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Last year I played and reviewed Breach & Clear on the PC; a passable (though a bit light weight) strategy game compared to others in its genre. It was however (in their words) "critically acclaimed and commercially successful" that it warranted a sequel: Breach & Clear : Deadline. The mission this time is to battle through the infected streets of harbour city to secure a cargo vessel big enough to evacuate survivors.
it's quite apparent that Deadline is a more ambitious sequel compared to its predecessor , shedding its mobile gaming origins and competing against the likes of Diablo and Torchlight by being a hybrid tactical strategy action RPG. Deadline is a fairly substantial game, the main story spans over 4 areas of a decent size with 5 dungeons to raid for loot and challenge and coop modes included. Whereas the original was strictly turn based, Deadline goes one better allowing players to switch between tactical mode to issue complex orders ,deploy special abilities, etc and real time to speed up killing and enact orders issued in tactical mode. Overall the system works well enough giving players enough flexibility to come up with some precise in-depth tactics on the fly. Its immensely satisfying when the opportunity arises to breach a room and outsmart a well entrenched enemy .
Sadly the positives end there. Whilst Deadline follows the archetypal ARPG formulas, it's a poor effort. Despite leaving its early access days and 7 large updates later, Deadline still feels unfinished. Among minor technical issues of invisible objects and soldiers failing to navigate through certain doors are gaming breaking bugs. Deadline is currently an unplayable mess using Keyboard and mouse as every action is bound to the V key. It's suspected Windows 10 issue, but regardless of the cause, as of time of writing, using the joypad is absolutely mandatory to play. Whilst the developers made efforts to ensure there were no bugs during missions, one was encountered during the "lab rats" mission. The computer to retrieve the data was missing and the objective marker pointed at a blank wall thus the mission couldn't be finished.
But game's biggest problem is how dull and unrewarding it is to play. Players will face off against the same handful of infected enemy models within a lifeless and sterile looking city. Whilst the game mechanics are robust enough for tactical play, the majority of engagements take little more than keeping your distance so enemies can't retaliate or constantly moving backwards. Although opportunities arise to face off against red shirted mercs and the green plaid shirt wearing cultists, these are few and far between. In many cases, players will simply stumble upon an engagement at a severe disadvantage that they cannot escape unless they beat it or quit to the main menu.
Combat is mind numbing and achingly dull, constantly starting and stopping like a broken record as players get bogged down giving orders and watching the team do the work. In real time mode combat is equally unsatisfying as shooting feels like using bullet hoses against large groups of enemies. With limited ammo players will resort to pistols rather than more effective primary weapons to conserve ammo, compounding combat issues by drawing out engagements and testing the players patience even further.
In any ARPG, Loot is a very important factor. The enticing promise of better weapons and armour coupled with a steady trickle of money is normally enough to keep players playing for hours. Deadline's loot is Dreadful. Whilst understandable - after all, harbour city has been picked clean during the chaos- it's simply unforgivable. Scrap is Deadlines in game currency used to upgrade weapons, armour and to make more ammo, whilst enemies drop scrap it tends to be low amounts and even vanishes after a while. Players are therefore forced to salvage unwanted loot items to even generate meaningful amounts of scrap. The only problem is that Loot/ammo chests do not regenerate players resources are finite. Once that box has been opened, that box will forever remain empty. Whilst occasionally players get armour and new weapons players will more often than not pick up low amounts of scrap or worthless items like energy drinks. The fallout is that there's very little incentive or motivation to play the game let alone explore it. Especially when the risks/expenses outweigh the rewards most of the time.
