➤ The shotgun is my best friend 🎮

Running With Rifles collects and reworks features from many different genres, distilling them into an original and engaging formula. Describing it broadly, we can define it as an action with a bird's eye view that mixes the gameplay of tactical shooters with that of real-time strategy, without missing a splash of role-playing and roguelike.

Clear isn't it? In truth it is much less complex than it seems, since the action component prevails over the others and determines a large part of the gaming experience. That doesn't mean it lacks depth. Let's say that the title of Modulaatio Games is a successful amalgamation, one of those that in the face of the slightest mistake would have collapsed inexorably. But let's try to understand better what we are talking about. The story behind the action is really thin. Indeed, more precisely it is almost completely absent, although the main menu speaks of "campaign mode". The player takes on the role of an anonymous soldier of a vast army who must conquer strategic objectives by stealing them from rival troops. That's all. There are no other narrative implications. So we have to take up the rifle and head towards the first occupied site, following our companions or going alone. Arrived on the spot we are killed immediately. The bullet that killed us was a very clear message: it's not an arcade shooter, slow down! After the respawn we return to the charge, but this time with more moderation. We approach the conflict area cautiously and find it dotted with corpses. There are also some vehicles that have broken down, probably hit by an explosive weapon. Well, apparently the war goes on even in our absence. Spotted the enemies we run after a large rock that we use as a cover. It seems that now we have started to get serious.

You call them if you want, covers

The pace of Running With Rifles is fast and slow at the same time. Movements between lenses are very fast, as they are positioned at short distances from each other. It is natural that this is the case, since we often die and when this happens we are regenerated in the vicinity of the last conquered goal; you will understand that creating greater distances would soon lead to the tedium of endless races.

The current structure, on the other hand, allows you to get back into action in just a few seconds. But we had left our soldier behind a rock. For now, he only has an assault rifle with a few grenades. Soon, as you level up, you will be able to wield even the most destructive weapons such as rocket launchers or heavy machine guns. The unlocking of some special attacks such as air rescue is also linked to the increase in level. They are not essential but add some spice to the base formula. Meanwhile, we are always stuck. Yes, we are behind a solid cover, but we cannot move a step otherwise the enemies would riddle us with shots. What to do? We throw a grenade towards one of the besiegers, hidden behind a wall, and go out into the open to eliminate a second soldier, lying in front of the rock. The tactic pays off; not only thanks to us but also for the timely intervention of a group of allies who have unblocked the situation on the side that obviously we could not cover. Continuing the march we arrive at the site to be conquered. How? You know the "Conquest" mode of any team shooter? Here, you have to fill a bar by staying for a certain period in the capture area. Meanwhile the opponents will certainly not stand by and watch, but it is part of the inconvenience of a soldier's life that someone occasionally tries to shoot at you.

Running With Rifles is a successful mix of different genres!

Telecamera roguelike

Let's get away from the action and go back to examining the most important elements that make up Running With Rifles, talking about map design. The game maps are very large and are also observable from a handy general map, which shows our position and that of the current objective.

Although they are fixed in structure, they offer some roguelike elements that allow them to be played many times. For example, the bonus crates, useful for refueling, are positioned in always different places, as well as the soldiers, friends and enemies, do not follow fixed orders to reappear in battle, creating a nice chaos. Even the objectives, although fixed, can follow different paths in order to vary the progression of the missions. In short, before exhausting all possibilities and starting to feel the weight of repetitiveness, several good hours will pass. The roguelike elements also perform well in multiplayer, competitive or co-op modes. Unfortunately, there are also some painful notes to underline. Meanwhile, the scenarios, while offering various forms of interaction (stairs to climb, fences to jump, crates to break and so on), are literally indestructible. Try to fire a rocket at a fence and you won't do anything to it. Even the most apparently fragile objects are extremely resistant. If for this aspect something more could be done, for that of the management of the camera the more had to be done. In the open field there are no problems, since the greatest annoyance is represented by the trees. In conclusion, there are obstacles that can be easily circumvented that do not cause problems with the readability of the action. In more complex areas, such as cities, this is not the case. Of course, we have not detected dramatic cases, but there have been situations in which our man was covered by a building, an enemy group was in turn covered by a building and it was not clear where to click to move without exposing himself too much. Fortunately, the developers have realized the problematic nature of the shot and have found several solutions to overcome, such as the minimalist graphic style, excellent for not increasing the confusion, or the intelligent use of the weapon pointer, with the sight that changes color. if the path to hit the target is clear.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

Intel Core i7 -4770 processor
16 GB of RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 video card
Windows 8.1 operating system

Minimum requirements

Operating system: Windows XP
Processore: 1.6 GHz Dual Core
Video card: NVidia Geforce 6600, ATI x800, Intel HD3000 or equivalent with 256MB VRAM
RAM: 1 GB
DirectX: 9.0c
Disk space: 400 MB

Recommended Requirements

Operating system: Windows 8.1/8/7 / Vista
Processore: Quad core 2.4 GHz Dual Core
RAM: 2GB

Comment

Digital Delivery Steam Price 14,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

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Readers (2)

8.6

Your vote

Running With Rifles is a nice surprise that we just didn't expect. If it didn't have the flaws told in the body of the article, it would have deserved a much more flattering judgment. Even the lack of a real story to be the background to the single player is not very pleasant, since the motivations to play are exhausted quickly. Fortunately, there is multiplayer that compensates very well. In short, if you want to try an original and long-lived title, don't go further. We are sure that in the face of its playful qualities you will be able to turn a blind eye to everything else.