Developer 5th Cell the brains behind Scribblenauts. the game that allows players to conjure up anything they can think of to solve various puzzles have created something a little different compared to anything else you have seen when it comes to third person shooting.
The setting is simple and quite generic. Based in the Future, Mankind is under siege from alien invaders known as Variants, and fights back with the military might called the Paladins. Everyone is after Dark Matter, for reasons that are never fully explained. Dark Matter is a power source which is shrinking as the days pass.
Gameplay takes the form of short, Straight to the point three-a-side squad matches. Modes take all the forms that you would expect, with game modes such as base capturing, bomb planting and lots of Team Deathmatch. However, what sets Hybrid apart from the rest is the movement or the lack of it. What do we mean by this? Well,You have a jetpack, but can only fly from one cover spot to another and back again if needed. In Hybrid there is no way what so ever to move away from the cover at all.
It sounds weird and like it is never going to work, but in practice it works surprisingly well. A straight to the point tutorial fills you in on the basic controls, but the controls are so well done for that to be all you need. It is as simple as; Look at where you want to go, tap the A button and you jet off towards it. Even if the cover is on a wall or ceiling, you can attach to it and use it to your advantage. While in the air, you can strafe around getting the tactical advantage over your enemies, use a little turbo boost to speed you through the bullets of your foes and even select a different cover point entirely if you want to change direction. Once in cover, the Y button allows you to hop over to the other side, while left and right allow you to shuffle along, ensuring you can stay reasonably safe even when flanked.However, Despite the emphasis on using cover, the gameplay is fast. Even the standard weapon loadout is capable of finishing you off in a few shots, while additional abilities, various grenades and stat-buffing specialisations up the ante further.
Hybrid has jumped on the band wagon and included Killstreaks, Killstreaks are rewarded in the form of 3 drones. The basic Stalker model, unlocked after one kill, will follow you around and fire on any enemies. It’s weak and can be took down after a few shots, but better than nothing. The Warbringer is as brutal as its name sounds, an aggressive combat machine with 2 inch thick heavy armour and weaponry that becomes available after three kills. Finally, there’s the Preyon, unlocked after a five-kill streak. This lady ninja Cyborg is the game’s equivalent of Mario Kart’s blue shell. Let it loose and it screams after the nearest enemy, ripping them apart. Only those with fast trigger fingers and a fair amount of luck will survive the encounter. All of these features all adds up to create a worthy 3rd person shooter. It wont take you long to get used to the unusual movement, but there are still moments where you’ll die purely because the game won’t allow you full freedom to dodge and duck as you please or in some cases get up and run like hell.
The game’s biggest drawback isn’t the limited movement being difficult to master, but the flattening effect it has on the maps. Each one simply becomes a set pattern of cover spots, all made from the same identical barriers, with the only distinguishing features being whatever nominal backdrop has been chosen. There are no tricks or tactics unique to each map, just a constant cycle of cover to cover shooting.
The whole point of the multiplayer is to win the “War” this is made up of several continents which are made up of mission which when won will add towards your factions percentage. Wars are won by the first faction to claim 100 samples of Dark Matter. However, the game does a poor job of explaining this and just expects you to except this. Also sure to raise a few eyebrows amongst us gamers is the decision to allow players to unlock any weapon and ability at any point by purchasing in-game credits with Microsoft Points. .
We give this 7 out of 10
