REDSEC Battlefield Review – IGN
You recognize one thing went improper when one of the best mode in Battlefield 6’s Battle Royale-focused spin-off, Battlefield REDSEC, is one which is not a Battle Royale in any respect. Whereas REDSEC takes notes from different members of the army battle on the bottom, it doesn’t deliver a lot innovation to what has already been labored on. The destructible environments and highly effective instruments of the in any other case thrilling multiplayer look like an ideal match for the style, however REDSEC’s comparatively shallow execution simply did not draw me in the way in which Fortnite’s cartoonish mayhem and electrifying occasions did, nor did it separate itself from PUBG: Dubty or Warzone of. As an alternative, I’ve had extra enjoyable when its map is used to push the restrict past the ever-shrinking storm obligatory within the team-based, elimination-driven Gauntlet mode, which cleverly embodies the mission construction hidden inside the streamlined familiarity of Battle Royale.
You recognize the drill: you and a teammate drop into a large map within the quickly flashing eye of a devastating storm. Within the case of REDSEC, a closing plume of charcoal clouds streaked with scarlet neon surrounds a fictional army base in Southern California referred to as Fort Lyndon. Looting Lyndon’s ruined shops and shipyards for something you could find, your crew should battle their option to be the final one standing. EA clearly believes that if it ain’t broke, do not repair it, and I can not blame them for that.
Stuffed with memorable areas with names just like the golf course and the lighthouse, there are every kind of sniping vantage factors and slender corridors to take down. And with destructible terrain and a seemingly limitless provide of artillery and airstrikes, these locations generally tend to “lev-olate” into skeletons of bombed armor or collapse utterly (I discovered this the comically arduous approach after dying on the ceiling). This combine of various battlefields creates a balanced and tense frenzy inside every named location, particularly in matches with four-player squads. Even the dusty roads and grim topography in between do a very good job of retaining issues balanced, with loads of hills and valleys or scattered vans and small buildings providing safety from enterprising shooters.
However when cowl fails, you will get a second likelihood should you go down early sufficient within the battle and your teammate does not revive you in time. This comes full with a second drop (in your teammate in the event that they’re nonetheless kicking, or on a random spot should you’re each worn out inside seconds of one another), and you may have to retrieve your gear and consumables from there. I like which you could additionally make the timed reset work in your favor as a result of you possibly can goal particular pickups out of your parachute that weren’t there when the match began.
Battlefield 6’s class system interprets properly to a Battle Royale, with every of the 4 lessons providing one thing helpful. I might normally persist with the versatile Assault class that focuses on assault rifles as a result of it has one of the best powers for finishing REDSEC missions mid-match, however every class shines in its personal approach. The Engineer class appears extra helpful at first look, as a result of it could restore automobiles identical to in essential mode, in addition to use its igniter to open particular weapon lockers which might be in any other case locked. However the Recon and Help lessons every supply their very own advantages as properly, particularly in a four-player squad.
Courses apart, REDSEC’s Battle Royale modes truly dwarf the chaos and pleasure of Battlefield 6’s premium modes, spreading the insanity throughout a large map. Its 100-man lobs are about 50% bigger than the 64-man in an All-Out Warfare match, however Fort Lyndon is certainly extra than 50% bigger than the common Battlefield 6 map. This math does not do REDSEC any favors. Out of the blue, loopy, advanced sequences with collapsing buildings and automobile encounters lose their chaotic pleasure as a result of the open map provides you extra locations to run and conceal. In consequence, REDSEC does not have a lot to set it other than different army battle royales. Its robust “reasonable” nature could also be a part of the enchantment for anybody seeking to keep away from being attacked by Nicki Minaj or Homer Simpson, however nobody will mistake tactical aesthetics for persona. It appears to be like like this might be another huge price range army shooter tailored right into a Battle Royale.
Fortunately, REDSEC’s compelling mission construction takes a rewarding stab at different army creeps. They’re type of just like the missions and bounties you will discover in Fortnite, however with higher rewards and extra assorted challenges. Auto-populating in your map menu after the primary few seconds of every match, you are normally offered with three missions, however these choices can lower because the spherical goes on. The rewards (and dangers of attracting others) that include every mission, alternatively, stay constantly precious and well-communicated. They will supply helpful issues like weapon improve packs, one-off skills like devastating airstrikes and UAV surveillance drones that detect enemy areas, battle move XP, and highly effective weapons. I like how clear REDSEC makes all of the mission rewards. After all, it does not specify which weapon (and even weapon kind) will drop from a mission, however weapons exterior of my choice nonetheless made an enormous distinction.
Even with different uncooperative companions, these irresistible rewards motivated me to plant the bombs and seize the factors wanted to earn them. This appears to be REDSEC’s secret sauce: each mission within the sport seems like clockwork after a couple of seconds, requiring only some button presses to disclose the following goal. Counting on traditional army FPS targets like babysitting a planted bomb or retrieving an essential file so you possibly can relay its sign again to residence base, these smaller grievances add welcome order and route to the frenetic tempo of battlefield conquest. Some, like setting off a bomb, will reveal your location with a big crimson marker on the screens of close by enemies and match that with an equally loud siren alerting opponents of your location.
But when your loadout is not battle-ready and also you’re nervous about bumping into different gamers, there are extra methods to get higher gear. Along with the usual loot choice, weapons, armor and different helpful pickups will randomly drop from the sky. Customized weapon drops create probably the most helpful and fascinating drops, providing you with entry to one in all your customized weapons from the usual multiplayer modes of Battlefield 6. I like that these drops work as soon as per participant, slightly than giving a crew their trusty sniper or assault rifle, however it nearly looks like a microcosmic participation trophy as an alternative of rewarding groups that deal with these pictures as push targets robust and defeat others.
REDSEC does not supply sufficient to do between wiping out enemy squads and looting military-themed chests in comparison with a few of its contemporaries, however the map-driven context of every mission provides spontaneity and technique to the methods you possibly can full a mission. For instance, enterprise a bomb placement mission whenever you’re near the gradual, non-threatening firestorm closing in round you possibly can distract anybody from a harmful unfold that places them proper on the sting of the billowing wall of smoke.
In distinction, Gauntlet mode utterly eliminates the storm because it expands every of those further targets into full sport modes. It pits a handful of four-player groups in opposition to one another to rack up probably the most factors for every goal, and even throws a couple of additional eventualities into the combo, totaling eight totally different sport sorts. I believe my favourite is the zone management mode, the place every crew is competing for a small hex part of the map that has its personal satellite tv for pc dish to take over. There are 15 to compete, making every spherical a chaotic and messy battle for dominance that rewards several types of play relying on which a part of the map you are preventing.
Gauntlet additionally neatly understands that some folks simply wish to play each mode as Deathmatch, and weights factors accordingly with kills and revives contributing to the scoreboard. And to make issues extra aggressive, all factors are doubled within the final minute of every fast spherical, stopping any crew from utterly operating away with victory. Excessive-performing gamers from in any other case shedding groups can be reassigned to groups whose teammates defect, including additional reward and incentive to do properly.
The mode and goal will change over the course of 4 rounds in whole, with the 2 lowest performing groups out of eight groups eradicated every spherical till solely two stay for a ultimate showdown that performs out like a mini Battlefield match. Roaming round varied named areas inside Fort Lyndon, Gauntlet finally ends up working nearly extra like an excellent cross between Fall Guys and a squad-based, free-for-all model of conventional Battlefield than the uninspired battle royale that homes it.
