Genre: First Person Shooter/Real Time Strategy
Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Publisher: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Platform: Microsoft Windows, Linux
Players:Online Multiplayer
Classification: T (Teen)
I’ve decided it’s time to actually try to review some of the various games I play at LAN parties, most of which are fairly simple and have no singleplayer mode and so only get played at LANs themselves these games include the likes of Insurgency, Rocket League, Flatout 2, Screencheat, Armagetronad, Gang Beasts and many others. I’ve realised that I haven’t considered reviewing these games as I play them so sparingly and will also have to slot them in between my other reviews of games that I have been playing in an orderly fashion at home. I was at the Bluewire Lan in Diamond Creek a while ago and we went back to an old favourite Natural Selection 2 which we played quite a few sessions of during the course of the LAN so I thought it was sufficient enough to warrant writing a review, so here it is.
The introductory video that appears at the start of the game.
Natural
Selection 2 (NS2) is a multiplayer team-based shooter that combines the
shooter/fps style with a strategy (RTS) game. The first time I played was a
while ago (as the game did come out in 2012) At first I was a bit confused
about what was going on but then got the hang of it as the game is a bit
different from your usual FPS (first-person-shooter). Before we get into it
though I will go through a bit of backstory which I’ve only found out recently.
The first Natural Selection
(NS) was a mod for Half-Life along
with the likes of Team Fortress
and Counter-strike
and although it didn’t quite reach the levels of fame that those two have it
was still very popular in its own right and popular enough to spawn (heh) a
sequel. I’ve never played the original but it looked amazing especially for a
mod though the sequel is obviously much better as it was built from the ground
up as a full game.
The original natural selection mod for Half-Life
I was able to piece together a brief storyline for the game
from the Frontiersman
and Kharaa race overview
pages on the Natural
Selection 2 Wiki. Basically the Frontiersman are a cross between Starcraft’s Terrans and the Alien series Marines
created by the current Government of Earth to destroy the Kharaa which are
quite similar to Starcraft’s Zerg
race as they have the similar traits including the use of the green creep-like infestation
that spreads as the Kharaa infest more areas and the practice of assimilating
other races. Though the storyline pretty much ends there as there is no
singleplayer aspect to the game it is basically wholly multiplayer which was it
all the mod was and all it needed to be really. At first glance the game is
basically Marines vs Aliens in fairly futuristic space installations including
abandoned mines, troop outposts, laboratories, biodomes and space stations,
featuring fairly condensed spaces of tunnels and corridors with limited large
open areas though there is much more to it than this.
It’s interesting how the game forces you to do the tutorial
before actually going online and playing, whether this is a good or bad option
I’ll let you decide. I had no qualm with it as whenever I went back to playing
I always needed a refresher course, and also it at least stops people coming on
to play who have absolutely no idea what they are doing though it is a bit
annoying when you’re at a LAN party and everyone has already played it before
but has to go through the damn thing again. Once I started playing I was
actually glad I did the tutorial as the game itself is much more complicated
than most FPS games, at the start you have the classic “ready room” where you
choose whether to go on the Marine or Kharaa sides or choose one at random
often by running through doors or jumping down holes.
Each team starts on
(relatively) opposite sides of the map with just the basic structures and
resources, the early game usually focuses on securing resources, while the late
game focuses on advancement of technology for the marines and higher lifeforms
for the aliens. This Marine and Alien Commanders
are probably the most pivotal point of a side and having a good or bad
commander can make or break the game contest The commanders are the lifeblood
of the side and team cannot function properly without one as they are
responsible for the building of structures, collecting of resources and
researching of upgrades. To explain the way it works I’ll use the marines as an
example as they are a bit easier to relate to, to start off with one player has
to jump into the Commander
station to become the commander, this often involves people either fighting
for the position or no-one wanting to do it so someone gets in and does it
poorly, I’ll admit I played on an “newbie” NS2 server so that may be why,
though I can’t talk really.
Loading screen with map of the "Veil" zone, the bits in organge are shortcuts only the smaller Kharaa races can use. |
The Marine tutorial, very annoying to some, fine by me |
The Veil level ready room |
"Let's go team! hut hut hut...." |
Once the commander is inside it becomes similar to the
Battlefield series Commander feature,
they can see the whole map in a top-down perspective and are able to place
‘blueprints’ onto the map for stuctures like extractors for gaining
resources, Sentry guns
for defence and power
nodes for powering structures which marines can use their Build
Tool to create, thus expanding their territory and gaining more resources
to use for upgrades. The upgrades are provided by structures like the Armory and Prototype
Lab, all marines start with a basic Assault
Rifle, Pistol
and Switch-Axe
but can upgrade to things like Shotguns and Flamethrowers and the
prototype lab gives access to fun and powerful tech like the Jetpack and Exosuit.
Marines can request healing and ammo from the commander who can place it on the
map, they can also repair structures and exosuits with the Welder. As a
marine you generally follow your commanders order of what to do and where to
go, you help secure resource nodes throughout the map (for extractors) build
and expand and defend against the attacking Kharaa eventually working your way
to destroying the hive, if the command station is destroyed then the Marines
lose.
A shortish match I played on the Frontiersman side on the newbie server, we didn't do very well unfortunately.
