Space has always been an intriguing subject for anyone, not the least gamers and game developers, and thus it is not surprising that there is such a huge selection of titles incorporating space as its core. Unfortunately, a lot of these titles are either repetitive, in the sense that they use same mechanics of other games with a little change, or just plain dull. God Factory: Wingmen is an ambitious new game which aims to almost create a whole new genre, similar to a MOBA one could say.
A Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, known as MOBA, features generally two teams of five players each battling against each other in a generally square map. A series of developers and publishers are trying to break into the MOBA genre, one of the latest being EA with its Dawngate project. God Factory tries to incorporate the elements of the now traditional MOBA, such as the pre-game lobby with everyone readying up before the game, but changing some key factors, one of which is the camera. While MOBAs feature a third person distant camera, Wingmen has a close third person camera which makes it like a normal adventure game. The map is also smaller than average but since it is in space it feels much larger. Also, while a MOBA features a series of different abilities, namely four bound to QWER, Wingmen features only two main attacks, bound to both of the mouse main buttons. It’s simple, but it’s definitely effective.
In Wingmen, you basically navigate a battleship in space, with the aim of destroying the enemy’s base. The game is structured as a 4v4 arena, in which co-operation between players is essential for winning. Apart from being a team, so everyone has to work together to achieve the common goal, the game almost imposes teamwork in all parts of the game. But let’s go over the basics. You start a game with two ships, and ingame you control only one. You can switch the ship at any time, depending mostly on the situation or the type of enemy you are against. The goal of the game is to destroy the opponent’s base, an immense structure composed of seven parts, all of which need to be destroyed for the victory to be awarded. Teamwork is also important in this sense, since it is vital for the team to be united in order to bring down the base. Another element of co-operation is the ship sharing function, which enables a player to share his other ship with someone else. This is extremely helpful once a player has his ship destroyed, as instead of the ship he will only have a less powerful drone to control. The sharing works in both ways, so if someone shares the ships with another player, he may use the other player’s ships as well.
The game also incorporates different penalties for having a part of the ship destroyed, for example having the communication tower destroyed will limit the enemy ship detection range, decreasing the effective range by half. Another example of these penalties is the ammunition depot, which as the name implies will constrict the ships to have less ammo for weapons.
The controls of the ships in God Factory: Wingmen take some time to get used to, especially because since being in space, there is also a downward and upward movement not present in normal third person games because of the ground being there. Nonetheless thanks to a tutorial which basically covers everything there is ingame, one can get the hang of what is happening around him. Having said that, mastering movement is crucial for the success in this game, for both offensive and defensive reasons.
Graphics wise, textures are beautiful and neat, and the HUD is distributed around the screen so as to show what is needed without clattering the vision of the player. The interface shows the speed at which the ship is travelling bottom centre, an arrow pointing to the direction of enemy ships at the top and also the current weapon you are selecting on the bottom right of the screen. Everything is clear without obstructing the game, thus only adding to the experience.
What has to be the one of the best, if not the best, feature of Wingmen is the ship creation and customization. The game features a shop where you can buy parts with credits earned ingame. The tutorial yields a considerable sum of credits, and so does unlocking achievements. Credits are also received after each match so no matter winning or losing, playing will always net you something. These credits can then be spent at the shop and the parts you buy may then be joined together to create new ships. The customization goes into a lot of detail, meaning that one can almost create a unique ship, different from all other ships in the game. There is also the option to change the colour of the parts, and with different colour texture such as matte one can have all the possibilities desired. The creation system will not only affect the appearance of a ship but also its effectiveness since parts may yield different powers and attacks. The classes of the ships, of which there are four, also contribute to the increasing set of parts and attacks, collectively creating an incredible range to choose from.
As far as problems with the game are concerned, there is only the long loading times experienced when launching the game and entering a lobby, as well as the loading for the game to begin but that may also be due to other players. These loading times are often bearable, but if for some reason or another a player disconnects or the server crashes, no notification will be given so you will just sit watching your screen endlessly hoping for something to happen. So far the community seems helpful, and being a relatively small game helps it being more united and collaborative and less of a horde of trolls and flamers who enjoy nothing more than people fighting for no logical reason.
God Factory: Wingmen is a great game in terms of its best features, being customization and spaceship fighting. These core mechanics are structured around a solid border of graphics and controls which are forgiving but need dedication to master. For a new game having such ambition and succeeding in delivery, this one is not to be missed.
GoD Factory: Wingmen is available today on STEAM®. http://store.steampowered.com/app/262750/
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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