Squad Preview

“Incoming”!!! And just like that my entire squad is wiped out in a second by an enemy RPG. The cries for a medic ring out through the comms and chaos erupts as all the medics rally to attempt to bring our squad back into fighting form. That’s when I hear a pin being pulled and the sounds of a metal object hitting the floor next to my body and the medics. The grenade explodes and takes out what is left of our entire squad. This was the first time that I died in Squad and it would be the first of many during my 17-hour spree playing through one of the most tactical and hardcore shooters I have ever played. Seriously, this game is not for the meek, looking for COD or Battlefield-style games where it takes six or seven bullets to kill an enemy. This is a game where every decision you make could result in a bullet to the head.

Squad is a game that comes from the brilliant minds of the Project Reality creators, a Battlefield 2 mod that turned the game into a team/squad based sim that allowed for a more hardcore experience. The company started a Kickstarter that did exceedingly well and was backed by many people looking for the most hardcore of shooters. I can safely say that my experience thus far for an Early Access Alpha have been nothing but spectacular, despite a minor setback with some graphics adjustments.

To start off, the game’s visuals are absolutely amazing, especially when considering the size of some of the maps. One of my favourite maps was the woodland area which forced everyone in my squad to stay spread out and push forward, else we risked being wiped by a single person with a good position. The modelling on the guns makes it almost look like you have the real thing sitting in your hands, especially when your character reloads a magazine. You can see every detail of the gun to the point where you will want to polish the dust off of your barrel. On top of the amazing gun and map designs we also get some very realistic looking smoke grenades that give you and your squad the ultimate cover.

While the graphics for Squad are already astounding, the sound engine tops all gaming sounds for realism by far. The gun sounds in this game are so spectacular it borders on being too real. When a bullet goes over your head you will find yourself ducking for cover in your chair, seriously this game is like being in actual contact against an enemy squad, you don’t know how many enemies are waiting around the corner for you, and it is terrifying. Grenades are deafening, and RPGs fired from your rocket launcher will fill the air with your enemy's screams.

What separates Squad from most other first person shooters is the amount of cooperation required between yourself and a group of random people on the internet. Each squad has a leader that is meant to set down rally points, FOBs (forward operating base), and give out instructions to his fellow fighters. If you have a squad leader who doesn’t know what they’re doing, everything can easily fall apart for the rest of your team. The game requires you to think out all of your team’s movements because every mistake you make as a leader will actually result in your squad getting wiped out very quickly, and your team’s tickets, or lives remaining, will run low as well.

As of right now the game has two modes Advance and Secure, and Insurgency. Advance and Secure is a game mode that requires your team to capture a series of flags in order across the map and hold the positions to gain points. The more flags your team controls the more points you will score. The Insurgency mode has fluctuated a bit in play; the objective is for the US troops to find enemy caches and destroy them, however the caches aren’t shown at the beginning of the match so your team has to try and conserve its tickets until the weapon caches are discovered.

Overall Squad is looking to be a very promising tactical shooter that will definitely fill the needs of those looking for another Project Reality. The game’s visuals and sounds effects will make you think you actually need to duck your head behind cover. This game is pretty much as close as it gets to being in realistic combat, even when comparing it to games such as the famous Arma series. While the $40 price tag is a little steep, you get your bang for your buck.