At E3 2014 one of the games that really caught our eye was BattleCry. We were excited to see the announcement for the game a few weeks ago. The bloody violent trailer was great to watch. However we were not sure about the persistence of this online world. Happily we learned quickly from MMO veteran Rich Vogel that the game has a persistent War Front, progression, and even some crafting. Needless to say, we are listing the game on MMORPG.com.
Battlecry takes place in a world without gunpowder. Think of the world circa WWI if there was a treaty to ban the use of black powder. You still have swordsman, archer, and brutal hand to hand fighters to make combat even more deadly and up close. That is the world you will enter when you begin the game. Players can choose from several classes when they begin. There is a tank class, a duelist, an archer, a brawler, and a class that uses a magnetic pulse style gun for disruption. In the demo we played each we got to try the tank and the duelist.
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The great thing about the tank class is they can dish out vast damage with their two handed weapons, but they can also block very well. Their weapons transform into shields which can stop deadly DPS style fighters, or even ranged attacks. The game play in the arena moves very fast. Our tank ran around the battlefield which looked like a burned out industrial complex very quickly. Nothing moves slow in Battle Cry. I faced an archer in one fight and was happy to have my shield ready. Then once I got close I was able to blitz through my three main attacks and finish the job. Characters start with a normal attack, then have three special attacks they can do. They also have an adrenaline ability which makes them super powered for a few seconds. Rich Vogel explained that they wanted a very fast combat system that gave the player clear choices. If you burn your adrenaline too early, you end up on real trouble. My tank did die a few times in the battles, but the class played well and definitely had strong staying power on the field.
The second time I demoed the game I played a Kosack duelist. The factions in the game right now are the British Empire inspired Imperials. The Russian Style Kosacks. There is a third faction coming but we cannot reveal it yet, trust us it will be a perfect fit. The Duelist class was my favorite to play. He moves extremely fast and feels like a DPS rogue in any MMO. I liked the two swords and deadly attacks I could dish out. Also having a stealth ability made it easy to surprise foes but also get away. The stealth only lasts a few seconds so you have to make it count.
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The zones in BattleCry are just as important as the characters. The game is a sixteen vs. sixteen battle and warriors move very quickly around the maze they will fight in. There are points to grapple and swing across things. Pitfalls, which I found the hard way, and died. The game hosts a lot of vertical layers as well so players can climb buildings and fight on stairs or ramps. There are lots of places to hide on these maps.
BattleCry surprised us with its quick and fun gameplay. The persistent progression of the War Zones will give players long term goals to fight for and build their characters to take on any challenge. The online game play with friends will definitely bring PvP groups together and even branch out into eSports. We were impressed with Battle Cry and look forward to the beta soon.
Be sure to check out our video Interview with Rich Vogel.
