168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Helldivers 2 unlocked a long-suppressed memory of Capcom's third-person shooter Lost Planet nearly as soon as I turned it on. Surprisingly, it didn’t trigger any memories of the original Helldivers, which we all played once or twice back when PS Plus gave it out for free years ago. Remember that? Me neither. But there are worse 𓃲games to be reminded of than an explosive sci-fi shooter.

In dangerous conditio♍ns filled with even more dangerous enemies, you descend into a hostile environment with no assurance of survival - in fact, assurance of demise is much more probable in this satirical approach to space-led, gun-fairing democracy for Super Earth. Inspiration from the likes of Sta𒁃rship Troopers is proudly evident in the tone, and if everyone does their part, each mission will probably, most likely, almost definitely be a success. Maybe.

To that effect, the game is not easy. Despite its joke-heavy intro and goofy voice lines beꦚing shouted out in the midst of combat, Helldivers 2 is a pretty deep squad-based shooter - certainly in terms of the mechanics it offers. Call in Stratagems like air strikes and support weapons on the fly; don’t reload too early for fear of wasting unfired ammo; watch out for… everything, as injury will make you more vulnerable, in a hostile environment where you’re already acutely aware of your impending doom.

I was not expecting anywhere near this level of depth from Helldivers 2. I thought it🔯 would be, in every sense, a cover shooter with lots of explosions. While explosions are plentiful, cover is no option in the face of swarms of ali𝐆en bugs and huge robots with pinpoint accurate rocket launchers.

You’ll dive onto the ground and desperately open fire, only to find your gun has run dry, and you’ll call down support in the forms of supply drops and air strikes in the hopes that it will give you even a brief moment to breathe. It’s made more hectic when to call those Stratagems in, as they require you to input a PS2 era cheat code-esque combination of directional inputs while you fight for survival. Remember not to stand directly where those pods are going to 🍰land, either. That hurts.

After running the brief yet hilarious training course, I jumped straight into some missions. The first mission you do is on Easy, and completing it will unlock the next, more challenging level of difficulty. Easy missions aren’t just easier in terms of stats, they’re simpler, while higher꧂ difficulties will ask more complex objectives, will take you to more hostile environments, or mꦦay even ask you to complete more with less time - as each mission already comes with a time limit before you have to be ready for extraction. Playing solo is certainly an option, but unless you really hate yourself, I’d suggest sticking with other players.

There’s🔯 nothing 🍨like saluting your fellow comrades right before being torn apart by giant bugs.

Missions take place on various p♛lanetary surfaces, four of which are accessible right now with more to come as the game’s Galactic War progresses. Each is unique, has its own flora and fauna hazards, and can even throw weather conditions and time of day complications into the mix. There are seemingly tons of planets available, but this all depends on where the G𒉰alactic War is at that moment in time, which is where the game’s true live-service nature comes in.

When selecting a mission, you’ll see the planetary map broken into sectors surrounding Super Earth - your one mission: make sure no Terminids or Automa💎ton forces make it to your glorious home planet. Select a sector, pick a planet, and join your fellow comrades in taking on missions to push back the enemy in the name of d✤emocracy.

Currently, I’ve only played alongside strangers via matchmaking, which had a rough first day when the game launched last week. No one could connect and direct multiplayer with friends was the only way to go. But since the second day, I’ve had a much smoother time. As soon as I started playing alongside other Helldivers, th✤e game became even more enjoyable. Dropping in, gearing up, pinging the map to plan a route, and fighting alongside other players🐽 cooperatively pulls you right into the action, and you feel like others have your back while you watch theirs. There’s nothing like saluting your fellow comrades right before being torn apart by giant bugs.

Aside from the resources you get from completing objectives, you’ll also need to explore and collect Samples while o🍃ut on missions - if you have the time, that is. Some missions might be just 12 minutes, whereas others may be closer to🍷 an hour. On longer excursions, you can take a quick look around for unknown locations, all of which have the chance to hold ammo, stims for healing, and Samples to collect. And when it comes to desperate survival from horribly hostile swarms, you’ll never turn down a free stim and some extra ammo.

While out and about, you can ping points of interest on your map or in your vi✱ew - whether f🧔or your own direction, or for directing teammates. I’ve always loved the pinging in multiplayer games, and in Helldivers 2, it’s as dynamic as ever, calling out to a location in the distance or suggesting a direction to head next to your squad - something I can only appreciate more as someone who plays with no voice chat.

Between these missions, you’ll be onboard your ship🔯, where you’ll access the galaxy ma🍃p, prepare for missions, and switch out your gear and loadouts. You can also upgrade your ship modules, which can not only boost your chances of success - or just survival - but you can also unlock new Stratagems, as these are called down from your ship when you’re out and about in absolute chaos. Call in new support weapons, automated turrets, or just a barrage of bombarding missiles from above.

Gear can be bought in a couple of ways. You can use medals you earn from missions, milestones, and otherꦦ objectives to purchase armor, weapons, emotes, cosmetics, and the like, from a progressing Battle Pass-style store for unlocking extra gear, with new pages and sets planned for the future. The other way to purchase is with Super Credits, which are optional microtransactions. Luckily, the store is not so huge that you’re missing out if you don’t spend, and with ways to earn Super Credits in small amounts and use in-game medals for the majority of the good stuff, these purchases don’t feel super imposing. For now, at least, but I would hope it remains that way. I’m all for earnable currencies and cool looking things, but pay-to-win is a fine line these days.

There is some semblance of peace in the fact the devs have promised to "never" force pla♔yers to buy mic💜rotransactions, but the hesitation is inset at this point.

After all of this, I got what I was expecting from the game: a damn fun time. What I didn’t expect, however, is to be thinking about it so much after each game, wanting to dive right back into hell with others alongside me. I can’t wait to get better at the game, face bigger threats, to see what planets this galaxy holds, and just what each planet will throw my way. I’m not one to often fall into multiplayer experiences, but even with a quic🍬kly-resolved rocky launch, Helldivers 2 is a strong and careful foundation for the beginnings of a flagship multiplayer experience of 2024 and, if it bears the strength of its launch, into the years to come.