

Do you carry extra grenades or fully invest in useful attachments for your primary weapon? The many combinations for each class encourage experimentation before you settle on a favorite loadout.Įach of the three competitive multiplayer modes focuses strictly on attacking or defending control points. All the weapons and attachments are unlocked from the start, but your loadout is limited by weight so you have to make some tough choices. Developer New World Interactive smartly limits the number of players who can use the most powerful classes, which prevents matches from becoming frustrating due to too many snipers or rocket spamming. A few, like the commander and observer, have critical responsibilities, but the rest basically break down by weapon type. But if you embrace this more realistic combat and operate like your life is on the line, Insurgency comes alive.īefore you drop into a match, you must choose one of the eight classes. Those who prefer the more arcade-like approach to military games may find the lack of these quality-of-life systems frustrating. With no kill confirmations, you won’t even know whether you killed that soldier hiding behind cover until you see the dead body yourself. Grenades don’t have indicators when they land near your position, and the lack of mini-maps and killcams means snipers with good hiding spots don’t need to relocate. Bullets are deadly, and no medics are standing by to miraculously revive you after being downed.


Insurgency is the old-school mercenary who fills that void for those craving the punishing realism of yesteryear. This tactical shooter demands precision and rewards teamwork, but it also expects you to do your homework and survive without the conveniences of modern shooters.Īs the years have gone by, tactical shooters like Rainbow Six and Battlefield have slowly sanded away the rough edges from their spartan foundations to become more streamlined, bombastic, and inclusive.

The rest of us spot the muzzle fire and rain revenge, securing the objective and completing the improbable comeback.Īt its best, Insurgency: Sandstorm capably delivers heroic moments like these, where the tension would suffocate if it weren’t for the equal dose of adrenaline rushing through your veins. The room erupts with gunfire and two comrades grouped closely together shriek their last breaths, but their deaths are not in vain. My finger hangs deliberately over the mouse button ready to unload, but they fire first. As the smoke begins to clear, we stare unblinkingly into the corners of the bullet-riddled room in hopes of spotting the last few defenders before they see us. The rest of us pop smoke grenades to cover our movement before infiltrating the building housing the objective. After flanking the control point with his observer to find a good vantage point, he orders gunship support to pick off exposed snipers and drive the remaining enemies indoors. Rather than desperately charging headlong into the fire zone like lambs to the slaughter, before we respawn our commander urges the squad to hang back as he coordinates one last-ditch attempt to capture the objective. With our reinforcements depleted and the enemy firmly entrenched in its defensive positions, the outcome of this battle looks bleak.
