Gaming News This 20-year-old SF MMO reinvents itself with a new FPS. I played the very promising EVE Vanguard
Ten years after the Big Bang with which it was born on the PC, the largest SF MMO on the video game market clumsily set out to conquer a new genre – the FPS – with the success that it has. Dust 514 only served on the front lines for three years before retiring. In 2024, the CCP troops will try their luck again, but not without learning from the mistakes of the past. Eve Vanguard is taking first-person shooters by storm. Beware. He could cause a surprise.
What is EVE Vanguard?
Eve Vanguard is not a “simple” module that was somehow grafted onto the MMO “Eve Online”. This FPS (for first person shooter) aims to attract a whole new type of player At the same time, it has permanently shaken up a science fiction universe that is one of the largest in the industry and even all media together (with the exception of literature). However, the beta phases do not aim to create a strong connection between the two video game entities. On the other hand, CCP first wants to refine the gameplay loop of its first-person shooter by increasing the number of skirmishes on the surface of a hostile planet. This second “first strike” focused primarily on deployment of troops, loot, gunfights, and cooperation in groups of three against AI and other “human” clones.
Much more than “EVE Online FPS”
Playing conditions
CCP has opened the doors of its FPS to all EVE Online subscribers during an online organized event called “First Strike”, which will take place from February 22 (12:00 UTC) to February 26, 2024 (12:00 UTC). , called “Omega Players,” open at UTC). This second “beta phase” gave me the opportunity to explore the Carrion map on the Genesis Star and test the gameplay improvements made by the Icelandic studios during a one-hour session on PC. The following article focuses solely on my gaming experience.
My first moments in Eve Vanguard were very similar to those in December 2023: a stark gray interface and a cracked deployment on the surface of a single map called “Carrion”. In fact, little has changed visually or structurally on the planet “Genesis”. Certainly the environments seem to have gained in finesse and detail, but nothing truly revolutionary. In three months the opposite would have been surprising. That remains the fact This desert star, littered with gutted spaceship carcasses, always has a bit of an impact on the spellbound sci-fi lover that I am. It gives me undisguised joy to stroll through the area and (re)discover this unique place that lives up to the richness of its famous role model: Eve Online.
Before donning the clone armor, it is important to capture the essence of this first-person experience, which consciously moves away from the traditional shooter. The point here is not to shoot everything that moves and string “fragments” together. Eve Vanguard is structured around missions that must be completed for this or that faction before retreating from the planet (or not). Death is not an end in itself in this FPS. As a clone, I can “resurrect” provided I have harvested enough biomass to create a new “me” or I choose to end my stellar excursion. It all depends on the contracts previously accepted and the personal goals that I have set for myself alone or with my team.
Eve Vanguard can be enjoyed alone, but unfolds its full meaning with others. It is possible and highly recommended to join two other players to form a contingent of three clones pursuing the same goal. It’s about coordination and collaboration. While the AIs monitoring strategic locations pose a relative challenge, this is not the case with the other “humans” dropped on site who may be on a mission to eliminate us or go about their business. Discretion then becomes an important ally as ammunition and equipment are in short supply. There is a crafting system, but it requires gathering resources on site and therefore taking risks.
The shootings appear to have increased “somewhat” in intensity since December 2023, even if the feeling with the gun has remained fundamentally the same. It’s enjoyable to shoot a target with the game’s unique weapon. Eve Vanguard’s only arsenal is an assault rifle that can switch between different types of ammunition. Simple caveat on paper, I find this lack of variety a bit frustrating after several missions. However, The core of the experience lies (and it is very personal) in the perception and understanding of one’s surroundings and in the ability to avoid unnecessary deaths in order to better concentrate on the objective at hand. In short: be a clone serving the highest bidder.
