Breach is a surprisingly great downloadable title. In an era dominated by arcade military shooters, such as Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, you would think there is little room for an independent modern warfare shooter. Thankfully, Breach takes a different approach to the genre, going back to the more tactical, slower paced battles that made older FPS games so great.
The first thingBreach is a surprisingly great downloadable title. In an era dominated by arcade military shooters, such as Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, you would think there is little room for an independent modern warfare shooter. Thankfully, Breach takes a different approach to the genre, going back to the more tactical, slower paced battles that made older FPS games so great.
The first thing that caught my attention is the slower pace of the game. Many modern military shooters have turned into run-and-gun titles, often waving aside the need for planning and tactics. In Breach, players are forced to move methodically through the map and make good use of cover. Sprinting around willy nilly will result in a very quick death.
Breach achieves this slower pace by altering some key mechanics. The standard health bar is brought back into action instead of regenerative health. Players are no longer bullet sponges. If you get shot and somehow survive, you deal with it. There is no magic healing once you find cover. This forces the user to slow down and become more aware of their environment, knowing that a wrong move is likely instant death. Additionally, there are quite a few open spaces within the maps, making them a great playground for snipers. You can try running around in the open if you like, but it probably will not end well.
Do not get me wrong though. This is not a game where you turtle around either, taking an hour to get from one side to another. There is still quite a bit of action going overall. You only have a limited time to get objectives taken care of, so it becomes a balance of patience and urgency, knowing when to make the right moves.
The game offers five different gameplay modes that you would expect most shooters these days to have. There is your standard team deathmatch, convoy (escort mission), infiltration (capture and hold), retrieval (capture the flag), and sole survivor. There is the addition of a hardcore mode, which is what makes this game truly come alive. This removes your crosshairs, hud, and essentially forces you to pay attention to all that is going on. Overall, the gameplay is decent and engaging. It is what you would expect from your standard shooter, only a bit less forgiving than other similar titles.
The mouse controls started out on the iffy side, but they have since been patched up by the developers, feeling very tight and spot on. The original sluggish feeling is completely gone. The only other issue is sometimes I am unable to attach myself to a wall immediately after leaving it, which has resulted in a few silly deaths, but overall it has not been a major issue.
The biggest selling point though for Breach is that of destructible environment. Since the game was announced, this has been the prominent feature displayed to the public. Here, you can destroy walkways, bridges, walls, small buildings, and chip away at larger structures. The game does a decent job in succeeding at this. I have had to relocate often due to losing key cover, and I have often cut off paths from the enemy by destroying certain walkways. Then there are the moments where you breach through a wall with your team, surprising the other and wiping them out completely.
However, this feature is still not fully fleshed out at this time. While you can destroy structures, you cannot destroy smaller trees that may be in your way. When it comes to breaching a concrete wall, you can only do so in specified places. This keeps some maps fairly predictable, primarily those with tunnels and only two breach points at each end. So while the destructible environment exists, there are still some limitations that can provide for some minor frustrations.
As for the visuals of Breach, they are nothing spectacular. The graphics are below that of many other modern military shooters, but they are by no means terrible either. They are of a decent level. Personally I have had little issue with the graphics, other than they seem a little washed out or bland at times. There are currently some glitches with the animations regarding cover though, but these are being patched out as we speak.
One of the bigger disappointments with Breach is the audio. I have little idea what these weapons sound like in real life, but going by my own assumptions, they sound very underpowered. There is little satisfaction when firing them, and they could be much improved. There is also a peculiar issue with footsteps. I have not seen any other complaints about this as of yet, but personally, my footsteps always sound slightly at a distance. This is fairly distracting, as I keep thinking it is an enemy trying to sneak up on me. The audio could use a little more work, in my opinion.
Overall though, despite some shortcomings, I find myself enjoying this title. It is rough around the edges, but the slower and methodical game pacing is very attractive to me, and a great throwback to older FPS military shooters.… Expand
Breach (2011)Your Score0 out of 10User Score
