Grey Crown: 'Ego says more of them are coming get ready'
Oreo Chat: 'No problem chief..... its cool, its only several Mutant Riflemen'
Grey Crown: 'Whats that blue stuff on their uniforms?'
The Ark Hunters come under fire. However, they feel at ease, they have done this hundreds of times, until............
Grey Crown: 'My HUD has disappeared and I can't aim down the sights; what the f***?'
Oreo Chat: 'Mine too what is that? Gotta get clear of these chief!'
Grey Crown: 'My HUD is back....... s*** I'm down. Can you revive me buddy?'
Oreo Chat: ' Just revived myself; on my way.......... oh you have got to be joking........ them big blue f***ers have just turned up'
Grey Crown: 'Leave em mate and come and get me'
Oreo Chat: 'No can do mate!'
Grey Crown: 'You down as well?'
So, its day 2 of week 2 in the 'Playing Defiance' Blog and this entry would like to look at the various enemies you will encounter in the bay area. It becomes apparent a little way into the game that it isn't just Mutants and Large Angry Insects that are a problem and there are tougher, meaner variations of the 'Bad Guys' constantly popping up as I play. What I want to explore in this piece is how much is the game improved by the Ark Hunters targets?
Mutants
Mutants are one of the various humanoid enemies you will come across and seem to have the usual weaknesses to exploit. They come with a varied arsenal to challenge the Ark Hunter's with and some of them, such as the 'Cleavers', can really cause you problems.
The shoulder strap was really chafing him...
The game hints that these mutants were part of a Military Coalition and their campaign didn't go well for them. It could be argued that some of them take an unrealistic amount of damage. Most of us would be surprised, after unloading a full clip into an unarmoured enemy, to see him still standing. However, who knows what abilities the mutations have given these chaps and I like the way they can just jump out on you.
Hellbugs
These Insect nasties can be found all over the Bay Area and in particular at Ark falls. They seem to follow a Hive type social structure and hierarchy and the larger ones can take some serious punishment. The small drone types are called Skitterlings and are not much of a threat unless there is a swarm of them. I love the way they pop when you kill them its rather satisfying but other then that they are a nuisance trying to distract you whilst the bigger ones lay down the hurt.
What a lovely smile you have....
I like how the Hellbugs work. The larger ones can take some serious damage and can dish it out nicely. A group of these can turn you over easily if you get caught in the middle of them. However, these strengths are balanced out with some serious weak points and they are also rather predictable in nature. You have to figure out how to fight these Angry Smiling Insects in order to efficiently dispatch them. I'm not going to spoil it for you though, ill let you get there on your own.
Raiders
The Raiders are bunches of criminals bent on hampering your progress through the Bay Area. They put me in mind of the Smokers from 'Waterworld' by the way they behave. They present you with new challenges through their unique combat behaviours and load-outs.
Barry's friend often wonders if he is compensating for something...
These guys have been fun to take on. They like to rush you in groups whilst their comrades fire rockets at you from elevated positions; its pretty high octane battling. I also love the challenge the big ones present. They have some serious firepower and only one weakness you can exploit.
There are also more enemies that I haven't been exposed to enough yet such as Dark Matter agents, Ninety-Niners and Scrappers. I will review these other types when I can spend enough time fighting them and for that i can't wait. However, for now the game is providing more than enough Baddie variety to keep me happily unloading the contents of my clips.
Next Entry: Looking at Cooperative Multiplayer Maps.
