Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
BattleCry
We got hands-on time with BattleCry Studios' inaugural free-to-play multiplayer action title, and walked away impressed.
Bethesda announced BattleCry as a 32-player free-to-play action game back in May. Set in an alternate pre-WWI universe where gun powder has been banned by the world powers, BattleCry blends fast-paced swordplay, melee, and ranged combat in frenetic team-versus-team matches. Players choose to support one of three factions (the Royal Marines and Cossack Empire were available in our demo) which will feed into an overall meta-game conflict.
BattleCry will offer players five character classes at launch, but our hands-on demo only featured three. The Enforcer is a tank character and wields a massive sword that can also transform into a shield. The Duelist is a speedier dual-wielding sword master, who can temporarily cloak herself and perform a deadly phase strike. Finally, the Tech Archer can power up her ranged bow attacks and throw out daggers at nearby enemies.
I tried out the Enforcer and Duelist classes during our team deathmatch demo, and was struck by how swift and agile characters are on the battlefield. Every character can perform a rolling dodge move to help evade attacks during combat, and can also use grapple nodes and jump pads to quickly traverse the map. The hack-and-slash sword combat is broken up by the three unique abilities each character has. The Enforcer moves and swings at a slower pace, but can close the distance to enemies with a powerful lunge attack, and can fend off foes from all sides with a spinning whirlwind attack. The Duelist moved considerably faster, and I quickly came to rely on her cloaking ability to sneak up on unsuspecting foes before launching into a volley of attacks.
BattleCry also sports a unique art style, thanks to the design of Viktor Antonov, who worked on Half-Life 2 and Dishonored. The developer says that the team is inspired by graphic novels, but there's also a subtle brushstroke effect that appears on characters, and blood sprays out in thick, bright spurts.
I'm always skeptical of multiplayer-focused free-to-play action games, but I enjoyed what I played of BattleCry. The action is fast-paced but also felt fair, and required less twitch reflexes than cover-based shooters. Players can check the game out for themselves when BattleCry enters beta in 2015.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
