Early Access Game: Zero Squad
Article by Thonos
2/12/2021
2/12/2021
Developer M7 Productions, Attrito
Publisher M7 Productions, Attrito Genre Tactical First Person Shooter # of Players 1-4 Early Access Release Date August 12th, 2020 |
What caught my interest in this game:
I view this game as an indie version of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege which is what caught my attention. Besides having the look and feel of Siege, this game is bringing its own gameplay mechanics which make it more than just a clone game.
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Review Note: In writing this article, I am only focusing on the gameplay as it relates to a solo player. This is a team based game that allows for solo and co-op gameplay along with team based PvP. As of this writing, I was only able to play the solo parts of the game.
As a fan of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Zero Hour was a game that caught my attention the moment I came across it. At first glance, this might just seem like a knock off of Rainbow Six Siege and I wouldn't blame anyone to think like that. What sets this game apart is the other gameplay mechanics that are used to make the gameplay feel different. As with most games like this, the community is going to make or break this game. And only consistent updates, content and bug fixes are going to keep a community to stay with this game.
As a fan of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, Zero Hour was a game that caught my attention the moment I came across it. At first glance, this might just seem like a knock off of Rainbow Six Siege and I wouldn't blame anyone to think like that. What sets this game apart is the other gameplay mechanics that are used to make the gameplay feel different. As with most games like this, the community is going to make or break this game. And only consistent updates, content and bug fixes are going to keep a community to stay with this game.
The main online game focuses on teams of 5 vs. 5 game modes such as team Deathmatch, bomb disarming and hostage rescue. The Co-Op and solo parts of the game involve you or a group going into a map with random A.I. enemy placements along with the locations of bombs and hostages. There are seven different maps that you can choose from, although for co-op and solo you need to get enough points from the previous map to unlock the next one. There is also a training map that lets you test out all of the weapons currently in the game on a target range. There is even an area on the training map which lets you do a timed run through a makeshift building filled with cardboard enemies.
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When you start a solo/Co-Op map you pick your start location, main weapon, sidearm and two different utility items. So far the game has a decent selection of weapons and I'm sure more are going to be added in the future. You then go to a planning table where you have a 3D view of the map and you can draw out attack routes for you and other members on your team. This is a neat concept and it makes sense from the prospective that this is a tactical game where run and gun is not the way to win. I learned early on with this game that unless you play it safe, run and gun will almost always get you killed.
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Once the game starts you go through the map working on completing your objectives and taking out any hostiles that you come across. Like Rainbow Six Siege, you can grapple us and down walls, breach doors with charges and use utility gadgets to help get you through the map. This game has other features like being able to slowly open or kick open doors, hostiles using hostages as shields and being able to capture hostiles instead of killing them. One thing to note here is that in the Solo/Co-Op mode, you are more of a police officer and are penalized for shooting first before being shot at. The main gameplay and gunplay were fine and I had no problems with it, especially coming from a game like Siege. The new gameplay mechanics were fun to play with and added another layer of gameplay I am not used to. The map goes on until you either beat all of the objectives or everyone on your team dies.
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Graphically, I thought the game looked pretty good for an indie game. I found the environments to be detailed along with the weapons and enemies. The audio in the game was also good, from the music to the sound effects. A game like Rainbow Six Siege or Insurgency Sandstorm is going to look and sound better, but those are also retail games versus an indie game. While there is some room for improvement, I like the art direction the game is going in.
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I know I brought up Rainbow Six Siege a lot during this article and I did that on purpose. On one hand, this game is like Siege and this game can't escape that. But I found enough differences here that made this game feel different and unique. For a Solo/Co-Op player, I had fun with this one and I look forward to seeing what comes next for this game. However, this game is primarily a team based online game so ultimately the community is going to make or break this game.