2024-02-16 16:52:40
In March 2015, a game was released exclusively for PS4. The main character was ‘Helldiverse’, a new game from Arrowhead Studio, the developer of ‘Magica’, which was praised as having great fun. This top-view run-and-gun game with the crazy concept of a commando in a semi-militaristic controlled democracy delivering gun bombs to the public and preaching democracy throughout the universe received a better response than expected immediately after its release.
Even as of 2015, it is a somewhat outdated genre, but the combination of the developer’s know-how in the top-view action genre accumulated during the development of ‘Magica’ and the unique concept can be said to be a quite successful coupling. The fun of ‘Helldiverse’ was real, including the ‘Stratagem’ system, a support system made up of Konami commands, and the reinforcement system that was immediately replenished as the Helldivers special forces were divided for various reasons. What’s more, SCE (now SIE) was the first to distribute PCs.
And now, 9 years later, ‘Hell Divers 2’, the official sequel to ‘Hell Diverse’, has been released. The general concept is that 100 years after the previous film, various rebellions broke out under the feet of Super Earth, which had smoothly conquered the universe, and the disbanded Helldiverse was reconvened to retake the universe from the rebels who had taken several planets. no see.
As the game’s theme is the same, the structure itself is almost similar to its predecessor. However, ‘Hell Divers 2’ has changed in a very big way. In other game series, changes that would have been made over several series of releases are shown in Hell Divers 2 in just one go. However, you all know very well that change does not necessarily mean things will get better. From now on, let’s take a look at whether the changes in ‘Hell Diverse 2’ were successful.
Game name: Helldivers 2
Genre name: Third-person shooter
Release date: 2023.2.8
Review version: Release Build Developer: Arrowhead Studio
Service: SIE
Platform: PC, PS
Play: PC
This is Helldiverse?
If you’ve played the previous game, you’ll get the feeling just by looking at the play screen. My first thought was, ‘Is this Helldivers?’, and my next thought was, ‘It’s Helldivers.’ It’s a more drastic change than any sequel I’ve seen. ‘Hell Divers 2’ boldly abandoned the biggest feature of its predecessor, which was a model of top view, and implemented the game with a ‘back view’ that suits the current era. It’s the same as the change that occurred when GTA went from Part 2 to Part 3, and the change that the Final Fantasy series made when it went from Part 5 to Part 6 to Part 7.
Naturally, the gameplay has also changed in many ways. Changing the viewpoint from top view to back view does not simply mean that the camera placement has changed. With the introduction of the Z-axis, which did not exist before, the world the player sees has changed, and the visible area has changed. This means that a lot of things have to change in order to provide a similar gaming experience as before.
▲ There is no limit to the field of view, so something like this is possible.
But at the same time, the core values of the game must not change. This is part of the expectations of fans of the previous work for the sequel. The fun of the previous game, ‘Hell Diverse’, can be summarized in one sentence as follows.
‘The process of fighting tenaciously and winning despite an extremely hostile environment and all kinds of accidents.’
This very sentence is the charm and core of the Helldiverse series that differentiates it from other games. The fact that it is a top-view shooter and the Stratagems that can be activated with Konami commands are attractive, but these elements do not represent the game. In the end, the game called Helldivers is a game that involves the process of winning with endless reinforcements, despite all kinds of misfires, collisions, and accidental deaths of allies in the midst of waves of enemies. As long as you can keep the fun alive, the position of the camera doesn’t really matter.
▲ Since you can control the pod, you can do things like this.
‘Hell Divers 2’ also maintains the core fun of its predecessor. As the camera perspective changed, many systems also changed. Thanks to the introduction of the Z-axis and a much easier shooting feel, the probability of an ally’s mistake has been greatly reduced, but a limit has been placed on the number of reinforcements. As the probability of incorrectly throwing a fire support Stratagem has been lowered, the randomness of the landing site and the increase in the explosion range have increased the probability of an error.
Enemies may jump on the gamer’s line of sight, bombardments requested from a low-lying area may be caught on a hill and evaporate allies, or grenades may bounce into the air and destroy a tough comrade. Although things are quite different from before, the world of Helldiverse is still full of accidents.
It’s Helldivers
It’s not just this. I mentioned earlier that Hell Divers 2 is a work that successfully transitioned to a back-view TPS format while maintaining the core fun of Hell Divers, but this is not the only element that defines this game. One of the biggest characteristics of the Helldivers series, the fact that the crazy concept remains intact, is also a feature that can be classified as an advantage of the game.
Although briefly explained in the introduction, the world of Helldiverse is very unique. The human faction classified as ‘Super Earth’ is a cosmic gangster and has already conquered the universe 100 years ago. The ‘bugs’ that were everywhere were unable to withstand the Helldivers’ bombardment and became the livestock of democracy, and the cyborgs that had been hiding from the eyes of humanity were destroyed at the end of oppression. The leading aliens, the Illuminites, who boasted hundreds of thousands of years of civilization, still held out for quite some time, but in the end, they were unable to overcome the power of humanity, which attacked preemptively under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, and became a technological shuttle.
