Why oh why do
certain games even come out? Wait a second, I know the answer to that
question. Money. But with Splat Magazine Renegade Paintball the question has
to be asked again. Did I miss the trend where paintball has become the newest
sensation in video games? The redneck roots in me want to run around a wooded
area with a gun shooting at people with paint pellets. Simulating the same
experience on my PC isn’t at the top of priority list. In fact when compared to
other First Person Shooters (FPS) games on the market Splat Magazine Renegade
Paintball is shooting with an empty loader.
At first
appearance the game looks similar to other FPS games. You have several
different stages to play on (thirteen total), online multiplayer options (via
the internet or LAN) and a single player career mode that offers 28 different
challenges. Several real life paintball players are included in the game for
you to choose. The game even throws in the ability to switch between a first
person and third person perspective. You can change the view on the fly at
anytime during gameplay. Just to make sure you’re never bored with the maps
you can even create your own levels with the included level editor. All of
these pieces sum up to be the necessary requirements for a modern FPS game.
The gameplay is
the classic FPS style where you run around and shoot (paintballs not bullets)
people. The game even includes classic modes gamers have played before in other
FPS games: Capture the Flag, Deathmatch and King of the Hill. Other modes in
the game include Center Flag, Arcade and Elimination. Center Flag is where the
flag is located in the middle of the stage and in order to score you must bring
the flag to your base (or the enemy’s base). Team Elimination places you on a
team of three players and when you’re eliminated you teleport to the next
available person on your team. Once all of the players on your team have been
eliminated the round is over. You can think of it as a 1 vs. 3 deathmatch where
you have three chances to take out the three enemy characters. The Arcade mode
is deathmatch but with bonus items scattered throughout the stages to
supercharge your renegade paintball experience.
Regrettably the
gameplay doesn’t equal or surpass all of the necessary requirements. The
biggest issue I noticed with the game had to be the AI of the computer
characters. It seems that pinpoint accuracy is something that the computer was
able to pull off at a moment’s notice regardless of location on the stage. Even
with the difficulty set to the easiest setting the computer was still hitting me
like I was standing in the middle of the stage with a big red bullseye on my
chest. Mind you I wasn’t standing still, I was running, jumping and ducking as
much as possible but out of nowhere I was getting hit.
Sometimes the
computer-controlled characters must have forgotten their programming because I
would run right up to them, stand there for a few seconds and then hit them with
a paintball. I guess my monkey dance moves trying to avoid the bullseye hits
blinded them long enough for them to want to admire me for a few moments.
These AI issues just help in creating an unbalanced gaming experience where you
never know how the computer will react (either cheating or acting dumb).
Playing games can help create skills that can be used in the “real world”, which
as a reminder is away from the keyboard or controller. I’m confident my real
life paintball skills didn’t increase because I played Renegade Paintball. Oh,
you should know that I’ve never played paintball either.
The graphics in
the game were acceptable and get the job done. This isn’t a technical showcase
game such as Doom III or Half-Life 2 and most of the stages are lacking any
significant detail in the gaming areas. The backgrounds on a few of the stages
actually surpass the detail found in the gaming arena. The framerate was steady
and consistent throughout the majority of the game. The characters all looked
similar to each other since they were dressed in the same attire (helmets and
paintball pants/chest gear). One problem I did notice with the graphics even
effected the gameplay. The characters would sometimes float through walls and
other objects during the game. I ran into several occurrences of this problem
where I could see an enemy behind a wall but then he would pop out on the other
side of the wall.
To sum it up for
this review Splat Renegade Paintball isn’t the game that will keep you coming
back for more. I would guess to say that even if you’re a paintball fan that
this game probably isn’t for you. The AI problems almost made the game
completely unplayable. I should mention that I did run into a problem with the
game crashing. I had this problem happen every time I played. I was only able
to play for maybe ten minutes before the game would shut down and I was back in
Windows. The best part of the game for me was the level editor. The editor
isn’t even covered in the manual but it was a solid editor that allowed you to
create new levels from scratch or update existing levels.
Gameplay 5.0
Completely
unbalanced because of the AI problems. One minute the computer is a super
solider the next minute a complete idiot.
Graphics 6.0
Besides some
collision problems the graphics worked well in the game. Several of the arenas
were very plain in looks while others were more extravagant in detail (such as
the bunker and castle stages).
Sound 5.2
The same guitar
heavy tracks played constantly throughout the game. I love heavy guitars but
the same tracks were looped repeatedly. Periodically you would hear the
characters talking but nothing spectacular or too repetitive. The sound of
hearing a paintball gun firing just doesn’t compare to oh let’s say a chaingun.
Difficulty
Easy/Medium
Even with the
crazy AI you shouldn’t have much of problem completing the levels in the game.
Some of the single player levels can be a tiny bit difficult but nothing too
bad.
Concept 5.0
It seems I’ve
missed the boat on the paintball trend. Playing this game doesn’t give me any
ideas of jumping on the bandwagon. This is just a plain FPS game that you’ve
played already.
Multiplayer
N/A
The game offers
multiplayer via internet or LAN but I was unable to test this feature of the
game. There was no one online when I would login to the game.
Overall 5.3
I understand the
motivation to capitalize on a growing market. I’ve mentioned it in other game
reviews that if one game does well expect to see clones of that game released by
other companies. It’s the nature of the business and it’s a common practice for
all businesses. For Splat Magazine Renegade Paintball imitation isn’t enough to
make the game a “great” game.
