Fans of games like Counter-Strike and similar first-person shooters may enjoy the newest release from New World Interactive, titled Insurgency: Sandstorm. A sequel to the 2014 Insurgency, players are met with interesting game mechanics designed to make the game more realistic. Players will work together in a desert war zone to capture objectives and take out the enemy team, all while maneuvering within a system where the bullets count and tactics are the difference between success and failure. You can check out the launch trailer here:
The game boasts three online game modes, Push, Firefight, and Skirmish, and one cooperative mode called Checkpoint. In Push, one team must capture up to four points one by one, being awarded additional reinforcements and time for each one taken. Once all points are taken, the team must seek and destroy a cache while the defenders have just one life to stop them. In Firefight, both teams battle for control over three points, and each player has only a single life. When a team captures a point, their fallen teammates rejoin the fight. The game ends when all points are taken by a single team or the lives of a team are exhausted.
Much like Firefight, Skirmish pins two teams against each other in a battle for three points, but this time each team has a cache to protect. The game is won when the enemy team’s cache is destroyed and all points are captured. The cooperative mode, Checkpoint, places all players on the same team against surprisingly adept AI. Players must work together to complete varied objectives, and each one completed grants fallen players an additional life.
While the game may seem like any other run-of-the-mill FPS, the difference comes from the realism mechanics, mainly the way in which players must manage their ammunition. Players are given a set number of ammo clips to begin the game. Upon reloading, players may choose to haphazardly toss their clip on the ground for a fast reload and getting themselves back in the fight quickly, or methodically remove the clip and store it for later. Those who prefer the former route will eventually need to recover their strewn clips from across the battlefield in order to carry more ammo.
In addition to ammunition being more realistic and less like Reaper’s infinite stock of shotguns in Overwatch, hip firing can be less than predictable, firing bullets where the barrel of the gun is pointed and not necessarily where the crosshairs lie on the screen. This means taking the time to aim down sights will be more likely to land a hit from any distance in which the enemy is not right on top of you. Insurgency: Sandstorm is available now on PC through Steam, with releases on PS4 and Xbox One slated for 2019.