Players could go in search in the games 5 dungeons for greater rewards, but they'll will quickly realise that boredom and not the infected pose the greater threat. Stock assets are so lazily copied endlessly that it quickly becomes repetitive and predictable. The Loot drop rate isn't much better and some of it not worth battling through the 20 floors to reach. In one dungeon the grand prize was a rare sniper rifle and a sheriff hat that offered no protection. In many cases, players will battle through large hordes of enemies held in large rooms only to find absolutely nothing of value in them.
overall, I can't recommend Breach and Clear Deadline. Occasionally it was mildly interesting , but ultimately fails as a strategy game and as an Action RPG. I stubbornly spent 25 hours playing through the game and built up an ever growing list of issues or frustrating issues with the game. Can't play the game with K+M, the sterile and lifeless environments, Introducing Fog of War in a map where all the lights were off so you couldn't see where the doors or cover were in a room even if you were standing in it and the farcical shoot out at a diner. Whereby Half of the squad kicked down a door only to get stuck running though and getting picked off by the enemy. The other half of the squad breaks down the side door in a flanking action only to refuse to move through it. Deadline "helpfully" suggested the fastest way to reach the other side was to run halfway round the entire building and enter through the front door where the other team was stuck. Insultingly, switch to real time mode and you could move through the door with no issues. Even without the technical problems, the game makes inexcusable mistakes that leaves the game unsatisfying to play thanks to the boring repetitive nature of combat and a unrewarding loot system. With so many other better examples of ARPGs or tactical squad based strategy games there's absolutely no reason to even try Breach and Clear Deadline.
3/10
it's quite apparent that Deadline is a more ambitious sequel compared to its predecessor , shedding its mobile gaming origins and competing against the likes of Diablo and Torchlight by being a hybrid tactical strategy action RPG. Deadline is a fairly substantial game, the main story spans over 4 areas of a decent size with 5 dungeons to raid for loot and challenge and coop modes included. Whereas the original was strictly turn based, Deadline goes one better allowing players to switch between tactical mode to issue complex orders ,deploy special abilities, etc and real time to speed up killing and enact orders issued in tactical mode. Overall the system works well enough giving players enough flexibility to come up with some precise in-depth tactics on the fly. Its immensely satisfying when the opportunity arises to breach a room and outsmart a well entrenched enemy .
Sadly the positives end there. Whilst Deadline follows the archetypal ARPG formulas, it's a poor effort. Despite leaving its early access days and 7 large updates later, Deadline still feels unfinished. Among minor technical issues of invisible objects and soldiers failing to navigate through certain doors are gaming breaking bugs. Deadline is currently an unplayable mess using Keyboard and mouse as every action is bound to the V key. It's suspected Windows 10 issue, but regardless of the cause, as of time of writing, using the joypad is absolutely mandatory to play. Whilst the developers made efforts to ensure there were no bugs during missions, one was encountered during the "lab rats" mission. The computer to retrieve the data was missing and the objective marker pointed at a blank wall thus the mission couldn't be finished.
But game's biggest problem is how dull and unrewarding it is to play. Players will face off against the same handful of infected enemy models within a lifeless and sterile looking city. Whilst the game mechanics are robust enough for tactical play, the majority of engagements take little more than keeping your distance so enemies can't retaliate or constantly moving backwards. Although opportunities arise to face off against red shirted mercs and the green plaid shirt wearing cultists, these are few and far between. In many cases, players will simply stumble upon an engagement at a severe disadvantage that they cannot escape unless they beat it or quit to the main menu.
Combat is mind numbing and achingly dull, constantly starting and stopping like a broken record as players get bogged down giving orders and watching the team do the work. In real time mode combat is equally unsatisfying as shooting feels like using bullet hoses against large groups of enemies. With limited ammo players will resort to pistols rather than more effective primary weapons to conserve ammo, compounding combat issues by drawing out engagements and testing the players patience even further.
In any ARPG, Loot is a very important factor. The enticing promise of better weapons and armour coupled with a steady trickle of money is normally enough to keep players playing for hours. Deadline's loot is Dreadful. Whilst understandable - after all, harbour city has been picked clean during the chaos- it's simply unforgivable. Scrap is Deadlines in game currency used to upgrade weapons, armour and to make more ammo, whilst enemies drop scrap it tends to be low amounts and even vanishes after a while. Players are therefore forced to salvage unwanted loot items to even generate meaningful amounts of scrap. The only problem is that Loot/ammo chests do not regenerate players resources are finite. Once that box has been opened, that box will forever remain empty. Whilst occasionally players get armour and new weapons players will more often than not pick up low amounts of scrap or worthless items like energy drinks. The fallout is that there's very little incentive or motivation to play the game let alone explore it. Especially when the risks/expenses outweigh the rewards most of the time.
