And, if you haven't why not?
"If you play a video game then, you are a gamer. We aren't some elite society"
HelricKOR (Steam) Roderick Herndon
I mention the above quote because factually, most gamers are very well versed in gaming terminology. I however, am not; at all. Not even a little bit. So, before you start coming for my life if I say something incorrect or, miss the mark a little bit; just give me some time to better acquaint myself with the typical wordage. I appreciate your patience.
Now to the scheduled shenanigans: Hunt: Showdown
I think back to the first FPS I remember playing, Halo I believe it was on the OG Xbox. Not very complicated, you see someone, get them in your crosshairs and fire. Most of us as children spent many hours doing this with Halo and many others I am sure.
Fast-forward to 2018 Hunt is released to the world; I am positive that it can't be the first of its kind, to mimic real life physics in terms of how a gun shoots. Forgive me for not doing my research, I just feel the urge to produce this content organically and as it comes to mind with no research. I'd like to gauge the response from all of you; see how well you like my personality as you read it through these words. Back to Hunt. Truly a masterpiece in its own right, a very disturbing and unsettling masterpiece. Alas, a wonderful piece of digital work none-the-less. It separates the button mashers from the true Titans of Gaming. With much admiration I am taking a moment to let every man and woman know that the time, effort, and dedication that you put into mastering such a game is truly remarkable. I am in no way good, or even decent at the game. I still have a lot of fun regardless, I also love seeing how excited my friends get when they accomplish a difficult victory.
If you are looking for a challenge or spark that lust for scoring a PvP kill, Hunt: Showdown is waiting for you. Now, it isn't just PvP. Let me briefly explain the game and how it works:
First, I'll recite the lore for you. Not too much, not everyone likes spoilers.
"Hunt together. Die alone."
Hunt: Showdown website
Creatures have over-run the world, their flesh will be your bounty. A tense match-based, first person bounty hunter from the makers of Crysis.
When Two Hunters Risk Everything...
The game has a few modes to play. The most prominent being the bounty hunt mode; you may attempt retrieving a bounty solo, with a partner, or as a trio. Another interesting mechanic Hunt possesses is that if your hunter dies, they are gone. You lose all their gear, the perks you had worked hard to achieve for them, and the chance to retire them for a huge xp reward. This part of the game alone almost had me saying, na that is too stressful. I'm glad I didn't however, it is a lot of fun to get a kill on one of the more skilled players. I'm always excited to share my excitement with my friend. Aside from the bounty hunt you can always opt in for a quick play round. This round, you are solo dolo, attempting to save a random hunter with a random low-grade weapon whose soul has been damned. Only one hunter may survive. Currently, I have yet to have a hunter be saved. That is ok though, I just like to have fun. I probably laugh at myself more than anything. Perhaps not the best partner to have, you can rest assured though that if I am your partner I will take great joy laughing at how frustrated you get having to deal with my shenanigans. LOL
The game very much takes place in the 19 century America. Very Marie Laveau meets Billy the Kidd. With an entire arsenal of historically accurate weaponry such as 1886 Lebel and variants of, as well as, Springfield 1866 Marksman.
Unlocking new weapons and other items through leveling up by playing the game of course. There are too many to name. Personally, the hunting bow is probably my favorite. You will have to pick a favorite for yourself. I hope to see your gamer tag pop one day. They do a great job of keeping their players interested with new events, skins, DLC, and cool legendary hunters with their own lore!
My writing when its just straight from my head can be a little disorganized, I apologize.
I wanted to tell you though, about the bounties that are essentially the same every match. It can be just one, or two, all three, and, different variants, keeping every new match different and exciting with these three monsters. I wont reveal them to you, because, spoilers. But they are very morbid, and kinda gross, but really cool too.
Finally, the last thing you get to shoot are the infected remnants of the population left in these decaying towns. Zombies to keep it brief. Many classes of zombies with various capabilities and strength levels.
I want to bring this writing to a close with the most exciting part of the entire game. The sound system that truly sets it apart from any FPS that is currently out right now. Truly, the reason I believe it should be one of the top games being played on Twitch.tv. The binaural audio system it creates an extremely tense match that is very adrenaline pumping and stress inducing.
Below I will reference a news post explaining what binaural audio is.
Hunt: Showdown - Binaural Audio in Hunt: Showdown (huntshowdown.com)
HRTF (Head Related Transfer Function) simply put, it allows for directional hearing on regular stereo headphones.
“Directional" means that you are able to recognize where exactly sounds are coming from. So not only will you be able to tell if a sound is coming from the left or right, but also if one is coming from the front or back, as well as from above or below. 3D spatial audio mimics natural human aural perception. Aka binaural audio.
HRTF for video games came up in the 1990s, but required hardware acceleration, and somehow remained a rather exotic sound feature. However, we've seen a revival recently alongside virtual reality, where binaural audio is an absolute must-have. But traditional 3D games are also starting to use the effect again, especially in cases where 3D perception should go beyond visuals in order to enhance game readability and emotional aspects like tension and immersion. Without a doubt HRTF helps increase the believability of a game's soundscape - and for that matter, the whole game!
The audio Hunt brings to your gaming experience makes it completely unique, exciting, and a fresh new way to hone your skills. By using sound to outsmart your enemy. When I watch HelricKOR play truly I am taken back by the skill and the focus. Also, its funny to see to hunters just jumping around back and forth trying to land the first head shot. Its very silly.
Simply put, it is a 10 out of 10 would have to recommend. I would appreciate anyone's feedback good or bad. Constructive criticism even. To a degree, I can be very my own type of way lets just say. This was all just off the top of my head. I wanted to give the game some free exposure if it took off and to start a discussion in general.
Have a great day everyone, I forgot to brush my teeth. So, I have to go do that.
Until next time,
CS
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