PAX South Hands-On: Dreadnought
Exploration and combat in space is a rather hot topic in gaming, currently. With titles such as Elite Dangerous, No Man’s Sky, and Star Citizen lingering within our reach, there’s been no shortage of games to quench the thirst for freedom to explore the universe.
Throw in some colossal ships the size of multiple football fields and you’ve got yourself Dreadnought.
Concept art shows the kind of combat they are aiming for (and I’m all for it).
Developed by Yager, the minds behind Spec Ops: The Line, Dreadnought is highly reminiscent of the gameplay found in the World of Tanks series.
Each five-man team picks from one of the five different classes of dreadnought. The assault ship offers highly aggressive moves much like a giant ‘space ram’. The tank, while incredibly slow, is hugely powerful with mines and missiles lining the entire ship. The sniper, a deadly long range ship armed with a deafening cannon. The scout, the fastest of the five ships is armed with its own cloaking field. Lastly, the support; a passive ship used to heal your team throughout the game.
Here is a screenshot of actual gameplay – I’d say mission accomplished!
Though I only had access to a simple Team Deathmatch mode, I did manage to play two of the maps on offer. The first took place in space, in what looked like the debris of an old space station. The second took me down to the ground; on the surface of an ice world covered in treacherous glaciers that you are forced to navigate around.
Each map demanded a different skillset to play effectively. The debris of the space station made manoeuvring extremely difficult for the larger ships, while the smaller scouts could easily move around the center of the map.
The planet, though covered in ice, was far more spread out – offering a huge amount of space for the giant dreadnoughts to do battle in.
Concept art of the Space Station – it’s a little more cluttered when you’re actually playing it.
Though the game is still in pre-alpha, concerns about balance are non-existent. The aforementioned class types require very specific playstyles to succeed, and with ability and energy management included, the game offers up a great deal of depth and control.
World of Tanks is far from a game that interests me, and yet when my time was done with Dreadnoughts, I was left yearning for more. The depth of the combat and the plain satisfaction of simply destroying enormous ships is something I’m sure will leave people feeling just as excited, too.
mrmattymouse
MatthewThe most upside-down member of KBMOD. Enjoys Batman and sends the best snapchats you'll like ever have the pleasure of seeing. Fosters is garbage, we don't drink it here, we do fight kangaroos, it's even better than you think it is.
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