14 DAY TRIAL // First-person shooters have slowly but surely started flooding the indie market, as quite a lot of developers that grew up with the likes of Doom, Quake, or even Counter-Strike, are starting to build their own passion projects featuring, of course, weapons from a first-person perspective.
Developer Zero Point Software is no exception, delivering an intense tactical shooter experience with Interstellar Marines.
While its name may be a bit of a cliché, as so far in the Steam Early Access version of the game there aren't any sprawling space battles, there are certainly enough varied environments to keep things interesting.
Does the game manage to succeed in its tactical shooter promise or should the marines get lost in space? Let's have a quick look.
Interstellar Marines is a basic first-person shooter, allowing players to use different weapons to eliminate their foes across a multitude of multiplayer encounters. The game goes into a realistic direction, allowing players to control some marines that are sent to battle across different landscapes. The actual shooting has also been impacted by the realistic feel, so don't expect a crosshair, although you can toggle a laser pointer to help with the aiming, or just view down the red-dot sight. The weapons are reasonably inaccurate, so spraying down foes isn't a viable strategy.
Foes also can withstand a lot of punishment, so make sure you're targeting their heads, rather than their armor-covered bodies. Sticking close to allies is also crucial, so that you can confuse lone foes.
A major aspect of the game is the Heads-Up Display that's portrayed onto the helmet of the playable character. While many games have used such mechanics, here it works rather well due to its simplicity. You're shown an ammo count and a list of weapons and that's pretty much it.
The realism is used not just in terms of the shooter mechanics but also when it comes to the environments. Expect to see pitch darkness at night, amazing fog and other weather effects. Many also have an impact on the helmet, further adding to the immersion factor.
Steam Early Access has been used by quite a few games in a successful way, as their developers constantly interacted with fans and released updates to ensure that their requests were fulfilled. Zero Point Software seems to be following the same route, implementing quite a few different features ever since Interstellar Marines went live almost one year ago.
Since then, the game has evolved in quite a few different ways, bringing plenty of different maps, not to mention a rotation of various game modes. Currently, there's a Deadlock mode that tasks players with occupying various sectors of a map, while fending off enemies that are trying to do the same.
Right now there is also a special test co-op experience organized in honor of PAX, in which two players need to make their way through a labyrinth-like map to complete objectives and survive in front of enemy androids.
The visuals are quite stellar, as I've mentioned above, with special props going to the weather and atmospheric effects. The soundtrack is pretty scarce for now, but plenty of things can change until the game is ready for its full launch.
Check out a gameplay video and a few screenshots of Interstellar Marines below.
