DoctorFinger
09-30-2011, 12:19 PM
Nuclear Dawn Review
Title - Nuclear Dawn
Platform - PC, Mac
Developer - Interwave Studios (http://www.interwavestudios.com/)
Publisher - Interwave Studios (http://www.interwavestudios.com/)
ESRB Rating - M (Mature)
MSRP - $24.99 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/17710/)
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet
What's Hot: Interesting blend of FPS and RTS. Very complex and entertaining maps.
What's Not: There are a couple of rough edges graphically. The Commander role is a bit too overpowered. It could really use a tutorial mode . In this day and age indie developer have realized that just releasing an FPS is a tough proposition. Everyone and their grandmother is cranking out shooters, and a generic shooter from a small developer will almost certainly get lost in the shuffle without something to make it stand out. Interwave Studio’s Nuclear Dawn tries to make itself known by blending standard FPS play with real-time strategy control. The result is an entertaining but occasionally flawed experience.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6180/6198047486_5a53a33fa9_z.jpg
The Metro map.
You start off by picking one of two factions to play as in a post WWIII setting. Aside from a few cosmetic tweaks there’s really no difference between The Empire and The Consortium. Once you choose a side, you have to choose a class: Assault, Exo, Stealth or Support. Each class has a number of loadouts to further specialize alongside their unique special abilities. For example he minigun-toting Exo can switch to a rocket launcher to take out structures. Or you can forget being a grunt and apply to be the Commander.
The Commander plays Nuclear Dawn from an RTS perspective, with an overview of the entire map. You build & repair structures, research upgrades, place fortifications and direct squads to different goals. Across each map there are a number of resources nodes which give the Commander resources when you control them. These nodes become the contested points of the game, as they give the Commander the ability to do his thing. And that thing is extremely important. Almost too important.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6198048208_074e1195d9_z.jpg
Silo, which is my favorite map, but the one which too few servers seem to run
The skill, or lack thereof, of your commander will determine how much fun you have in most matches. Play with a good commander and you’ll almost always win. Play with a poor or inexperienced one and you’ll get smoked, badly. I’ve never played a team game where the strength or weakness of a single player more drastically affected the balance of power. This gets compounded by the lack of a tutorial mode. Being the Commander is hard, and there’s no good way to get experience at that role. I’ve played enough FPS’ that I can jump into that role and be acclimated in a couple of minutes. But I’m not nearly that experienced in RTS’ and I have a feeling that a significant chunk of the other players in the game are in the same boat. Any player can apply to be the commander, and you can at any time stage a mutiny and vote to boot whomever is in the Commander’s role from that job, but by the time you realize your Commander is a doofus, you’ve probably already got rockets raining down on your base. After a while it almost doesn’t matter how good the other players are, if your Commander is bad, you’re probably going to lose. The nature of the hybrid gameplay requires that the Commander be the most powerful force on a team, but it would be a better experience if the difference between the influence of the two roles was a little smaller.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6155/6198046736_4ec1378eb9_z.jpg
The Downtown map
The game’s greatest strength are it’s maps. They’re all big with plenty of paths to the other team’s base and lots of places to stage great firefights. Most maps also have a decent amount of elevation, so the fights get pretty three dimensional. There are choke points and hiding spots, but few if any are invulnerable, which is often a major weakness of indie shooters. There are only six maps, so you’ll be able to learn the finer points of each fairly easily. The lack of game modes though has to be considered a weak point. The developers promise that a significant content patch is in the works which will add AI play and new game modes, but a little more variety would have been nice.
Graphically Nuclear Dawn is solid with occasional flashes of greatness. It’s built on the latest version of the Source engine, so it’s mostly smooth, but there are a few minor graphical artifacts which jump out at you on occasion. The sound is similarly unremarkable.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6148/6198058078_402cbb342e_z.jpg
An Exo, the heavy class for the game
Online play is silky smooth and hassle free. In my games I found no lag and no connection issues. It uses the standard Source server browser which should be familiar to everyone by now. Like most games of this type there are too many servers playing the same map, but that’s a gripe about the community than the game itself.
Score: (3.5 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG3_5.png
Michael says, "The core game here is very solid. It needs a few tweaks, but most of the tweaks are minor and fairly easily done. Frankly a decent tutorial mode would go a long way towards making this a much more accessible and enjoyable game. As is, once you figure out the basic details it blossoms into a deep and engrossing experience. The fun factor just hinges a bit too much on the skills of the commander, and a poor one can turn an otherwise fun game into a real drag."
