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It’s been a good week for Rock Paper Shotgun recommendations. I picked up ADACA based on a short preview piece, then Hard West 2 a few days back after a longer read and both have been major winners so far. Hard West 2 falls solidly into one of my comfort genres — I’ve had a great time with the XCOM games and Divinity Original Sin in the past, so turn-based tactical combat is usually a winner for me. ADACA’s a bit more out there, but has been good fun so far. More details and early impressions below.1
I’ve also returned to my typical mental scratching post: Call of Duty. This year, that means Vanguard. It is as it always was — a solid multiplayer FPS experience with a reliable progression treadmill.
Two of ADACA’s Heavy Police and a good time for a grenade
I tried the demo for ADACA. Bought the game later that day. And finished the campaign a day later.
This game is very good.
The campaign draws heavily on Half-Life for inspiration, and there’s a particular puzzle section with tripwires and explosive barrels that I’m fairly sure is a direct copy of a Half-Life level. There’s a descent into a creepy abandoned mine infested with zombie-like enemies that feels an awful lot like Ravenholm in Half-Life 2. And you have a robot arm that lets you manipulate objects and fling them with incredible force… not unlike the gravity gun.
One of ADACA’s zombie-like cyborgs. What this image fails to communicate is the horrific electronic screech they make as they charge toward you
That said, the campaign is a good time and doesn’t miss a beat throughout. In addition to Half-Life, immersive sims by the likes of Looking Glass Studios also serve as another core inspiration, and there’s at least a few doors throughout the game that use the passcode 0451. Errant Signal has more to say on that subject than I could ever hope to, so here’s his video on so-called “0451 Games”:
Separate from the campaign (and following it chronologically), is Zone Patrol. In Zone Patrol, you’re dropped into a set of 14 interconnected areas and charged with exploring the planet for all its secrets. I have a lot more to say about it in my playthrough/walkthrough, but it’s a fascinating addition to the game and not quite like anything I’ve played before.
Hard West 2 throws a lot at you sometimes. Most of the time actually…
This game is very very cool. It takes the XCOM formula and turns it from a slow, creeping advance to a mad dash with one simple mechanic: Bravado. Kill an enemy and your action points reset. Kill another and they reset again. Keep the streak going as long as you can and see how far you can get.
Instead of ending every turn in overwatch, terrified of new enemies entering the area, Hard West 2 is all about finding that next angle to eke out another kill shot and maintain your forward momentum.
And the setting! Oddly this is actually the second supernatural wild west game I’ve played this year; Weird West grabbed my attention for quite a while. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of this one and there’s a lot of open questions to work through.
Character builds are also heavily themed. You collect powerful poker cards throughout the game that enhance your characters stats, and combining them in different ways is key to unlocking new abilities. Get three of a kind and your pistols do more damage. A full house nets you the same for shotguns. It’s a neat system, especially since card picks aren’t locked in. Respeccing a character is as simple as shuffling the deck. Couldn’t resist that one.
COD: Vanguard - same old formula, shiny new graphics. Gotta love a 3-lane map with some verticality
There’s a great video by Errant Signal about how he approached playing Fortnite during the height of the COVID lockdown. I’ve watched it a few times now and it really resonates with my own feelings around playing Call of Duty over the years.
I’ve been playing Call of Duty off-and-on since Modern Warfare 2 came out in 2009 and my friends all migrated over from Halo 3. There’s probably a longer post in my future about my thoughts on the series, but suffice to say Call of Duty has been a near-constant in my life over the last 13 years.
By this point, there aren’t many surprises the series can throw at me. Infinity Ward (and, to a lesser degree, Treyarch) nailed the formula back in ’09 and not a whole lot has changed since. The core treadmill, the focus on customization, the basic modes… it’s all remained largely unchanged over the years. In times of great change, that familiarity can be a kind of comfort.
That said, I’m not thrilled with how I’ve approached Vanguard. After some early interest, my relationship to the game has changed. Now, I’m on a quest to get every gun in the game to max level. I’m most of the way through the SMGs and the Assault Rifles, but they do keep adding new guns to the game. Which is great! But does make this one feel a bit sisyphean. Every now and again I’ll pull out one of my max-level weapons when I really want to win and every time it feels like taking off ankle weights. I’ve always played these games by my own rules; sticking to unpopular guns and limiting myself to pistols or shotguns only. This one feels a bit different - more like what Errant Signal describes.
COD: Vanguard - SMGs nearly done! Just the Sten left before they released three new ones
Still, falling back into the old rhythms can be nice sometimes. It’s a good podcast game for me these days.
Buy COD: Vanguard on Battlenet
That’s all for now! I didn’t expect to embed quite so many Errant Signal videos when I started writing this one, but his work is always worth checking out.
Where possible, games linked for purchase in this article use Humble Bundle affiliate links; I get a small portion of any purchase made after using them.↩︎
