Well after the curtain of silence was lifted in September from CCP games I can give you a girl gamers two cents on Dust 514 the FPS MMO from CCP games. First off I want to say I have been waiting a long time for this game to reach testing and I was very excited to take part in the dust 514 beta. The idea of having a massive multiplayer online first person shooter on Sony play station was the next step in the fps evolution. The team at CCP has been working pretty hard around the clock since the beta first opened in March of 2012 to continue to develop and add-on new features to the game. There have been so many improvements along the way and I think we will continue to see the game evolve long after the Dust 514 release.
I can describe Dust 514 as a cross between Kill Zone colliding with Quake and the result was an FPS that still looks a little old school but raises the bar on giving players a challenging experience. First off, the game takes place across an entire galaxy and your battle outcomes are the key to gaining territory and acquiring strategic resources. That being said, there is a whole lot of reasons to kill everything. CCP did add the option for girl gamers to choose a female mercenary soldier as mentioned in one of my earlier articles but there was no special appearance to my drop suit making it impossible to see the difference. I am hoping CCP has something planned for female Dust 514 players in the coming upgrades before the launch later this year.
What I liked about this game was the massive maps and the Kill Zone planetary feel. Dust 514 offers a few good selections of vehicles to get around the massive maps. There are a few land vehicles and a gun ship with mounted cannons which I found one of my favorite things to use to get things done. However in order to survive Dust 514 you need to invest in a decent drop suit which is your armor. Your drop suit is your lifeline to staying alive otherwise you die from one bullet. The more upgrades and improvements you make to your suit the better your performance and endurance is. There are so many upgrades to purchase or to earn and so many suit customizations it seems endless. If you have a tricked out combo drop suit, you will definitely dominate in your game. Your suit enhancements are not endless, meaning that you use up your abilities as you play and have to restock the abilities in your suit when they run out. I got tired of it pretty quick, because sometimes all I wanted to do is just get into battle and not waste so much time worrying about restocking all the time.
In the beginning you will suffer a miserable punishment from players that purchased the merc packs or bought AUR (purchased game currency used to buy exclusive upgrades.) All weapons are crappy to use when you begin the game because you suffer a noob penalty meaning weapons don’t really work and it can take at least two full rounds to flatten your opponent. Big explosions are missing from the game which was surprising for a game loaded with big weapons, stationary turrets, different types of grenades and launchers. But never the less, the big weapons are still a whole lot of fun to use and will blow your enemy off the map.
As for weapons, there is a huge assortment to choose from side arms to swarm launches and high powered laser sniper rifles or assault weapons. The weapons handling is a bit clunky and old school but gets a lot better as you level up. Unfortunately what I did not like about the game was the ammo reloading. It not only is the slowest reload I have ever experienced leaving you dead on the reload but ammo also needs to be purchased before you go into battle. If you run out, you need to change your class. If your battle gets too heated and you are clean out of ammo, you are left spending the rest of the game with nothing but a knife.
Leveling up is not straight forward and takes time to figure it out because you need to earn skill points and customize your drop suit properly to get your game going. Dust 514 is one of the most difficult FPS I have played, if you can survive the learning curve of the game, you’re hooked and the intensity will be rewarding. You do need to give yourself plenty of time to learn the game or find a clan who will take you on and show you the ropes. You probably won’t see too many Jr’s playing Dust 514 because this is no kids game and players with higher levels and upgrades will punish you. Definitely download the game and without a doubt I recommend this to all FPS fans when it launches. The final release date for Dust 514 is set for late 2012 and at this moment not yet announced.
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