After an odd amount of public beta testing and mixed feelings toward the game, Dust 514 has finally (again) been given a release date. Originally set for a Summer 2012 release window, the exceedingly ambitious cross-platform FPS fell victim to several delays and is now slated for a May 14th release with the Vita companion app “Neocom” this Summer.
The free-to-play Playstation exclusive had been on many a gamers mind since its initial reveal, but many wonder now if it’s too late. The complexity and ambition of the game, regardless of if it delivers or not, may have been its undoing because multiple delays from excessive Beta testing.
Dust 514, although an online FPS, boasts one key difference in its communicative nature with the immense world of EVE Online.
Players partake as mercenaries in territorial battles other over resources and other valuables for the hiring companies of EVE. These player controlled agencies are in constant politically/capitalistically motivated war with each other in one of the most outrageously complicated economies for a game in history.
Adding on top of that the control of dozens of variables from aquiring and building specific load outs to treating your account like a business makes for a fairly complicated game.
While the fundamental characteristics and connectivity of EVE are Dust 514’s selling points, questions of accessibility due to complexity and if this game is simply too difficult have arisen.
The famously deep, complex universe and gameplay of EVE Online is integral to this FPS but because we live in a world where the shallow jump-in, jump-out shooters of Call of Duty and Battlefield are king, this remains to be seen as a profitable idea.
Couple that with the constant delays and loss of momentum and mindshare amongst consumers and only the recipe for an underwhelming release can be seen.
The concept of Dust 514, while incredibly complicated and unforgiving, is quite an amazing goal to strive for and whether or not the challenge is met in a successful manner, CCP games deserves kudos. Dust 514 certainly has the potential to be a game we look back on as a turning point in the industry.