▲ If we run for our lives, we may wonder if we are the strong ones.
And 100 years later, some bugs and cyborgs that escaped from livestock, as well as automatons that have become machines themselves, rise up again and threaten the security of Super Earth, and the disbanded Helldiverse is reconvened for the first time in 100 years. As there has been no war for 100 years, the equipment and technology level remain the same. However, since the ridiculous production capacity that gives even a single infantry the authority to request air and artillery support remains the same, the battle pattern is not much different from 100 years ago.
‘Hell Divers 2’ captures this 100-year virtual time gap and the overall concept of the game. The traditional famous lines “Say hello to democracy!” and “How about a nice cup of LIBER-TEA?”, which continue from the previous work, are still present, and the planets shown on the space map are also included. The occupancy rate and the number of Helldiverse deployments and deaths, which fluctuate in real time, remain the same. For users who have played the previous game, it is not difficult to see that the flavor of the previous work is present throughout the game.
The in-game equipment unlocking system consists of a total of 4 currencies. These are medals used to unlock equipment, credits used to unlock Stratagems, and Super Credits, which are paid goods used to purchase samples and limited equipment used to upgrade ships. Of these, you are not forced to purchase paid goods because you can obtain a sufficient quantity of Super Credits in the game without having to purchase them. It’s unique, but it’s not particularly good equipment.
▲ Medals are used to unlock weapons and armor, samples are used to upgrade ships, and credits are used to unlock Stratagems.
However, the stage of the game has changed slightly. As this is a universe that was conquered 100 years ago, traces of humanity remain in every battlefield visited by the Helldivers. And these traces remain in the game and become various additional content.
For example, something like this. When the first Helldivers are deployed, only the main mission area and enemy spawn areas are roughly visible on the map. However, if you restore a radar base somewhere on the battlefield, you will be able to see the entire map structure. Likewise, if you restore a field artillery battery and reload it, you will get a separate Stratagem that can fire everything from smoke bombs to small nuclear warheads. Samples and ammunition are scattered throughout abandoned settlements and crashed transport ships, and items and combat equipment hidden by residents are hidden throughout the map. In some cases, unexploded hell bombs from previous wars explode and destroy entire teams.
▲ Day and night are divided depending on the mission area.
▲ The exterior scenery changes accordingly, and the details are surprisingly good.
In this way, the battlefield that changes as you solve side missions does not only apply to traces of humanity. Some Stratagems may be restricted by jammers or anti-aircraft guns, but will return to normal when destroyed, and the thick fog that obscures vision may clear when nearby spore spures are destroyed. Of course, for comfortable play and better rewards, it is better to complete all the side missions. However, this is not that easy.
Each battlefield in ‘Hell Divers 2’ is different, but it is bigger than you might think. As you move around the battlefield, destroy enemy outposts, and complete side missions, you will inevitably have to battle enemy reinforcements, which will slow down your progress. There are times when you fight in one area for up to 5 minutes, and there are times when half the mission time flies by without even touching the main mission.
The time limit per edition of Helldivers 2 is 40 minutes for a large mission, but there are many cases where 40 minutes is not enough. There are many cases where you get caught up in side objectives and clearing outposts, but end up rushing towards the mission site without even finishing it and barely escaping. And this entire process becomes the ‘relentless victory’, which is the core of Helldiverse mentioned above, and returns as a catharsis for the gamer.
▲ If you get caught wrong, you will fight endlessly.
At this point, you may be wondering if the game is too difficult, but that’s not really the case. As you play the game, as you gain more experience and knowledge, and as you acquire better equipment, the clear time gradually decreases. As teamwork is important, games that are played with random matching are still a mess, but with team members who have good teamwork, even high-difficulty missions can be easily solved. And it’s also a lot of fun. As if you were a member of a skilled special forces unit, the feeling of working together to crush the enemy and escape cleanly is as enjoyable as laughing in the midst of a chaotic game and barely managing to board an escape ship.
This means that even if the game fails and becomes a mess, it still has its own fun, and even if you clear it like a piece of cake, it still has its own fun even if the personality is different.
Every game has an unpleasant experience
However, Helldivers 2 is not a perfect game either. No matter how great a game is, it has its flaws. If it’s just annoying, it’s good, but if it’s so dangerous that it destroys the game, it can be a big problem. Inside the game, there are three shortcomings of Helldiverse 2. Unclear controls, all kinds of bugs, and a very biased equipment balance.