Players could go in search in the games 5 dungeons for greater rewards, but they'll will quickly realise that boredom and not the infected pose the greater threat. Stock assets are so lazily copied endlessly that it quickly becomes repetitive and predictable. The Loot drop rate isn't much better and some of it not worth battling through the 20 floors to reach. In one dungeon the grand prize was a rare sniper rifle and a sheriff hat that offered no protection. In many cases, players will battle through large hordes of enemies held in large rooms only to find absolutely nothing of value in them.
overall, I can't recommend Breach and Clear Deadline. Occasionally it was mildly interesting , but ultimately fails as a strategy game and as an Action RPG. I stubbornly spent 25 hours playing through the game and built up an ever growing list of issues or frustrating issues with the game. Can't play the game with K+M, the sterile and lifeless environments, Introducing Fog of War in a map where all the lights were off so you couldn't see where the doors or cover were in a room even if you were standing in it and the farcical shoot out at a diner. Whereby Half of the squad kicked down a door only to get stuck running though and getting picked off by the enemy. The other half of the squad breaks down the side door in a flanking action only to refuse to move through it. Deadline "helpfully" suggested the fastest way to reach the other side was to run halfway round the entire building and enter through the front door where the other team was stuck. Insultingly, switch to real time mode and you could move through the door with no issues. Even without the technical problems, the game makes inexcusable mistakes that leaves the game unsatisfying to play thanks to the boring repetitive nature of combat and a unrewarding loot system. With so many other better examples of ARPGs or tactical squad based strategy games there's absolutely no reason to even try Breach and Clear Deadline.
3/10
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Last year I played and reviewed Breach & Clear on the PC; a passable (though a bit light weight) strategy game compared to others in its genre. It was however (in their words) "critically acclaimed and commercially successful" that it warranted a sequel: Breach & Clear : Deadline. The mission this time is to battle through the infected streets of harbour city to secure a cargo vessel big enough to evacuate survivors.
it's quite apparent that Deadline is a more ambitious sequel compared to its predecessor , shedding its mobile gaming origins and competing against the likes of Diablo and Torchlight by being a hybrid tactical strategy action RPG. Deadline is a fairly substantial game, the main story spans over 4 areas of a decent size with 5 dungeons to raid for loot and challenge and coop modes included. Whereas the original was strictly turn based, Deadline goes one better allowing players to switch between tactical mode to issue complex orders ,deploy special abilities, etc and real time to speed up killing and enact orders issued in tactical mode. Overall the system works well enough giving players enough flexibility to come up with some precise in-depth tactics on the fly. Its immensely satisfying when the opportunity arises to breach a room and outsmart a well entrenched enemy .
Sadly the positives end there. Whilst Deadline follows the archetypal ARPG formulas, it's a poor effort. Despite leaving its early access days and 7 large updates later, Deadline still feels unfinished. Among minor technical issues of invisible objects and soldiers failing to navigate through certain doors are gaming breaking bugs. Deadline is currently an unplayable mess using Keyboard and mouse as every action is bound to the V key. It's suspected Windows 10 issue, but regardless of the cause, as of time of writing, using the joypad is absolutely mandatory to play. Whilst the developers made efforts to ensure there were no bugs during missions, one was encountered during the "lab rats" mission. The computer to retrieve the data was missing and the objective marker pointed at a blank wall thus the mission couldn't be finished.
