PREDATOR ANALYSIS: HORSES – Instead of surviving in the forest, escape to the hills

With a name that’s not easy to write, Arnold Schwarzenegger printed movie posters in the 1980s bringing to life not only Terminator, but also Dutch, the soldier who stars in the first Predator movie. More than 30 years later, the actor is now known as a former California governor, and his rival in the eighty-first movie is the highlight of one of the major April 2020 game releases: the asymmetric multiplayer. Predator: Hunting grounds.

Developed by Illfonic, the company behind Friday the 13th, the game presented in one of the first editions of the State of Play conference went through several fairs, including the Brazil Game Show. Additionally, the game had a big beta a month before its release, which ensured more public comment and formula improvements, putting four soldiers to battle the alien hunter.

The game is now available for purchase on PS4 and the Epic Games Store, and after a week of intense gaming, we are counting on whether it is worth investing in the Predator game. Check out the review!

Focus on multiplayer mode

When you think of Predator’s career in the entertainment industry, it’s not difficult to imagine the villain in an asymmetric multiplayer. Using his experience with the game on Friday the 13th, Illfonic translated the franchise’s beginnings into a game that puts four players incorporating soldiers on missions in the woods, with a fifth player taking on the role of hunter.

Considering that the essence of the 1987 movie is exactly that, a special team chased by the Predator, it is not very difficult to hit the part of the game. On the other hand, the simple application of a formula that works in a 107-minute movie is not a guarantee of success for a game that costs R $ 150 on PlayStation 4 and even requires subscription to PlayStation Plus.

For a balanced game, it is necessary to have four soldiers and a fifth player assuming the role of Predator.

In Predator: Hunting Grounds, the entire content revolves around the clashes between the team of soldiers and the Predator. In total, the game has three arenas in which fights take place, which last a maximum 15 minutes. Following the environment present in the original movie, the four soldiers are sent to the unknown environment to complete a series of missions, which tell the location and even the dubbing in our language. However, when they get there, the guerrillas are not the only enemies found: an alien hunter hides in the forest and thirsts for the blood of the players.

In terms of soldiers, the game has a lot of variety in the missions, but they have no connections and are only there to move players: each quarter-hour game brings objectives to be met on the map, which generally brings an open area . , with dense vegetation, mud puddles and an interesting aspect in general. The strategic points on the map are full of AI controlled enemies, who are there to hinder the team of players in their tasks.

As the name of the game indicates, Predator is the main attraction

At various times, the gameplay is very similar to what we have in the advanced missions of Far Cry 5, in which the player must stealthily invade a base and annihilate the enemies. However, in the Illfonic game, stealth elements are virtually non-existent and targets are more elaborate, helping to create dynamics with the main attraction: the Predator.

While the four players who assume the role of soldiers are doing missions, a fifth participant assumes the role of Yautja and needs to annihilate the humans. As a predator, it is possible to use the main tools of the character, from thermal vision to classic weapons, such as the spear and smart discs. However, all this does not come with a drop of narrative and the villain is only there to collect skulls.

That said, don’t expect any single-player experience in the game or a deeper storyline, as Hunting Grounds’ full focus is on competitive asymmetric multiplayer.

Gameplay

Despite being limited to a set of maps with missions that follow the same pattern, 15-minute matches may offer dynamics please. To ensure balance in the four-on-one match, the protagonist of the game has plenty of life and powerful abilities. The player assuming the role of Predator has a generous energy bar that guarantees the use of abilities such as camouflage, audio and thermal sensors, as well as classic weapons from the character’s arsenal. Using these tools, the hunter must find and annihilate the opponents before they reach their targets and reach the helicopter.

Among the content delivered in the game, gameplay with Predator is the most original and innovative. Yautja takes advantage of the verticality of the forest landscape and can climb trees and buildings with ease, thanks to the jump and parkour mechanics. In the offensive part, the character has heavy hits and a diverse set of classic weapons, which can be unlocked in the game’s progression system, plus a healing pistol, which can be used after a waiting period.

Most of the time, the game with soldiers is governed by a generic shooting system, but it comes with a lot of action. The map with dense vegetation and several scattered buildings is populated by artificial intelligence that is a bit silly, but that manages to hinder during decisive moments. To ensure diversity for the group of players and prevent the Predator from memorizing the actions of humans, the title also has a varied set of missions, with objectives that make the team move to different locations, ensuring fast but dynamic matches. .

Mud is the main game tool for soldiers.

The highlight of the human gameplay is due to the main functionality inspired by the original film of the franchise: the use of mud. The team of four players can play Dutch and get dirty with clay to escape the Predator’s thermal sensor, gaining a stealthy advantage against the hunter and also against AI enemies. Using mechanics requires the hunter to perform more detailed searches and pay attention to the sound of gunshots and alarms to find soldiers. When users play in a group and enjoy the surroundings, the fight against the big man is quite fierce and full of exciting moments.

Even offering a working experience, the game still doesn’t take full advantage of its intellectual property and leaves something to be desired. Mud is not only the primary stealth weapon of soldiers, it is also the only one. Among all the arsenal that can be unlocked, the squad of soldiers no longer has stealth-oriented mechanisms, such as traps to surprise and incapacitate the Predator. You can’t even have a Claymore or a land mine. With the exception of exceptions such as distraction weapons, which can be useful in escapes, the game pushes players into a brute force fight against the deadly machine.

