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Nuclear Dawn PC Review October 04, 2011 Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf |
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Summary: Nuclear Dawn is a Source-based FPS/RTS hybrid, the first commercial project from Dutch indie developer InterWave Studios, aiming to offer the best of both genres without watering down either one. It follows the convention of similar titles including Savage and Natural Selection, which see a team of first-person combatants taking to the field as a strategic commander watches over them, building structures, researching technology, and so on. Is it worth the price of admission? Read on and find out!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 4 ) |
Nuclear Dawn is a Source-based FPS/RTS hybrid, the first commercial project from Dutch indie developer InterWave Studios, aiming to offer the best of both genres without watering down either one. It follows the convention of similar titles including Savage and Natural Selection, which see a team of first-person combatants taking to the field as a strategic commander watches over them, building structures, researching technology, and so on. Such conflict rages between two factions -- the Empire and the Consortium -- in the form of an endless struggle for precious resources in several post-apocalyptic wastelands modeled after real-world locations. The game is available now on Steam for $25, but is it worth the price of admission? Read on and find out!
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Gameplay
Being a multiplayer-focused title, the entire game of Nuclear Dawn is currently based around a 32-player skirmish mode called Warfare. Each team is tasked with destroying the other’s command bunker, which is one of the very few structures you start out with. One person applies to become the commander and takes his place in the bunker, while everyone else sets off to acquire resources from the various nodes scattered around the environment. They’re distributed evenly across the map and come in three flavors: tertiary, secondary, and primary. Tertiary are the smallest and most plentiful, being quick to capture but providing the least resources. The opposite is true for Primary -- only one of these exists per map, smack dab in the middle, and the struggle over who controls it will make up the majority of each match. Lock it down and you are well on your way to victory.
While the infantry take the fight to the enemy and capture resources, the Commander is tasked with supporting them by raising structures and researching upgrades, making sure to spend the money wisely as it rolls in. His interface functions much like a standard real-time strategy game, with a scrollable overhead camera view and build menu with keyboard hotkeys. The only difference is that the combat units in Nuclear Dawn is autonomous, though you can still issue orders to squads of players for bonus points. While expanding across the map to provide forward spawn points and resupply stations, it’s a good idea to build defenses, as well. Not only can turrets make a big difference on the front line, they’re also needed at your home base, especially since you are not safe from harm while inside the command bunker (it has no doors).
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Both commanders are able to project their power from the relative safety of their ivory towers, beyond the ability to build turrets to fortify positions. Research the proper technology and three command abilities become available, but with a per-use resource cost. These allow you to heal friendly soldiers within a small radius, deploy a barrage of mortar shells, or blanket an area in poisonous gas, all on demand. The bird’s eye view with which commander’s view the battlefield is an asset, as well; simply turning it toward the opponent’s side of the map will reveal enemy positions and help to determine weaknesses in their defenses.
| Gameplay (cont.) | Page:: ( 2 / 4 ) |
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There are four playable classes in Nuclear Dawn, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Assault plays the part of the well-rounded soldier and has a unique thermal imaging vision mode that helps them see enemies that may be cloaked. The exoskeleton class wears a thick suit of armor and carries heavy weapons, making them slow-moving but formidable fighters, especially when they hunker down. The Stealth class, light and agile, is ill-suited for frontal combat, but the ability to become invisible and sneak up behind enemies for a swift blade kill or snipe unseen makes up for that. Finally, Support handles various other tasks, including repairing damaged structures and healing teammates.
Each class has at least one alternate load-out, allowing you to further specialize the role they play on the battlefield. For instance, the assault class can have a shotgun and grenade launcher instead of rifle and pistol, for extra oomph against crowds or buildings. The exo can have a minigun for spewing bullets at soft targets, or a railgun/rocket launcher (depending on the faction) for sieging. Support players must choose between healing players or repairing buildings; that is, if they don’t want to just pick up a flamethrower and go on the offense. If sniping is more your thing, you can opt for a long-range rifle instead of lethal arm-blades on your Stealth soldier. These loadouts, as well as the classes themselves, can be changed either between spawns or at an armory, so that each player can adapt and react to the threats facing them.
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Various actions throughout the course of playing the game will earn you experience points, which comprise your score for the round and are added to your lifetime total upon its completion. A kill is worth 10 points, destroying an enemy structure worth 20, helping to capture the primary resource node worth 30, etc. Ranking up happens in a fashion familiar to most players of military first-person shooters, following the progression from Private to Corporal to Sergeant, and so on, all the way up to Colonel and even General. Along with unlocking specific tiered achievements for playing as the different classes, ranking up will grant you access to new weapons and abilities, as well as gizmos (attachments) so that you can further customize your loadouts and dominate the battlefield.
Graphics
Being based on the Source engine (the Left 4 Dead 2 variant, to be precise), Nuclear Dawn won’t be blowing any minds or taxing any systems with its visuals. However, InterWave rightly brags about the sheer amount of detail they’ve packed into their six existing maps -- some are so huge that it would take several minutes to trek across them on foot! Lucky for them, aging graphics fidelity fits well with the ruined, grimy theme of a post-apocalyptic landscape. The most interesting thing about the game’s graphics is probably the unique HUD. Not only are all the usual elements such as health and minimap shaped to fit the curvature of a futuristic soldier’s helmet visor, but certain other information is displayed as a sort of holographic projection. Every gun (and even grenades, for some reason) will display its ammo count and/or reserve supply level prominently as a floating icon attached to the weapon itself.
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| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 3 / 4 ) |
Pros
Fun, fast-paced action. With plenty of variety if you tire of straightforward shooting.
Heavy emphasis on teamwork. Classes interact like rock-paper-scissors, and the commander is key.
Extensive character progression. Unlock new items, but also wear the higher ranks with pride.
It’s cheap. Half the price of a standard PC game, with more value than a lot of them.
Low system requirements. The positive side of using Source.
Cons
Dated graphics. The negative side of using Source.
Low player population. Around 100 servers, with not many more players than that online at any one time.
| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 4 / 4 ) |