as I was too busy trying to stay alive.
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| Trying to take a screenshot while throwing my crossblade equals to a missed shot |
Final thoughts.. Battleborn was incredibly fun, loved everything about it. With 25 characters loaded with the game and 5 more coming in DLC, there's definitely hours of gameplay with this. Even with a strong influence from Borderlands, the game still feels fresh and exciting.
However, I'm worried that this will turn out to be another Evolve. Great game, lots of fun but just doesn't have a strong enough community. Console gamers also don't seem to stick to 1 particular game for too long. With Overwatch providing strong competition, which is sure to split the community, this game might not last as long as I would like.
It sucks actually, I enjoyed this game lots and would love to jump into it but I'm not going to follow my heart this time round.
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