Being a level 80, 2/3 Predator, 1/3 Fire Team game time player. What can I say, I love playing the Predator, I’m a real life hunter, and it’s play style is more attractive to me. Illfonic is definitely onto something here, this game is flipping incredible with loads of potential and expansion possibilities in the months to come.
Aside from three maps, the menu screen being trash with all the bugs and lag (for now). Predators stealth somewhat lacking (tweak the cloaking and stomping), and a few misguided nerfs (Plasma Caster) and a removal cough impact grenades. I assume illfonic has their social distancing-working from home-developers getting these bugs fixed and issues reversed (and then tested) during this pandemic. Before uploading their next update most ricky-tick to keep whiny people playing. But otherwise 1.06 is ok, it feels pretty good.
Anyways, how satisfying is it to crawl within inches of players and freeze, only to seconds later completely demolish them with a combistick or wrist blades? Or sit in a tree, with heat vision on and watch and learn about how your enemy Fire Team moves through their first objective? Did someone run off on their own, and can I kill him safely right now? It could even out their four gun firepower, so I can lessen the damage I take for about the next five minutes. Before they get reinforcements. (Please change this to one guy back at a time and only having what they died with in their inventory. With a max of three respawns for the whole team per game). Is this team playing aggressive or defensive? Should I have used my Berserker over my '87 Jungle Hunter, or my scout with his range (🤷🏻♂️). Will they try to hunt me down at some point. Who covers who? What weapons are they carrying? What is the best strategy to effectively harass them all while looking at the map and trying to guess their next direction of travel to place traps. Amidst all of that, you ARE harassing them with your plasma caster or disc, just a little bit, to let them know, I know where you are, and will at any moment, come down, turn you into a corn dog with my combistick, and disappear like panties on prom night.
While the Predator is doing all of that, the Fire Team is constantly needing to be cognizant of their body temperature, the world’s dumbest AI, firing at you, (or into the air like it’s Cinco de Mayo 🤦🏻♂️), and the Predator who you know is out there, because you bought a game to either play as him, or think you can kill him. And some of you do, at least the really decent teams. I say decent teams, because you don’t have to be great to win as the Fire Team. You need to communicate, (with headsets, they cost 20 bucks, buy them, use them, you bought an online multiplayer team game) and tell each other everything you’re seeing and doing. Go slowly through the objective and grab everything you can find because there’s no such thing as infinite first aid kits and ammo for your weapon laying all over the jungle anymore, and gear is heavy in combat (thank you). You have 15 minutes, is there any side missions I can get more loot out of. Stay together, AND TEAM SHOOT THE PREDATOR, to push him out should he probe your defensive perimeter. Search for ammo that drops from enemies, or gems to buy stuff you want. Because you need to slow down and enjoy this game.
Experience the thrill of thinking about your survival, and getting to the choppa alive, then the potato’s life who is supposed to be helping you get there.The Fire Team can make mistakes in this stage, so can the Predator, you have time to regroup and rethink your strategy. You can turn the game around at any point, just like a real firefight. Then its on to your next objective, and the ramping up of the fight.
During the second phase the Predator at this point should be unleashing well timed attacks into the backs of the file of troopers silently moving through the jungle, who are looking in the trees because they know you can be anywhere. Or stealthily jumping in to give the AI a significant firepower boost and getting the stealth kill because your plasma caster with dithered lens knocked down their health super low and their out of syringes (and you earned it). Did you cache enough dead pigs around the map in case you really freakin need them because a sniper (who isn’t using aimbot or wallhacks) just made one hell of a shot while dodging a fully charged plasma caster.
Then it’s run your ass off time, because whoever’s left needs to defend that landing zone for at least two minutes (regardless of what’s on the clock, because no special ops team with delays ever gets their evac in 30 seconds, or on time for that matter. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about). Because that big bastard is on your heels. Can you fight the AI and the Predator, and hold your ground, or is it game over because he picked two of you off. Did you actually play as a team and not stray too far from each other? Maybe he cuts all of you down and gets that nice achievement, or maybe one of you runs off and just makes it to the rope in time only to see me dance with your Fire Team’s spines in my hands.
But hey, these are just my thoughts, what are yours?