We had the chance to meet with the people of Infernum at this year’s Gamescom, who provided us with an insight into how their monster annihilating, robot crushing, zombie slaying shooter MMO Hazard Ops is progressing. Not taking itself too serious, the game is a humorous alternative to many other existing shooters, which doesn’t imply that Hazard Ops is absolutely fun to play. In contrast, we have to admit that it’s insanely fun while being easy to pick up and start playing and offering a wide variety of gameplay option ranging from player vs. player modes to player vs. environment campaigns that task players with teaming up with others in order to complete different missions on various maps.

During our appointment at the Infernum booth, we were able to have a look at the game’s latest content update, War of the Machines, which introduces an all-new player vs. player mode that allows gamers to control their own giant walking tanks and compete against others in brutal and action-packed battles.

Before entering the battlefield, participants are able to opt for a tutorial in order to learn how to get in and out of their war machine (which is possible while the battle is well underway), how to control their mech, how to use their weapons and their jet pack. Their mech’s loadout is completely customisable, though there are only limited options for customising the physical appearance at the moment, which developers consider to perhaps enhance in the future. Mercenaries may choose from various distinct mech chassis, ranging from slow but heavily armoured tanks to agile, light-armoured mechs, as well as a huge array of weapons to equip 2 alternating primary weapons.

We joined by 2 members of the Infernum team and participated in 3v3 battle against a random German team that was situated in another booth. Once everybody had loaded into the game, the action instantly began without any further delay and we found ourselves running and flying across the map to take on the opponent team and clash our rockets and automatic machine guns, which was quite thrilling.

Our jet pack was quite easy to use and similarly to control as in other MMOs with this feature; it could be powered until your power/ fuel was depleted, which then replenished over time. There moreover exists an invisible barrier that you can’t pass, as mechs are only able to reach a specific altitude.

The map was dotted with various boosters we were able to pick up in order to boost our speed or increase our damage. We worked together and quickly racked up points, but couldn’t shake off the opponents at our heels though. The combat features 2 quite ingenious elements: on the one hand, players are able to quickly evade/ sidestep incoming attacks; on the other, the lock-on with rockets is delayed, meaning players have to place their targeting reticule onto the enemy for several seconds to lock the target. As picking up your fallen enemies’ weapons is a great feature of the game’s other modes, we were eager to find out if we could also pick up any weapons when destroying opponent mechs.

Combat was swift and we quickly racked up kills, setting up a personal best of 9 kills in a row (which isn’t too bad for someone playing for the very first time). Needless to mention that we were killed several times as well; however, we were quite good in repairing our war machine, which always leaves the character tremendously vulnerable as you actually have to find an appropriate location and get out of the mech in order to repair it. In fact, it’s possible to leave your war machine and run around to only fight with your character’s weapons which aren’t quite as powerful but could be your very last option in order to continue the fight.

Our team death match ended after round about 15 action-packed minutes during which we managed to outdo the opponents and secured a pretty easy win. Already available for pre-order at the official webpage, this game mode undeniably complements the game’s combat style and humorous tone.

And in case you’re interested in finding out more about Hazard Ops, just activate the INFO button below.

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