Tired of your regular Free-To-Play games? Want to play something that has guns, gore and glorious mayhem? Then Edge of Reality has made a gamefor you. Welcome to Loadout, a third person shooter that combines comedic and cartoony characters with incredible customisation. With many FTP games out there on the market, it is hard to decipher which games are worth the time and effort. Does Loadout supply the goods or blow the up in your face? Let’s load-up and find out.
While the game lacks story it excels in customisation. The aim of the game involves guns and kitting them out to create your ultimate weapon of destruction. You can work off of four base types with their own advantages and disadvantages. Rifles that shoot bullets, a classic set up. Lasers that fire a controlled beam at opponents to deal continuous damage over time. Pulse weapons that fire a cluster of spiked balls at your enemies and Rocket powered arms that can fire explosive pay loads. Each weapon variant is nicely balanced when it comes to playing in game and rely heavily on the skill of the player. If you want to master a weapon, why not test it out in the firing range or go against some bots first to see how efficient it is.
On top of a mixture of weapon types comes an extensive tech tree with tons of different customisation options. To build your desired boom stick you need blutes, Loadout’s in game currency. With these you can buy different attachments which will add different effects to the gun. This can be anything from adding an electrical charge to each bullet, to changing the guns firing rate. In order to unlock everything you need to go through the tree unlocking one thing at a time, as well as give up a ton of those hard earned blutes. Although it is fun to destroy your friends on the battlefield, grinding for upgrades can get annoying after a while.
The gameplay of Loadout features fast paced, arena style shooting. Maps have been created with tight corridors, open spaces and plenty of different interchanging routes. You can take advantage of the map and move around your opponent in order to find the best angle of attack. Different play styles will also shine as you will have a combination of run & gunners, kamikaze shooters and calm snipers. But what makes the gameplay interesting are the simple and engaging modes.
Blitz has players fight over control points on the map to increase their score. Your character can help occupy these objectives faster by taunting nearby, a fun mechanic that may either help you win or get you killed. Death Snatch involves two teams combating each other in a team death match environment. When someone dies they drop a blutoniam vial that can be picked up by either you, a team mate or the enemy. Deny your opponents kills and claim your deadly rewards to win big, definitely one of the crazier game modes. Extraction is an interesting mode that tasks one player on each team as the collector. The collector runs around the map collecting blutonium ore and dropping it off in grinders to score points. A change of pace as the non-collectors have to decide to either defend their precious collector or go on a killing spree. Finally we have jackhammer which plays like capture the flag. Capture the hammer and take it back to your base to drill blutonium and win. You can also use the hammer as a weapon to deal massive damage at close range to enemies.
The game modes are all really fun and mix up the different people and play styles you will encounter. Although there isn’t a very large assortment of maps or modes, these will keep you occupied constantly. After you have learnt how to get around faster with well timed jumps and dive rolls, you will be the envy of your friends as you climb up the ranked ladders.
The main concern that any player would have with Loadout is simple, the Free-To-Play model itself. If the model is not well constructed and puts you behind pay walls or time walls to give you the best stuff, then there are immediate problems. Loadout’s model however is incredibly fair and one of the best FTP models available. With real money you can pay for aesthetic changes to your character, blute and experience boosts and additional loadout and weapon crafting slots. You do not pay any real world currency for damage increases and high level weapons or upgrades, making this a fantastic game to pick up and recommend to your friends. The entire model is built around investment for excitement which should be the greatest aspect of the game.
Loadout packs a lot of bang for no buck. A free-to-play game that gives you a fantastic experience with great comedy, gore and profanity. It may not in its current state offer an extensive list of maps, but you cannot beat some classic arena combat. A must have for anyone that loves shooting people down or blowing things up. Grab some friends, craft some boom sticks and go crazy.
