Squad, Go Go Go!

Back in yonder days when I first started playing computer games, the one that really filled my childhood after-school hours was one called Army Men. Basically it was a shooter revolving around the green plastic men, where you would control one of them and shoot the other plastic dudes using a variety of guns, grenades and vehicles. Sadly the graphics of this classic did not stand the test of time, and I moved on to bigger and graphically better things. However, recently in a fit of nostalgia I decided to look this game up again, and while doing so came across the game Running with Rifles on Steam, made by indie studio Modulaatio Games. Described as a “tactical top-down shooter with RPG elements”, I had found a game that looked eerily similar to my past passion nd it didn’t look half bad! After checking out some videos, I knew I had to get it.

Finally, the end of exams came, I fired up Steam for the first time in a long time and spent my hard-earned cash on this gem. At a measly £11 I was well prepared to take the risk that this may be a dud since most good titles (and notably bad ones) usually cost a lot more than this. Furthermore in addition to the relative cheapness, I was also pleasantly surprised that this game also runs on Mac OS (in addition to Windows and Linux, so no excuses!) and it seemed that nothing stood in the way of me jumping straight in! Well, actually a alcohol fuelled night (which didn’t end well) forced me to postpone the playing of this game, but after overcoming my hangover the next day I finally managed to take this baby out for a run and I have to say that I am not disappointed.

Firstly let me give a bit of a description of what this game actually is. You are a soldier thrown into a variety of battles who is looking to win the fight for your chosen team, (greenbelts, brownpants or grey collars). As you fight you rank up allowing you to form a squad, buy better weapons and influence more of the battle with radio calls. These battles happen on about a dozen maps, which all a very distinctive feel to them. In terms of gameplay the game does what it says on the tin, consisting of you looking down at your little guy and controlling him using WASD and your mouse. You have unlimited ammo, but do still need to reload once your clip is empty. There are quite a few different weapons as well as gimmicks like a riot shield, that all have a distinctive feel about them and allow you to switch up your style according to how you want to play. Furthermore there are several types of vehicles for a quick transport (as well as handy weapon to run over enemies!)

The art style is really distinctive, namely because of the fact that it is really simplistic and cartoony. It really does set itself apart from other things around, and definitely will stand the test of time. This graphical style also allows it to run comfortably on most computers for a super smooth game-play experience.

So now to my personal impression. When I first started the game up I decided to skip the tutorial (like I always do if possible) and jumped straight into a single-player battle. It took me a surprisingly little amount of time (albeit several embarrassing deaths) to learn the controls and finally have an impact on the battle. From the off, rather than feeling like I was just in some tiny skirmish I actually really felt like I was in a battle with hundreds of soldiers, bullets flying around and tanks crushing hapless innocents which I have only really felt in one other game, Planetside 2. This really drew me in and it was quite fascinating watching the ebb and flow of the conflict. The first battle which I played (which unfortunately we lost) took about an hour and I was completely engrossed the entire time. I also loved the outbursts from the enemies and allies alike that went along the lines of “OMG Grenade!” etc. It definitely was a nice touch and gave me a chuckle which can never go amiss! After messing about with the single-player modes, including different maps, different game modes and the single-player campaign I was really impressed, and I will definitely be spending more time in the world of running with rifles.

However, these days only single-player games rarely make it far, so I was keen to test out the multi-player aspect, something I feel like this game could pull of really well. This is the one part of the game where I was not happy. Not really the fault of the game devs or the game itself, but there weren’t actually that many people online to play with. This could have several factors, for example namely that it is predominantly being played by Americans who were asleep at the time I tried my luck or a lack of a popular interest. The server I did try, which had about 10 guys, really was enjoyable but with the lack of numbers there was a need for computer guys, meaning it actually still felt like a single-player map. Yet, thinking about it the game just came out so I am not really worried about this aspect and definitely hope that once more people find out about Running with Rifles more people will play online leading to a healthy amount of servers allowing for more options.

One last pet peeve, which is really so minor I feel incredibly petty for mentioning it, is the lack of steam achievements! I love steam achievements, as they give me something to aim for in the game and gives them some longevity, however the game devs seem super friendly and I think this will most likely be a feature implemented in the future.

All in all I have to say, if you just finished your exams, are currently revising or alternatively have nothing really better to do I would give this a game a definite look. For the price you are getting a really fun and enjoyable experience that will definitely take you past the 20/30 hour mark. Furthermore it will run great on almost anything, so you won’t have to upgrade your rig if its slightly older. Now I am off, back to relive the memories of Army men and make some new ones in Running with Rifles!

Running with Rifles is currently available on steam for Windows, Mac OS X and linux for £10.99.