In this context of direct confrontation, players can achieve different results, such as the predator killing everyone, the team escaping, or the monster being shot down and its body transported for investigation. However, the most exciting ending is inspired by the movie: before he dies, the hunter can activate a bomb on your wrist and explode, taking enemies that are nearby. The difference here is due to the possibility of soldiers taking the bomb apart, only quickly decipher a code in Yautja language. Among everything that happens in asymmetric multiplayer, this is by far the most exciting moment.

Looking solely at the concept, Predator: Hunting Grounds can apply certain aspects of the character’s mythology and offer simple and fun gameplay, especially among friends. However, the game is hampered by some stones along the way, which are present in the content and even at the very base of the title.

Matchmaking and progression

Although the Predator stamps the cover and title of the Illfonic game, the first major villain faced by all players in Hunting Grounds is the lobby screen. Anyone who hasn’t done any previous field research or simply jumped into the game’s jungle due to the iconic Fox character suffered to play at launch. Thanks to problems in the pairing system, find a match later wait about 20 minutes It was lucky for the first 24 hours of the game on the market. Detail: even the support for crossplay between PC and PS4 does not save the title.

If you want to buy the Predator game, you better get used to the appearance of the menu screen.

In order to enjoy the game, I literally assembled a team of soldiers: I sought help from Twitter, Discord and Facebook groups to assemble a team and close a private game. Fortunately, a 1.5GB patch has already been released for the game and game build has been improved. Still, you need at least five minutes to find predator matches these days (if you’re lucky). Remembering that launch is the period when the game is at its peak and many users are still discovering the available content.

Also, Illfonic’s random matchmaking system is not ashamed of unbalanced gameplay. While the goal is to pit four players against Predator, some games close with fewer users on the team. If the player wants, he can enter the battlefield only against the monster. The possibility of one-on-one combat in the best Schwarzenegger style is interesting, but since the formula remains the same, what we have is just an asymmetric multiplayer that is too asymmetric.

If the players want to end the waiting of matches, it is even possible to participate in a one-on-one match, which totally unbalances the game

Illfonic also opted for a tiered progression system to keep players engaged in the game. With experience gained from matches, users unlock weapons, equipment, and classes for Soldiers and Predator. While level lock works to keep users interested longer, the choice also ends up limiting the possibilities for game customization for those just starting out. Plus, the basic elements that have been available from the start, especially for soldiers, guarantee fun and a minimum of competitiveness right away, which ends up making the rest of the team just an extra.

In addition to the levels, the game also has experience points, which are earned during matches and can be used to unlock cosmetics and loot boxes, with many different visuals. The developer-adopted system guarantees interesting customization options, but there is still a great lack of content. If you dreamed of recreating the clash between Predator and Arnold Schwarzenegger at Hunting Grounds, it’s best not even to have expectations: Despite being a licensed title, the product has no references to soldiers present in the movie series and all we have is a Character Generator system with few options available.

Considering the format and system applied in Predator: Hunting Grounds, everything indicates that we will have more content in the game in the future, which may include more references to movies. Still, in its current state, the Predator game lacks enough content to justify its value of R $ 150Especially when the maximum potential of the game can only be used when a group of at least five people buys the product.

Graphics and sound

While the content of the game already puts the price of work under control, the technical part of the game also leaves something to be desired on PlayStation 4. The version of the game running on PlayStation 4 Slim suffers from dropped frames and looks flawed, they end up stealing the scene from the most realistic forest landscapes. Problems include low resolution in certain parts of the stage, limited texture rendering, and anti-aliasing flaws.

More than visual discomfort, obstacles end up interfering with the game. The stunning tropical forest landscape present in the game works at close range, but it is enough for the player to look up or try to hit a target from a distance to make everything more complicated. Considering that the objective of the game is to perform unseen murders and hit a monster that is camouflaged and makes giant jumps, it is difficult to defend the game.

While graphics don’t stand out, audio works fine

On the other hand, it is important to note that the Illfonic equipment was guaranteed, at least, in the audio part. In addition to having the soundtrack to the iconic Predator movie, Hunting Grounds also quality mix And that works largely integrated into the game, with each step or shot making a difference in a few moments.

The dubbing is satisfying, and the title also features a lively forest with iconic jungle noises, bringing an atmosphere that resembles the classic 1980s movie. The protagonist of the asymmetric multiplayer was not left out either and we can hear iconic sounds from the Alien Hunter, which serves as a guide for the soldiers during the most intense moments of the game.

conclusion

The Predator has advanced movement and features like camouflage

With so many developments that have already happened in 2020, the release of Predator: Hunting Grounds has no power to be among the highlights and even the worst gaming disasters to date. In its current state, the title is far from worth the R $ 150 loaded on the PS4, not even the R $ 79 loaded at the Epic Games Store.

Despite its launch issues and difficulty finding matches, the Predator game offers simple and quick fun when you can gather a group of five people to enjoy as much as you want. The problem, however, is that the title depends entirely on it, as it doesn’t bring content beyond the asymmetric multiplayer mode.

Predator: Hunting Grounds works, but far from worth the price charged

The game also offers an innovative gaming experience with the Predator and is guaranteed with its first person shooter part that brings different missions to PvE. However, the game is based on a progression system that does not take very good advantage of the addressed intellectual property and neglects the factors of the character’s mythology that could add both in-game and cosmetic elements.

We don’t have news of more content for the product yet, but since we have Fox’s support on the project, the least we can hope for are more sets and skins based on the franchise’s feature films. Still, since we don’t even have a look inspired by Arnold’s Dutch “Chuazenéguer”, the advice is to be cautious: instead of running straight into the Hunting Grounds forest and hugging the Predator and its unappealing price, run down the hills and wait for a free weekend or a good promotion to see if the game is worth it for you.