#INSURGENCY SANDSTORM REVIEW FULL#
#INSURGENCY SANDSTORM REVIEW SERIES#

In this mode, there are fewer players on each team (8v8 instead of 16v16), and players can only respawn if their team captures an objective. The final mode, Firefight, is the most hardcore. In my experience if the attacking team didn’t immediately break through and capture the first point (which they rarely did), the defenders would dig in and the round would be over in a few minutes. This mode currently seems to favor the defenders a bit too heavily as the attackers only have a handful of reinforcement waves to capture the first objective, which will grant additional waves.

#INSURGENCY SANDSTORM REVIEW SERIES#

Push sees one team trying to capture a series of control points while the other team defends. This mode allows both teams to respawn a limited number of times with respawn waves, with additional waves being earned each time an objective is captured. Skirmish is probably the mode most players will gravitate towards, as both teams fight to control several control points while defending their weapon cache. If you prefer to face off against human opponents, there are three regular modes and a ranked 5v5 variation on one of them. It's also worth noting that there are fewer co-op modes compared to previous games from New World Interactive I missed the defensive ‘Holdout’ mode from Day of Infamy in particular. It is also a bit of a shame that there isn’t an option for AI difficulty it might be too difficult for some players, and too easy for others, though it does at least seem reasonable.

#INSURGENCY SANDSTORM REVIEW FULL#

Sometimes you can walk into a room full of enemies and all of them will somehow miss every shot as you frantically gun them down, but other times you will round a corner and instantly get blasted in the face by a single AI soldier with a shotgun.

Though generally intelligent, the AI isn’t perfect, mainly due to inconsistency in how good their aim is. The AI will use these to great effect, moving the trucks and positioning them in different places to try and suppress players, with bullet penetration allowing the high-caliber machine gun rounds to go through seemingly solid walls, making it so you almost never feel safe. Another new mechanic in Sandstorm is the presence of driveable pickup trucks with mounted machine guns on the back. Unique to co-op are insurgent suicide bombers who will charge into objectives with the beeping of a cell phone signalling the oncoming blast. They generally stay on the move and have a habit of appearing in unexpected places, and won’t hesitate to throw grenades or even fire RPGs at players, which makes playing against them challenging and unpredictable. One of the biggest things that helps the co-op feel like a main attraction rather than a distraction from PvP is the improved enemy AI. Being the last member of your team alive, with your entire team spectating as you try and complete the next objective so they can respawn, is fantastically tense and very rewarding if you manage to pull it off if your entire team perishes, the round will end. Spawns are limited, such that you only respawn when an objective is completed. After you capture a control point, there is a random chance of an enemy counter-attack. The Checkpoint mode sees you and up to seven teammates working your way through each level, capturing control points and destroying weapons and ammo caches defended by AI soldiers. Playing with others against the AI proves to be a much more enjoyable experience, and not only does this mode make for a great way to learn the maps and weapons, it might be where the most consistent fun and intense action is to be had with Sandstorm. The focus is once again squarely on multiplayer there is a well done tutorial mission, and you can play offline, but the modified version of the co-operative Checkpoint mode doesn’t work as well solo as you can’t coordinate with your AI team about what doors to cover while defending, etc., which makes success in solo missions almost impossible. You can play co-operatively against bots, or against other players, in a variety of objective-based modes that all return from previous games.

If you played either the first Insurgency or the World War 2-themed follow-up Day of Infamy, you will have a pretty good idea of what you are getting yourself into with Sandstorm.

Insurgency sandstorm review