The learning curve is painful, but the payoff is worth it.
Like Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat, Nuclear Dawn began as an indie mod based on Valve's Source engine back in 2006 and has now graduated to a full-blown commercial release. It is an online multiplayer-only game that seeks to combine the mechanics of both the first-person shooter and real-time strategy genres, a feat that has proven difficult to pull off in the past. Before we go any further, let it be known that Nuclear Dawn absolutely pulls it off.
But first impressions go a long way, and this is where Nuclear Dawn faceplants. Start up the game, but for god's sake do not jump into a server and assume that you can figure it out. Your first stop should be the "Tutorials" section, which presents several well-produced videos that provide a bare-bones crash course on the basics of the game. It's worth noting that the main menu music didn't stop when the tutorial video started. I had to completely turn off the music from the audio configuration menu before watching them. So, that in mind, perhaps your first stop should be the audio configuration menu.
The videos give a quick overview of the four playable classes in the game: Assault, your standard all-around player killer with a sweet visor that detects cloaked enemies; Exo, the slow and lumbering heavy gunner who specializes in taking down enemy structures; Stealth, a class that can perform backstab and sniper kills while cloaking to remain undetected (by all but the Assault class with the visor enabled); and Support, who through multiple sub-classes can repair structures, heal allies, and torch enemies. As suggested, each class has at least two sub-classes that serve to further diversify the roles of every player in the field, but keeping them under the umbrella of four main classes serves to simplify the process a bit.
There's also a video that quickly outlines the Commander role, and that's where the real-time strategy comes in. The Commander is given an aerial view of the entire map and is tasked with not only giving guidance and instruction to his team, but also building supportive structures including the likes of spawn points and turrets. He also must research technological advancements that unlock different weapon options for the soldiers on the ground.
Teamwork may never have been as important in a large-scale multiplayer FPS as it is in Nuclear Dawn. To reach the goal of completely obliterating your opponent's base, the Commander must provide good instruction and strategically place structures so that they are helpful to the soldiers. But to make this possible, the soldiers must find and claim map markers that generate the necessary resources, the most important of which is the "Primary," the central point of each map that provides the Commander with the most resources available. And in order for the soldiers to have a fighting chance at taking the Primary and other resource markers, the Commander needs to continue to effectively support. The best combination of a skilled, experienced team of soldiers and a knowledgeable Commander stands the best chance at winning the round.
On the other hand, if you're not either a skilled, experienced soldier or a knowledgeable Commander, you're going to get your ass kicked. This game is not noob-friendly. After you watch the short set of videos, you're offered one option: Trial by fire. There's no playable tutorial. There are no bots, so you can't play by yourself to experiment. More importantly, you can't even play by yourself to become familiar with the controls or the interface. You just jump in with both feet and start getting shot at while trying to figure out what button does what. And once you do, you'll start wondering what the heck all the structures are. Someone said something about supplies, but what are they and what do they do? The Commander wants me to attack the Primary… What's a Primary? And where is it?! And what do I do when I get there?? Now everyone's yelling at me! AHHHH!
It is very easy to be scared off from this title in your first hour or two. In fact, if you know what's good for you, you will quit after playing for an hour or so and hit the forums. There, you'll find community-made wikis and strategy guides that are worth every second of your time to read. After that short stint of seeing what everything looks like in-game, it'll all slowly but surely become clear with a little bit of study time. Slowly, but surely.
That doesn't sound like much fun, does it? Maybe not, but the payoff is. The next time you're in-game, you'll have an idea, a mission, a goal, and most importantly, an understanding. When your commander is doling out instructions, you'll spend less time trying to decipher them and more time trying to execute them. Soon, you'll find yourself calling out helpful information to your teammates when you clear out a pesky turret, opening a new avenue for your buddies to attack a strategic position on the map. You'll start to identify when it's appropriate to assume the roles of each of the classes. You'll get your first taste of victory. And finally, you'll start to gain experience points and levels, unlocking perks to assist you in the future. Then you look at the clock; there goes four hours. Yep, you're addicted.
But once you get a taste for the depth of the gameplay and the satisfaction of successful teamwork, you're not yet finished with uncovering all of the great things about Nuclear Dawn. Of equal – perhaps more – importance to the allure of the game is the developer's attention. Nuclear Dawn was only released on September 26th and, at the time of the writing of this review, has already received several updates with numerous changes in the forms of gameplay enhancements, balances, and bug fixes. And they're not all small tweaks; the most recent update added a team autobalancing server option and a bounce sound to accompany grenade tosses (among numerous other changes). Not only are these large-impact changes, but they are all based on community feedback. This developer listens and implements. Along these lines, when beginning a game, you'll see a notification that says "Game Type: Warfare", suggesting that there are other game types. Currently, there is only Warfare, but based on the developer involvement, something tells me that this will not be the case forever.
The aesthetic effect of Nuclear Dawn is not quite as pleasing. It might not be a bad-looking game, but it's certainly not up to the modern standard for visual presentation. Built on Valve's Source engine, it can come off as crude and bland with plain-looking textures. Still, it's squeezing some admirable life out of the aging engine, and the gameplay easily distracts from most graphical limitations. Unfortunately, it does allow for the player to become stuck on rare occasion, but this is yet another area where the developer is sniffing out the bugs one at a time as discovered. The sound, on the other hand, is pretty satisfying. You'll get all the power from the gunshots and explosions that you could want. But there was one particular occasion that provided a nice "wow" reaction: On a rainy map, standing inside a building is accompanied by the unmistakable sound of rain pattering against a metal roof. It was very believable and instantly immersive, and even prompted a hesitation just to appreciate the moment.
If you're clamoring for a fresh experience that will make you change the way you approach a multiplayer FPS, look no further than Nuclear Dawn. The experience of participating on a skilled team and working with a solid Commander is one of the more satisfying ones provided by a multiplayer game in recent memory. And the developer attention makes it all but certain that the game will continue to see enhancements and expansions in the future. This, plus hours of replayability all at $24.99, is real bang for the buck. But please, be prepared for some early suffering. This game makes you work for it. You'll need to accept multiple hours of failure and forum-browsing, but in the end, you'll be glad you stuck with it. Oh, and use a microphone. Your teammates will thank you for it.