Defying Gravity And My Expectations
There comes a time in every game generation where one title makes its way under the radar but eventually surfaces and blows away the expectations of what comes from a genre. This year that game is Lawbreakers.
I got to go hands-on with it at E3 2017 after waves of news poured out regarding its move from PC exclusivity to PS4 and their open betas begging players to just try it. After getting through just one match, I can honestly say I’ve never felt so exhilarated and stimulated by a first person shooter.
Lawbreakers is a core multiplayer experience that focuses on objective based gameplay. Multiple betas have gone out showing off its class-based, physics-breaking combat, and the competition is fierce. With 5 “only in Lawbreakers” modes coming at launch, I was able to try out Blitzball.
TIME FOR BLITZBALLLLLLLL
Almost like Call of Duty Uplink mode, players have to get a ball from the center of the map to the opposing teams spawn. The catch, other than the obvious high-flying bullets and grapple hooks launching across the screen, is that you only have so many seconds till Morty (yes, the ball is voiced by Justin Roiland from Rick and Morty) gives you the middle finger and detonates.
My strategy was to grab the ball as fast as possible and b-line it all the way to the goal. After looking at what each class to offer, the Maverick equipped with a chaingun and rocket-propelled jetpack gave me the confidence I needed to get the job done. Not only could I hold down the trigger to boost my rate of fire and accuracy with my chaingun, but as soon as that adorable ball spawned I swiped it, threw thrusters to the max, and steered my way to the objective in what felt like playing F-Zero from a first person perspective. When it comes to the low-gravity sections of the map, anything goes. While at first I was like a cat trying to avoid water, eventually I was firing my weapon behind me to propel me forward and deliver several boots to the face.
Firefights are some of the most fast paced and fair battles I’ve ever encountered in first person shooters. Where in Call of Duty you can probably have a quarrel with getting oneshotted, dropshotted, or juked with a jetpack, Lawbreakers class system even in its beta phase shows potential with its balancing between the 8 classes. As the Vanguard, I was perfect for jetting away from Assassins with their leash to bridge the distance. On the other hand, if I was matched against the Enforcer, I knew I had to tread lightly so I can stop myself from being poked with his assault rifle or locked on by homing rockets with his ultimate attack. It’s a constant give and take. Whether you choose to play defense or offense solely depends on the situation you’re spawned into. Luckily, each class holds their own special abilities that give you the edge over the offensive rush that’ll guarantee you can hold the line no matter what badass stands in your way.
While Lawbreakers has everything and more people would come to expect from arena shooters, I do hope that customization becomes more fleshed out. Gun stickers, character skins, weapon skins, and footprints once you get a boot to the face all show variety but in a game that’s so fast paced, you can easily miss out on some of the great variety other players may carry. I’m hoping in the future there’s something like in Halo 5 where the combatants face each other first, so you can get a good look at what everyone has earned in the wonderful world of RNG.
Regardless, for $30.00 Lawbreakers is the must-play FPS of 2017.. It redefines fast-paced combat in a first person setting while bringing out the savagery in your competitive gaming lifestyle. For those looking to get Lawbreakers August 8th, you can look forward to seeing my boot plastered across your screen.
