I Vahlin

Overall, a mid-tier shooter banking on free to play as a viable excuse for poor performance of a new fps title. Worth trying as a free game but don't expect too much. The gameplay is effectively just COD (more black ops than modern warfare, I think) with hero abilities like overwatch. The biggest flaw is horrendous hit detection and inconsistent movement. Hit markers in this title feel more cosmetic than functional. Some examples are getting 3+ hit markers with a weapon that does 21 damage per hit and dying from that opponent only to have it indicate they've lost 18hp, or shooting an opponent paralyzed by a spiderbot with a 144 damage sniper from about 1.5m range, getting a marker and it dealing a grand total of 0 damage. This means either they have horrible hit detection or no one at Ubisoft is capable of third grade math. With movement, jumping is the biggest issue as it effects aim in a very inconsistent manner and makes even fewer hits actually register. Bunny hopping should never be a highly effective defensive tactic in a shooter. I'm also not a fan of allies blocking your movement but enemies being incorporeal. Despite the fundamental problems, there is good here. The weapons feel fairly well balanced against each other with a couple exceptions where the unlock just feels like an upgrade. The maps are well-designed to align with the modes rather than just making a map and throwing objectives on them as an afterthought with no concern for the size or layout (looking at COD). The abilities are well made and each feels like it has practical use (though not going to be game changing in most cases) aside from Hijack which just appears to be busted (I've had a shield jacked by a player 20m away but was unable to hijack a shield I was literally standing on). I will admit it is disappointing when you see each faction having two unlockable characters and learn they are just skins with no functional difference. Though I can appreciate that fewer abilities does make balancing much more effective. The latest issue has been a glitch that randomly disables your ability to aim, shoot, run or interact on respawn forcing you to either be a target for the remainder of the match or quit. Fortunately it is very infrequent.