This is a review of Infantry that a wrote for
MPOGD.com:
Infantry is a multi-player
online overhead action
game from the makers of subspace. It is currently in open
beta and available for public testing free at www.infantryzone.com.
Download size is decent and loads up fast, however the game does not come with the maps so you will have to download them as you play each zone from inside the game it self.
In infantry there are several different "zones" to play in. Each has its own play style from capture the flag to an all out war zone. Once in a zone you must pick a character class. The classes determine what type of weapons are available for you to use, speed, health and other aspects. Some examples of classes are Jump trooper, heavy weapons and infantry. Depending on what zone you play in there maybe be different classes to chose from.
In most zones characters are placed into teams so you can have
allies (players can also make their own teams in some games) and if an engineer is on the team he/she can build a base and defend it from enemies. Some of the zones have vehicles placed throughout the zone and in others you need to build your own. Vehicles sometimes require a certain class or have a set amount of
experience (gained by killing enemies) needed to use them. There are drop ships in most of the zones where items, armor and weapons can be purchased with money earned by personal kills or from teammate's kills. Also the drop ship acts as a sort of main control center that allows players to rest (heal), recharge their power packs and change classes without threat of harm.
Infantry uses the basic
Subspace overhead view of the play field, but sacrifices little in the area of graphics. Stunning vehicle and character models, projectile design and lighting effects make things far from dull. The game also boasts an impressive set of maps, weapons and items. The game also works on a line-of-sight system so if you or your teammates don't have a direct view of the enemy or any object it wont be visible to you.
The fully customizable controls of Infantry are identical to that of popular game
Subspace. However, if a non-devote of said game does not find the controls to their liking, change them! The basic functions involve maneuvering a character around the battlefield, manipulating switches, vehicles, and constructing various objects. There is also a function for long-range sniping that works quite well with the overhead view system and can be used to better aim shots. The
interface is pretty simple and wont take long to get used to, you have a player list, items list, radar and chat window around the sides of the screen. The rest is of the screen is the playing field. Also while accessing the options menu or in game help features the menus are translucent so you can see what's happening so you don't get killed while your reading something.
The sounds in Infantry are definite part of the game play. Various sounds like vehicle movement, distinct weapon firing, and the always popular *Crack* the soldier makes when nuked brings a touch of quality to the fun. Not to mention that they help a lot to detect stray bullets that my come at you unnoticed. Even though there is some sound re-usage in certain items, they do have some pretty awesome music at the splash screen load up.
So far it sounds pretty flawless right? Well not to turn you away from it but there are some pretty big downsides to the game. Probably one of the biggest things to be concern with is the community. It's not that it's bad it's just that most of the long time players (
veterans as they prefer) seem to really dislike "
newbies". So I would try and read the in game help or look for info online before asking other players because if you ask the wrong one you'll most likely be showered with insults and other annoying things. However this doesn't happen all the time and there are people out there how love to help new players.
If you are really into online games this one is a must! It's fast to load up fun to play and hey you get to compete against your friends and the rest of the world, plus it's free! So check it out at www.infantryzone.com for free while it's still in open
beta.