Verdun WW1 Shooter. 12 Dollars.

[Jimmydeicide]

Ok stumbled across this in Xbox store coming soon.
Paging Mr. Teal.
It has online and co-op Its 12 bucks for the next 4 days then bumps to $20
Im in for 12 bucks.
Roll call?

[Teal]

I got your page.. Lol. Haven't seen this, but will check it out right this second...

[Teal]

Well, I've read up on it, and it appears to be a bit of a mess. If your impressions are different please let me know. I like authenticity, and it looks like that's what they're going for.

[Jimmydeicide]

Havnt got it yet just figured for 12 bucks even for one night of co op it would be worth it for dsp night.

If a few guys are in im in. it would have to be horrendous to not be worth 12 dollars.

[pk500]

Apparently a patch dropped this week for this game that has transformed it, fixing many problems.

I watched about 25 minutes of gameplay footage last night on Twitch and chatted with the dude who was playing, and he said the patch is mint. He also said the game is gritty, realistic. He said it's much more like ARMA for WWI on consoles than COD or BF.

My resistance weakens ...

[pk500]

Resistance crumbled, and I bought this game last night for $20. Initial impressions, after about 90 minutes of play:

This is a $20 game, no question. The graphics are Xbox 360 level, no better. The game was built on the Unity Engine, which also was used for the NASCAR Heat Evolution and The Golf Club, two games that never will win any awards for their graphics.

The animations also are ropey at times, due to the Unity Engine.

Offline is limited to one mode, which isn't that compelling. Online has three or four game modes, all of which are fun. But Frontlines, which is squad-based, territorial-possession combat, is the only mode with a sizable population. And nearly all of the combat takes place in trench networks. You're not going to gallivant through the mountains of Italy or deserts of Palestine, like in Battlefield 1.

Four-man squads for the Allies and Central Powers fight in Frontlines. Each squad has four distinctive roles from which you can choose. But each of the individual roles must be filled: You can't build a squad with four snipers, for example.

So far, you're probably thinking this game is a train wreck. It is, on the surface. It's ugly, with limited modes.

But I still find Verdun compelling and fun because it captures the chaos and confusion of trench warfare brilliantly. The ID of soldiers running in the trenches isn't easily apparent with labels, so you really need to look closely at the uniform of someone near you to determine whether it's friend or foe. That creates very gripping tension. I yelled for the first time while playing a first-person shooter last night when a Central Powers' soldier surprised the s*** out of me by rounding a corner, killing me in a trench.

There's also a cool leadership feature in the game. When you're within hearing distance of your NCO, he will issue commands to either defend your trench or attack another trench. If you successfully defend your trench, your NCO will issue counterattack orders to attack the enemy's trench.

And it's pretty damn taut when you climb from your trench and try to cross no-man's land to approach the enemy's trench. It's tough to see foes, as they're not identified by labels or markers, and they can be anywhere. Plus there's barbed wire that will ensnare and kill you due to blood loss, and shells are exploding everywhere. No-man's land on some maps does have a few spots to hide and snipe, which is cool.

It's really exhilarating to cross no-man's land successfully and reach the enemies' trench. And the sense of satisfaction is immense when you clear that trench and are ordered to continue to attack the next trench network.

One final point: The ballistics in this game are excellent. Recoil and accuracy are modeled wonderfully. You won't automatically lock on to enemies like in COD or sometimes in BF. You must account for range, wind, type of gun, etc.

Verdun isn't for everyone. If you want pretty graphics, a sprawling, epic campaign game or a game with a variety of action and modes, skip Verdun. But if you're interested in true World War I combat that's tense, with compelling ballistics, then it's worth a $20 flier.

I hoped this game was similar to NASCAR Heat Evolution, an ugly game with animation issues and skimpy modes but a great core game engine. I think that describes Verdun perfectly.

[DChaps]

I suck so bad at all FPS these days, but I am a sucker for this kind of realism. Bought and installed.