But game's biggest problem is how dull and unrewarding it is to play. Players will face off against the same handful of infected enemy models within a lifeless and sterile looking city. Whilst the game mechanics are robust enough for tactical play, the majority of engagements take little more than keeping your distance so enemies can't retaliate or constantly moving backwards. Although opportunities arise to face off against red shirted mercs and the green plaid shirt wearing cultists, these are few and far between. In many cases, players will simply stumble upon an engagement at a severe disadvantage that they cannot escape unless they beat it or quit to the main menu.
Combat is mind numbing and achingly dull, constantly starting and stopping like a broken record as players get bogged down giving orders and watching the team do the work. In real time mode combat is equally unsatisfying as shooting feels like using bullet hoses against large groups of enemies. With limited ammo players will resort to pistols rather than more effective primary weapons to conserve ammo, compounding combat issues by drawing out engagements and testing the players patience even further.
In any ARPG, Loot is a very important factor. The enticing promise of better weapons and armour coupled with a steady trickle of money is normally enough to keep players playing for hours. Deadline's loot is Dreadful. Whilst understandable - after all, harbour city has been picked clean during the chaos- it's simply unforgivable. Scrap is Deadlines in game currency used to upgrade weapons, armour and to make more ammo, whilst enemies drop scrap it tends to be low amounts and even vanishes after a while. Players are therefore forced to salvage unwanted loot items to even generate meaningful amounts of scrap. The only problem is that Loot/ammo chests do not regenerate players resources are finite. Once that box has been opened, that box will forever remain empty. Whilst occasionally players get armour and new weapons players will more often than not pick up low amounts of scrap or worthless items like energy drinks. The fallout is that there's very little incentive or motivation to play the game let alone explore it. Especially when the risks/expenses outweigh the rewards most of the time.
Players could go in search in the games 5 dungeons for greater rewards, but they'll will quickly realise that boredom and not the infected pose the greater threat. Stock assets are so lazily copied endlessly that it quickly becomes repetitive and predictable. The Loot drop rate isn't much better and some of it not worth battling through the 20 floors to reach. In one dungeon the grand prize was a rare sniper rifle and a sheriff hat that offered no protection. In many cases, players will battle through large hordes of enemies held in large rooms only to find absolutely nothing of value in them.
overall, I can't recommend Breach and Clear Deadline. Occasionally it was mildly interesting , but ultimately fails as a strategy game and as an Action RPG. I stubbornly spent 25 hours playing through the game and built up an ever growing list of issues or frustrating issues with the game. Can't play the game with K+M, the sterile and lifeless environments, Introducing Fog of War in a map where all the lights were off so you couldn't see where the doors or cover were in a room even if you were standing in it and the farcical shoot out at a diner. Whereby Half of the squad kicked down a door only to get stuck running though and getting picked off by the enemy. The other half of the squad breaks down the side door in a flanking action only to refuse to move through it. Deadline "helpfully" suggested the fastest way to reach the other side was to run halfway round the entire building and enter through the front door where the other team was stuck. Insultingly, switch to real time mode and you could move through the door with no issues. Even without the technical problems, the game makes inexcusable mistakes that leaves the game unsatisfying to play thanks to the boring repetitive nature of combat and a unrewarding loot system. With so many other better examples of ARPGs or tactical squad based strategy games there's absolutely no reason to even try Breach and Clear Deadline.
3/10
it's quite apparent that Deadline is a more ambitious sequel compared to its predecessor , shedding its mobile gaming origins and competing against the likes of Diablo and Torchlight by being a hybrid tactical strategy action RPG. Deadline is a fairly substantial game, the main story spans over 4 areas of a decent size with 5 dungeons to raid for loot and challenge and coop modes included. Whereas the original was strictly turn based, Deadline goes one better allowing players to switch between tactical mode to issue complex orders ,deploy special abilities, etc and real time to speed up killing and enact orders issued in tactical mode. Overall the system works well enough giving players enough flexibility to come up with some precise in-depth tactics on the fly. Its immensely satisfying when the opportunity arises to breach a room and outsmart a well entrenched enemy .