The feeling of operation is not particularly noticeable during combat, but it is very annoying when picking up equipment left on the floor. Obviously, there are times when the item is not picked up properly even after pressing the acquisition key, so you have to pick it up two or three times, and there are also glitches where the item gets buried in the terrain while falling and cannot be acquired. It’s a bit inconvenient because you can re-call weapons or equipment, but sometimes the samples you collected for 30 minutes are buried in the terrain and you can’t pick them up. If you experience it, you will know that it is very annoying.
Various bugs appear to be quite common. There are mainly minor bugs, such as getting stuck in terrain or being stuck inside a ship and having to restart the game, but there are also very annoying bugs, such as escape ships not landing or items that have already been picked up still visible. Anyway, it’s not a game with few bugs.
▲ What is it… Let me out
Equipment balance is also a difficult issue to ignore. Currently, more than 80% of the guns used in Helldivers 2 are ‘Breaker’ shotguns. Most other weapons appear to have screws missing, but the Breaker Shotgun is a hexagonal equipment that can handle long-distance combat like a shotgun, and it is unlocked not too late, so everyone carries a breaker. You can adjust the weapon’s rate of fire or scope, but it is not possible to upgrade it, such as attaching a bayonet to the weapon like in the previous version, so most equipment that is difficult to handle close combat is being abandoned.
Stratagem is also quite biased. The large-diameter orbital bombardment, which has strong firepower but cannot be controlled, causes team members to leave one after another just by equipping it, and the mortar Sentrina Arc Thrower, which kills allies as well as enemies, is difficult to use without sufficient understanding from allies. From the difficulty level where heavy armor enemies appear, the effectiveness of equipment that cannot cope with heavy armor drops significantly, so most equipment other than a few remains as decoration. Although the Helldivers series is a game that is tolerant of accidents and focuses on fierce fighting, it is not a game that intentionally causes accidents and seeks inconvenience. Of course, equipment balance is bound to be an issue.
▲ To be honest, it’s not that he’s too strong, but his other weapons are too insignificant.
On the other hand, there are definitely issues outside of the game, such as unstable matchmaking and crashing. ‘EnProtect’, which is questionable as to how it was introduced, quick match matchmaking that only succeeds once after dozens of attempts, and crashes that occur at critical times are causing stress to many gamers even at this very moment. There was also a case where an acquaintance who was laughing and enjoying a game together before the Lunar New Year holiday tried to play the game again after the holiday, but gave up the game, saying, “I’m too lazy to play.”
One more disturbing thing is that the developer, Arrowhead Studio, is a developer located in Sweden. Game developers located in Northern Europe, such as Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, are excellent at capturing the fun of games. Their technical skills are very good, they excel at graphic optimization, and they produce works with unrivaled gameplay. Avalanche, Embark, Overkill, Fat Shark, and Mojang are all game developers located in Northern Europe.
The problem is that most of these developers who create great games show very slow updates and response to feedback, befitting the Nordic trend of emphasizing work-life balance. Although not all, Nordic developers are particularly notorious for after-sales service. This means that even if a problem that is not revealed right now is revealed someday, there is no way to know how long it will take for it to be resolved.
▲ It’s sad that I didn’t bring a rail gun, so let’s light it on fire…
It doesn’t matter if it’s a fun one-tool. That’s all I need
To summarize the review, ‘Hell Divers 2’ is a sequel that captures the gameplay and core fun of the previous work well despite the very adventurous attempt of switching from a top view to a back view. Of course, it retains the same gaming fun as the previous work, but also shows further development to suit the current situation.
It is natural to maintain the core fun in a sequel or series, but it is also an extremely difficult task. Attempts to create something better may create dissonance with existing elements and produce results that are not as good as before, or the core principle may collapse after attempts at rapid change. In that sense, ‘Hell Divers 2’ can be said to be an excellent sequel.
▲ If you look at the fact that you don’t feel particularly sorry even if your team gets killed, you’re in Helldivers.
However, continuous maintenance and follow-up is required to extend the shelf life of this fun. In addition to horizontal growth of content, consistent efforts must be made to fix bugs and crashes. I don’t intend to discriminate against the region, but I am concerned because developers based in Northern Europe have repeatedly shown poor performance in follow-up management.
However, thanks to the fact that the aforementioned ‘core fun’ has been maintained, the fun of this game is real. From the black comedy concept with fascists advocating democracy as the main characters and propaganda embedded in the intro, to the chaotic gameplay itself, and even the catharsis of winning and escaping. Often, when playing a game that has its drawbacks but is so fun, we often say, “I play it even though I swear.” ‘Hell Divers 2’ is one such game. The relatively low price, which is about half that of recently released games, also has its own charm.
All you need is three close friends with whom you can communicate. As long as you have friends, Hell Divers 2 is guaranteed to be fun. Of course, they are ‘close’ friends. The amount of fragging that will happen in this game, and the friendliness that makes you laugh at your ally Osa.
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