Commanding the battlefield
Chocolate and peanut butter; two things that taste great together. In case you couldn’t tell the theme of this review will be combining things. Disintegration has been labeled as a game that mixes elements of first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. While that is a rudimentary description, it helps understand what the game is trying to accomplish. While these things mix well enough to make things interesting, it tends to not flesh out either side of the coin. I love the ideas presented here. I just wish there was more variety to help keep things interesting until the end.
The most surprising thing about Disintegration is that its story is extremely fleshed out. After researching the developer though it wasn’t as much of a surprise. Built by former members of the Halo team alongside other narrative-driven games, Disintegration does a lot to build its world for the players.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
Taking on the role of Romer Shoal, an ex-gravcycle pilot, players are quickly thrust into a rebellion as the leader of a group of outlaws looking to establish themselves after escaping. The writing and voice acting is extremely well done, and the lengthy cut scenes go a long way to establishing the world around them. The issues that crop up are due to trying to squeeze too much into this first outing. The team clearly has a passion for their world and characters, but it assumes too much as it plays out.
The opening cut scene is extremely long, and throughout the game characters toss out phrases and references that I had no idea what they meant. It reminds me of the way DC handled its movie universe, trying to cram too much down the player’s throat all at once. Still, by the end of the game I had grown to like the characters and the world surrounding them.
As I mentioned at the start, the game play is a mix of first-person shooting and real-time strategy elements. Romer takes control of a gravcycle and can move and shoot around the battlefield. He can also command troops that are on the mission with him. The commands are simple, and the team has done a good job of making the management minimal, yet effective. I felt like I was commanding their actions. Your troops are limited to a small group so don’t expect full out tactical missions.
Each mission contains a main objective alongside a few bonus ones. These are great for farming upgrade points and chipsets that can be used to upgrade characters. In between each mission Romer is sent to a hub where he can talk to the other characters and obtain these bonus objectives. The hub feels bland and empty, and the missions all feel self-contained,almost giving it a sort of Destiny vibe. The one big gripe I had was that inverted controls do not work in the hub, so even if I set them for the entire game, it was still backwards in these sections.
What makes Disintegration work is that everything feels good. The controls are spot-on and the shooting is extremely polished. Controlling units is a breeze, and it becomes second nature very quickly. My biggest issue with the campaign though is that it is all over the place when it comes to quality. Some missions are quick and easy, while others are a labyrinth of navigation and objectives. Difficulty spikes are also common and can really slow down the pace of the game.
Funny enough the game seemed to come out of the gate with a focus on multiplayer. The mode combines the same elements of FPS and RTS, but with multiple team and role types. I found the options for modes and maps limited, and the matchmaking even more limited. For a game that just launched it took an ample amount of time to find a game. Once I was in one, it was certainly enjoyable, but not something I could see myself coming back to over and over down the line.
Disintegration is a solid game that relies too heavily on the wrong pieces. The multiplayer is limited and the campaign feels haphazard at times. I still really enjoyed my time with it and suggest everyone give it a look down the line. Not sure if the multiplayer aspect will have a tail outside of the launch window, but the campaign is solid and the mix of styles really sets this game apart from a lot on the market.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
