{"id":5250,"date":"2020-03-06T13:26:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T13:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1819886\/"},"modified":"2020-03-06T13:26:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T13:26:21","slug":"review-corruption-2099-is-the-love-child-of-metal-gear-solid-and-xcom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/03\/06\/review-corruption-2099-is-the-love-child-of-metal-gear-solid-and-xcom\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u2018Corruption 2099\u2019 Is the Love Child of \u2018Metal Gear Solid\u2019 and \u2018XCOM\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Outside of Valkyria Chronicles<\/em>, I\u2019m not really into tactical role-playing games. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I can appreciate titles like XCOM<\/em> that require players to use their brains over twitchy trigger fingers. At the same time, I usually don\u2019t have the requisite patience for these types of experiences. Even Final Fantasy Tactics<\/em> is too much. While I\u2019m not the target audience for tactical RPGs, Corruption 2029<\/em> is good at what it does. If nothing else, it serves as a solid introduction to the genre thanks to its no-frills gameplay.<\/p>\n

Corruption 2029<\/em> takes place in the near future (i.e. 2029) where a new American civil war tore the country apart. The two main factions — the NAC (New American Council) and the UPA (United Peoples of America.) — wage endless battles to control what\u2019s left of the country. The factions fight using humanoid drones controlled far from the battlefield. As the player, you command three UPA \u201csoldiers\u201d whose job is to disrupt NAC operations through sabotage or straight-up skirmishes.<\/p>\n

If the premise sounds familiar, that\u2019s because it is. Near-future wastelands are a well-worn staple in gaming, especially these days. This is understandable given the current state of the country. While that\u2019s interesting, it doesn\u2019t save the story from feeling generic. But I can\u2019t fault the stale narrative too much since it isn\u2019t the main selling point here.<\/p>\n

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The gameplay is equal parts tactics and stealth. The basic loop involves entering a location, scouting it while cloaked, picking off weak targets, then hunkering down when the main force reveals itself. Though the two gameplay styles seem disparate, they work surprisingly well together.<\/p>\n

As a fan of the Metal Gear Solid<\/em> series, I quite enjoy sneaking around enemy bases and learning their patterns. Stealth also provides a great opportunity to steal useful items like health packs and grenades. Although I didn\u2019t get a chance to do it, it\u2019s possible to complete some missions without enemies spotting you. Those who try to finish objectives purely in stealth will find it a satisfying challenge.<\/p>\n

Battles start when you engage the enemy or when they\u2019ve located you. It\u2019s best to find a good cover spot before fights break out. There is plenty of detritus littering any given battlefield; giving you plenty of places to conceal yourself. Each of your three units has two moves for their respective turns. They can shoot enemies, reload weapons, move to another location, or hunker down. You can also set units to shoot foes that move past them with the \u201coverwatch\u201d command. If a unit goes down, you can revive them with a health pack before they die.<\/p>\n

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Like I said before, you need a lot of patience when playing Corruption 2029<\/em>. I died whenever I tried to brute force my way through missions. When I played tactically, I completed objectives rather handily. In fact, it felt awesome finishing missions by relying on my instincts and using the grey matter inside my skull.<\/p>\n

The simplicity of missions is both a strength and a weakness. Since you only have a few available commands, you\u2019re free to focus on the task at hand without having to consider many variables. All that\u2019s required is positioning units correctly and taking out lower priority foes before moving on to bigger threats. With that said, since engagements are so straightforward, there isn\u2019t a lot of wiggle room to employ unique strategies. For all intents and purposes, Corruption 2029<\/em> is a \u201cmeat-and-potatoes\u201d tactics game. I have no issue with that, but I can see how purists may scoff at this.<\/p>\n

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Though engagements play out mostly the same, you can spice things up by building customized units. Every mission and sidequest rewards players with upgrades and enhancements. You can then add different attributes to soldiers in the loadout menu. I equipped a unit with a sniper rifle with a long-range buff and had them take out foes from afar. I gave one soldier an assault rifle for mid-range battles and another a shotgun that dealt extra damage at close range. Setting up my units in this fashion allowed me to handle most situations. This aspect gives what would otherwise be a no-frills experience some variety.<\/p>\n

Corruption 2029<\/em> is a good-looking game but it won\u2019t blow you away. The problem lies with the repetitive battlefields you find yourself in. After a while, it becomes hard differentiating one destroyed forest or urban settlement from another. On one hand, this serves to lay the focus on purely on gameplay. On the other hand, it makes for a drab visual experience.<\/p>\n