Sadly the positives end there. Whilst Deadline follows the archetypal ARPG formulas, it's a poor effort. Despite leaving its early access days and 7 large updates later, Deadline still feels unfinished. Among minor technical issues of invisible objects and soldiers failing to navigate through certain doors are gaming breaking bugs. Deadline is currently an unplayable mess using Keyboard and mouse as every action is bound to the V key. It's suspected Windows 10 issue, but regardless of the cause, as of time of writing, using the joypad is absolutely mandatory to play. Whilst the developers made efforts to ensure there were no bugs during missions, one was encountered during the "lab rats" mission. The computer to retrieve the data was missing and the objective marker pointed at a blank wall thus the mission couldn't be finished.
But game's biggest problem is how dull and unrewarding it is to play. Players will face off against the same handful of infected enemy models within a lifeless and sterile looking city. Whilst the game mechanics are robust enough for tactical play, the majority of engagements take little more than keeping your distance so enemies can't retaliate or constantly moving backwards. Although opportunities arise to face off against red shirted mercs and the green plaid shirt wearing cultists, these are few and far between. In many cases, players will simply stumble upon an engagement at a severe disadvantage that they cannot escape unless they beat it or quit to the main menu.
Combat is mind numbing and achingly dull, constantly starting and stopping like a broken record as players get bogged down giving orders and watching the team do the work. In real time mode combat is equally unsatisfying as shooting feels like using bullet hoses against large groups of enemies. With limited ammo players will resort to pistols rather than more effective primary weapons to conserve ammo, compounding combat issues by drawing out engagements and testing the players patience even further.
In any ARPG, Loot is a very important factor. The enticing promise of better weapons and armour coupled with a steady trickle of money is normally enough to keep players playing for hours. Deadline's loot is Dreadful. Whilst understandable - after all, harbour city has been picked clean during the chaos- it's simply unforgivable. Scrap is Deadlines in game currency used to upgrade weapons, armour and to make more ammo, whilst enemies drop scrap it tends to be low amounts and even vanishes after a while. Players are therefore forced to salvage unwanted loot items to even generate meaningful amounts of scrap. The only problem is that Loot/ammo chests do not regenerate players resources are finite. Once that box has been opened, that box will forever remain empty. Whilst occasionally players get armour and new weapons players will more often than not pick up low amounts of scrap or worthless items like energy drinks. The fallout is that there's very little incentive or motivation to play the game let alone explore it. Especially when the risks/expenses outweigh the rewards most of the time.
Players could go in search in the games 5 dungeons for greater rewards, but they'll will quickly realise that boredom and not the infected pose the greater threat. Stock assets are so lazily copied endlessly that it quickly becomes repetitive and predictable. The Loot drop rate isn't much better and some of it not worth battling through the 20 floors to reach. In one dungeon the grand prize was a rare sniper rifle and a sheriff hat that offered no protection. In many cases, players will battle through large hordes of enemies held in large rooms only to find absolutely nothing of value in them.
overall, I can't recommend Breach and Clear Deadline. Occasionally it was mildly interesting , but ultimately fails as a strategy game and as an Action RPG. I stubbornly spent 25 hours playing through the game and built up an ever growing list of issues or frustrating issues with the game. Can't play the game with K+M, the sterile and lifeless environments, Introducing Fog of War in a map where all the lights were off so you couldn't see where the doors or cover were in a room even if you were standing in it and the farcical shoot out at a diner. Whereby Half of the squad kicked down a door only to get stuck running though and getting picked off by the enemy. The other half of the squad breaks down the side door in a flanking action only to refuse to move through it. Deadline "helpfully" suggested the fastest way to reach the other side was to run halfway round the entire building and enter through the front door where the other team was stuck. Insultingly, switch to real time mode and you could move through the door with no issues. Even without the technical problems, the game makes inexcusable mistakes that leaves the game unsatisfying to play thanks to the boring repetitive nature of combat and a unrewarding loot system. With so many other better examples of ARPGs or tactical squad based strategy games there's absolutely no reason to even try Breach and Clear Deadline.
3/10