If you think this is like all the other 3rd person shooters, you will miss out on something special.
Well i thought this was going to be another "Mass Effect/Gears of War" knock-off by a Japanese company trying to break into the Western market. And i still think thats true, but after playing it, i dont care. Its just that good.
The game is set in the year 2080, water levels have risen and robots are everywhere thanks to 2 corporations. One of those, the Amada Corporation is believed to have broken the Geneva Code by making robots that resemble humans and believe they are human (Hollow Children).
Your character, an American named Dan Marshall is a part of a worldwide mercenary-type group called the "Rust Crew" has been sent in with his partner, another American named Bo to infiltrate Japan to discover if Amada has indeed committed this crime. You later meet up with the rest of your Rust crew members, 2 from the UK, 1 from China and 1 from France.
The game also incorporates "voice recognition" via your headset to relay orders and compliments/reprimands to your squad which will affect how they feel about you. Treat them well and thier trust in you will increase, treat them poorly or foolishly and they will think you're a fool and wont listen to your instructions, making the battles harder to survive. This option can be turned off if you prefer a more traditional button command approach.
Every member of your squad has a primary weapon that can be upgraded at special terminals in the game, and a pistol with unlimited ammo. (not as much of a cheat as you may think). Your character's primary weapon is an Assault Rifle with a special attachment (incidentally your main character can pick up other weapons- 1 at a time to use as a secondary weapon) and your partner Bo has a Light Machine gun.
Added to this your party members can purchase and discover special nanomachines that can boost health and skills. But you can only equip a certain amount at one time which provides a nice strategic element to play. Funds to pay for these purchases are gained by defeating enemies. The better you are at destroying enemy body parts with precision, the more credits you will gain. There are also bonus credits supplied for certain types of actions eg."head shots", "one shot", "smash" attacks and the like. Incidentally using these attacks also benefit your trust levels in your team. So it pays both ways if you can manage to use them in battle.
And that brings us to the battles. They are great! The targeting and destruction of 1st the enemies armour followed by thier limbs is satisfying to say the least. There is nothing better than taking the time to pull off a "headshot" followed by a melee "smash" attack to rake in the credits and trust of you team mates in the heat of battle and incoming fire. And the boss battles? Well they are so exciting that you have to experience them to understand. The sensations to battle in this game feel so real. You are convinced that if this was really happening, than it would happen just like this. Thats quite the accomplishment.
The visuals and setting? This game was made by the same team that made the Yakuza games and once again you are amazed at the authenticity of the Japanese streets and feel to the setting, especially noticed in the slums. I have been to Japan and both the Yakuza games and this game accurately depict what an average Japanese street in a city looks like, adding to the realism of the experience.
The Story? Well i wont cover anymore on that other than to say that after the game was over i felt like i had forgotten what a good game story was until i played this game. I was consistently impressed with the characters dialogue, the events that transpired and the conclusion to the game. Sure the game has tropes aplenty, but the way they are delivered were remarkable and believeable for the games reality/universe it is depicting. I finished the game with that "feel good" feeling that i used to experience alot years ago, but not so much lately. That inspired me to replay the game again on the hard difficulty and using different team members for different stages in the game to see how it made a difference, and it certainly did.
Multiplayer? The main campaign does not support it but there is a "versus" and "horde-type" mode. The versus mode gives you the staple "free-for-all" and "Team deathmatch" plus others you find in other games. And the Horde mode is as it suggests, a 4 player co-op mode against waves of AI enemies. I have not played much of the multiplayer mode, but what i have was suitably fun.
Conclusion? Binary Domain surprised and delighted me. I have played many games over the years that have copied other successful games to chase sales, which im sure this game was trying to do as well with the western market. But it performed it so well, with enough new innovation and a brilliant story and gameplay that it has made it its own, and with all these elements put together has created a memorable and entertaining experience that i will not forget for a long time to come. In fact im tempted to go through the game again for a third time to see how the speech commands go and to play the multiplayer with some mates. Overall a wonderful game that would be a shame to be missed. Enjoy!