Helldivers

Now, I want to describe Helldivers to you, but the problem here is that I have no idea how to. If you want to break it down to its most basic form, then it's just a twin-stick shooter, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that it is so much more than that. It takes elements from so many good games and meshes them together into an experience unlike any other game in its genre. It is a responsibly well balanced blend of challenging gameplay, tongue-in-cheek humor, and deep strategy. The gameplay in Helldivers is simple in theory. You take on the role of a Helldiver, whose job is to complete different mission objectives on various planets, but there is more at play here. Each planet you liberate contributes to the overarching war as a whole, a war that the whole community plays a part in. Complete all the missions on a certain planet and this adds to the community influence, pushing the front lines of the war against one of each enemy race (bugs, cyborgs, and illuminates) backwards or forwards. Log on the next day to discover that one region is being overrun by a specific race, and then work with the rest of the community in handling the threat. This is a system that has been promised in many games, but here, it actually works. What you do actually matters. Now, each mission varies from planet to planet and again between the different difficulties and the race you are fighting. Drop onto one planet and you could be asked to complete a multitude of various objective such as defend this post for one minute, carry this package to this drop off point, or destroy these enemy nests. The objectives themselves will be recycled over and over again, but the beauty of it is that no two times in completing the same objective will the experiences be the same. This is just one reason that the game possesses infinite replay value. Once you complete all the objectives in one particular mission, it's time for extraction, a.k.a. the most chaotic yet fun minute and a half of gaming ever. Many a time have I gone through and entire mission, waited the time for extraction, and then died five steps from the extraction ship as it departed with everybody but me on board, yet I was never frustrated. Even if you don't come out on top it's hard to not have a good time while playing. It's hard to recall any recent games that have done co-op as well as Helldivers. Whether it's playing with friends, or, more often than not, with random people, it's just the right way to play Helldivers. Yes, you could play Helldivers by yourself, but there's two reasons why you shouldn't. First, Helldivers is a HARD game. It is nearly impossible to complete any difficulty 6 mission or higher by yourself (the highest difficulty is 12). The second reason is simply because co-op makes the game more fun. Friendly fire is ALWAYS on, and it's best that you embrace it, because this leads to some of the best moments in the game. Laugh when your fellow Helldiver shoots you dead from behind because he was trying to "save" you. Or when a new Helldiver joins your game and immediately crushes you as he lands on the planet. Friendly fire isn't just there to make the game harder (although it successfully does that). It's there to make the game more fun as well. Helldivers does something twin-stick-shooters have failed to do since the genre was created, and that is offer depth. Every mission can be tackled in numerous different ways. Unlock and buy new weapons as you level up and then use research points to upgrade you weapons. The same goes with your stratagems, which do numerous different things. Each player can bring four stratagems with them into battle, and the different stratagems can do a number of things. The interesting twist with these drops is that they don't just spawn when you want them to. You need to find the time to enter a series of button prompts to access a beacon for each stratagem, throw the beacon out on the ground, and then wait for your requested item to drop from the sky, and hopefully it doesn't fall on top of you, killing you in the process. The stratagems range from items like flamethrowers, to tanks, to UAVs, and each of these are useful in their own special way in different situations, adding even more depth and variety to an already very deep game. I already slightly commented on this before, but it cannot be stressed enough, and that is the infinite replay value Helldivers possesses. Even after you've maxed out your level, even after you've unlocked all the weapons and stratagems, even after you've platinumed the game (none of which I have actually done yet), the game is still something you can come back to over and over again. Even if you're not playing it for hours on end like you might be when you first buy it, the game makes itself accessible to you long term. It doesn't take long to boot up and begin/join a mission, and you can still get your money's worth in just a short time playing. This game is perfect for somebody looking to add an arcade-like game to their library, or something you could munch on and still be wholly satisfied. Helldivers is actually fantastic for what it is. Even if you've never been a fan of the genre this game is classified under, it's worth taking a chance on Helldivers. Not much of chance either, considering there are so few reasons not to love the game (some of which being the game's spotty online functionality and technical issues), yet so many reasons to absolutely adore the game. For 20 dollars you would not only be getting a great, visually impressive game, but also its cross-buy, cross-save, and cross-play features. This is a game that deserves a chance on any PlayStation 3, 4, or Vita, without a doubt in my mind.