as50193
CAGiversary!
In a quick glance NEOTOKYO, it'll probably interest you on its standout art direction; the name NEOTOKYO does accurately depict the game's look of a futuristic Tokyo seen in works such as Ghost in a Shell and Akira, which is surprising for a game that uses the 5-year old Source Engine. This distinct look isn't only used for the architecture, everything from the character models to the "flag" in the main game mode inherit the peculiar feel from an anime-based futuristic tokyo. Yet, with its unique first impression, the aesthetics are given a backseat to its quick adapting gameplay, which is phenomenal in balancing slow moving tactical team-based gameplay with high paced moving and shooting. The game is truly for the hardcore or serious players; don't expect to go in and shoot dudes, expect to heavily cooperate with teammates while defending your ground, flanking your enemies, and taking that perfect shot
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This Half-Life 2 mod is a Multiplayer-only FPS with only 1 gametype, much like Counter-Strike(which, I know, has 2). This gametype, called "Capture the Ghost", is barely similar to the archetypal "Capture the Flag" with a no-respawn system, making survival more important than flag carrying. The Ghost is randomly spawned in the map and seen by every player, whether it is being carried by a player or not. The twist Capture the Ghost makes is that the Ghost, a electronic mannequin-looking torso, is able to show the locations of enemies within 50meters, but only to the carrier while his teammates cannot. While seen by enemy players, the carrier is calling out enemy locations that are hiding behind a corner or flanking, makingcommunication key into winning matches. If players tend to divide and solo more, they will be at a disadvantage, whether it be getting killed by a bigger mass of enemy players, enemies using the Ghost to aggressively attack and surround him, or a player picking up the Ghost but then surrounded due to the all-telling location and without the ability to use a weapon. Still, aim is essential; you won't be useful to your team unless you're able to either get kills or use the Ghosteffectively, which won't always be available.
If NEOTOKYO were described in a few words, it'd be best described by a player I was talking to in-game with this: "It's Counter-Strike set in future Tokyo". And while this would seem very accurate in the first hour of gameplay, after you learn the game's rules and can actively contribute to your team, it's much more than a twitch-aim based FPS. Controls are suited for fast movement with the ability to sprint, cloak, and use another vision type. However, the maps, along with the ability to lean and zoom in with your gun, are used to contain players by leading them to "choke points", similarly in Counter-Strike, where stalemates are to occur from players holding their position unless teammates are able to flank from behind or to rush in to eliminate enemy players to clear that point. Stalemates quicken with the ability of cloaking, using vision, and sprinting from each class(a Recon, Assault, Support). Recon can cloak for the longest time and can sprintindefinitely , but has the weakest armor and smallest arsenal of guns. Support is the opposite, where support players have no cloak or sprint, but have the biggest arsenal of guns and highest armor. Assault is in the middle, with the ability to sprint and cloak shortly with a decent amount of guns and medium armor. Classes are different enough to suit yourplaystyle , but never different enough to severely hinder your ability to fight one type of class as another. As the number of living players dwindle and the "choke points" become a mass of bodies, the game does get more intense whether you're watching orparticipating in a 2vs2 or 1vs1 showdown; the cat and mouse experience of chasing leads and hiding in the shadows is only intensified by running faster and hiding more effectively. Persistence is done by a ranking system, with more weapons at every higher rank; your rewards, however, last only for a game, where a game is ended by changing maps.
NEOTOKYO is a great mod, great enough that I feel like I cheated the developers out of money they should have earned. The community is thriving(as of 1-2 weeks after the release) with almost 50 servers running constantly with people playing in them. The game feels complete with 8 maps;replayability is high due to death causing you to wait instead of exploring every inch of each map. NEOTOKYO is easily one of the best tactical shooters to come out this year; if you want a intense corner-peeking shooter that you are willing to be patient with to learn its rules,NEOTOKYO is perfect. If not, maybe its pace can convert you from running and gunning to hiding behind a door while carefully picking your shot, and a $0 price tag won't hurt either.
http://www.neotokyohq.com/
Outstanding
Outstanding | Very Good | Fair | Poor | Awful
Recommended Buy Price: $14.99
Current MSRP: $0.00