With the alien
Kharaa race things are slightly different, the Kharaa main structure is the Hive and they differ in the
fact that while the marines are basically the same apart from the gear that
they have the Kharaa units are drastically different from each other. For
example the Skulk
is a basic lifeform and can run along walls and ceilings and through certain
parts of the map where only the smaller Kharaa can crawl through such as air
vents and large pipes which gives the weaker Kharaa units a chance to ambush.
The Gorge on
the other hand is a support unit and can heal other Kharaa and create
barricades and summon smaller Babbler
aliens to assist it in battle, the most powerful Kharaa unit the tank-like Onos which can
demolish structures and take on marines in Exosuits with ease. Instead
of upgrading their hardware like the marines the Kharaa units can Evolve with things
like improved armor (carapace) and regeneration, they also have stealth
abilities for ambush and surprise attacks and can use parasites and the Aura ability
to detect nearby marines and exosuits on the map. The Kharaa main base and
expanded areas are covered in Infestation
which is a green/brown ooze in which the Kharaa commander spreads to different
areas using Cysts
in order to reach resource nodes and create Harvesters. The Skulk
and Gorge units also have a unique trait, as they both attack by biting or
spitting with their jaws so the first person camera is actually inside their
mouth making biting and spitting much easier and also being so close to the
ground gave you a more stealthy feel.
Playing as the Kharaa, didn't do to well that time either XD
Playing as the two
races requires different thinking, the Marines have the firepower advantage
especially early in the game and are best at frontal assault while the Kharaa
excel at stealth and ambushes as they have abilities that make them less
visible and silent and can use shortcuts in the level where the marines cannot.
The Kharaa have more units and structures but ultimately each side does not
have an advantage over the other, after playing the game for a while you
realise both sides have their own version of an ability or feature for example some
are the same thing for each side such as the Phase
Gate and the Gorge Tunnel though some are slightly different as the
Observatory
detects enemies for the Marines and the Sentry gun is for defence. But
with the Kharaa the Hydra is a detector and also acts as a turrent shooting spines
at enemies and additionally they have the Whip for more
close-range defence.
This mirrors most modern RTS games with each army being
the same but slightly different somehow balancing out so no side has an unfair
advantage. I’ll say it now teamwork and communication with a bit of leadership
is the key to victory, though this is true with almost any type of team
competition it is especially true with Natural Selection as one player cannot
carry the team (such as in DOTA 2) and the team cannot rely on points and kills
for the win (Battlefield series). Venturing out alone is a sure fire way to be
quickly killed, I found myself following at least one other person in order to
have strength in numbers and enjoyed following the orders of the commander and
responding to teammate alerts as when the match was over, win or lose I could
tell myself that I had done the right thing.
The controls in the
game are basically the same as your standard FPS, usual controls to move,
interact shoot and use abilities and a button for the map. The only difference
for the Marines is when you are in an exosuit but for the Kharaa, choosing a
different lifeform makes drastic changes in movement, for example Skulks are
very agile and run and jump much faster than the Marines, the Lerk is a flying
unit that can zoom at great speeds and excels at hit-and run and damage over
time and the Fade
is a stealthy ground unit that can kill very quickly then stealthily escape,
though both of these lifeforms are low on health and must avoid attacking
directly. It’s difficult at first to work out which button is for upgrading and
evolving etc but gets easier over time.
Having come out in 2012, Natural
selection 2 does not have the best graphics to offer but looks good enough for
what it is, the locations looks pretty damn good and I like the fact that they
are non-mirrored and all of the spawn points are not so obvious. The detail on
the locations is pretty good, I love the way the infestation (I had to resist
saying ‘creep’ there) spreads through the level, the design has a very Aliens
mixed with Dead
Space feel although not quite as tense obviously as the action is quite
fast paced, on looking at the map list for the first
time I had no idea there were so many of them but I like the theme to each
level. The detail on the aliens and marines is pretty good the marines are all
starship troopers style and the aliens are both ugly and fearsome looking and
are multitude of colours. The sound and music in the game is on par with the
scene with tense music playing over gun blasts, explosions, screeches, munches
and roars, one of the most memorable sounds was the screeching of the Hive when
it is being attacked, made my damn skin crawl.
Although it works perfectly well online, my favourite place
to play Natural Selection 2 is at a LAN party if you have enough people to can
be heaps of fun, yes everyone hears your communication but that’s the way it
goes, I’m proud to say it’s one of my favourite games to play at LANs, the
first-person shooter mixed with real-time strategy works really well, the only
drawback is the learning curve with the Commander mode which I admit the forced
tutorial gave you a general idea of what to do I was still a bit overwhelmed
when in the seat myself, it just cements the fact that to be effective you need
a commander who at least has an idea of what he/she is doing.
A gang of Skulks near a resource harvester |
Always travel with a friend |
A great piece of artwork with a marine in an exosuit taking on an Onos |
The alien hive with the signature Skulk mouth-cam |
Me as the Kharaa Commander, this was shortly before we were overrun XD |
JD
8/10
Things I liked:
Great mix of FPS and RTS elements.
Heaps of fun to play at LAN parties.
Greatly rewards teamwork.
Good balance of similarities and differences between
races/sides.
Things I didn’t like:
Steep Learning curve for Commander mode.
Need at least 8 a side to make things interesting.
Requires good teamwork.
If you don’t have a good commander you’re gonna have a bad
time.
Natural Selection 2 Launch Trailer
Hey kid we heard you like RTS, so we put some
RTS in your FPS
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