Title - Nuclear Dawn
Platform - PC, Mac
Developer - Interwave Studios (http://www.interwavestudios.com/)
Publisher - Interwave Studios (http://www.interwavestudios.com/)
ESRB Rating - M (Mature)
MSRP - $24.99 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/17710/)
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet
What's Hot: Interesting blend of FPS and RTS. Very complex and entertaining maps.
What's Not: There are a couple of rough edges graphically. The Commander role is a bit too overpowered. It could really use a tutorial mode . In this day and age indie developer have realized that just releasing an FPS is a tough proposition. Everyone and their grandmother is cranking out shooters, and a generic shooter from a small developer will almost certainly get lost in the shuffle without something to make it stand out. Interwave Studio’s Nuclear Dawn tries to make itself known by blending standard FPS play with real-time strategy control. The result is an entertaining but occasionally flawed experience.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6180/6198047486_5a53a33fa9_z.jpg
The Metro map.
You start off by picking one of two factions to play as in a post WWIII setting. Aside from a few cosmetic tweaks there’s really no difference between The Empire and The Consortium. Once you choose a side, you have to choose a class: Assault, Exo, Stealth or Support. Each class has a number of loadouts to further specialize alongside their unique special abilities. For example he minigun-toting Exo can switch to a rocket launcher to take out structures. Or you can forget being a grunt and apply to be the Commander.
The Commander plays Nuclear Dawn from an RTS perspective, with an overview of the entire map. You build & repair structures, research upgrades, place fortifications and direct squads to different goals. Across each map there are a number of resources nodes which give the Commander resources when you control them. These nodes become the contested points of the game, as they give the Commander the ability to do his thing. And that thing is extremely important. Almost too important.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6198048208_074e1195d9_z.jpg
Silo, which is my favorite map, but the one which too few servers seem to run
The skill, or lack thereof, of your commander will determine how much fun you have in most matches. Play with a good commander and you’ll almost always win. Play with a poor or inexperienced one and you’ll get smoked, badly. I’ve never played a team game where the strength or weakness of a single player more drastically affected the balance of power. This gets compounded by the lack of a tutorial mode. Being the Commander is hard, and there’s no good way to get experience at that role. I’ve played enough FPS’ that I can jump into that role and be acclimated in a couple of minutes. But I’m not nearly that experienced in RTS’ and I have a feeling that a significant chunk of the other players in the game are in the same boat. Any player can apply to be the commander, and you can at any time stage a mutiny and vote to boot whomever is in the Commander’s role from that job, but by the time you realize your Commander is a doofus, you’ve probably already got rockets raining down on your base. After a while it almost doesn’t matter how good the other players are, if your Commander is bad, you’re probably going to lose. The nature of the hybrid gameplay requires that the Commander be the most powerful force on a team, but it would be a better experience if the difference between the influence of the two roles was a little smaller.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6155/6198046736_4ec1378eb9_z.jpg
The Downtown map
The game’s greatest strength are it’s maps. They’re all big with plenty of paths to the other team’s base and lots of places to stage great firefights. Most maps also have a decent amount of elevation, so the fights get pretty three dimensional. There are choke points and hiding spots, but few if any are invulnerable, which is often a major weakness of indie shooters. There are only six maps, so you’ll be able to learn the finer points of each fairly easily. The lack of game modes though has to be considered a weak point. The developers promise that a significant content patch is in the works which will add AI play and new game modes, but a little more variety would have been nice.
Graphically Nuclear Dawn is solid with occasional flashes of greatness. It’s built on the latest version of the Source engine, so it’s mostly smooth, but there are a few minor graphical artifacts which jump out at you on occasion. The sound is similarly unremarkable.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6148/6198058078_402cbb342e_z.jpg
An Exo, the heavy class for the game
Online play is silky smooth and hassle free. In my games I found no lag and no connection issues. It uses the standard Source server browser which should be familiar to everyone by now. Like most games of this type there are too many servers playing the same map, but that’s a gripe about the community than the game itself.
Score: (3.5 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG3_5.png
Michael says, "The core game here is very solid. It needs a few tweaks, but most of the tweaks are minor and fairly easily done. Frankly a decent tutorial mode would go a long way towards making this a much more accessible and enjoyable game. As is, once you figure out the basic details it blossoms into a deep and engrossing experience. The fun factor just hinges a bit too much on the skills of the commander, and a poor one can turn an otherwise fun game into a real drag."