IRONSIGHT
First on the list is Ironsight. This game reminds me a lot of black ops 2 and is one of the few games that I’ve played that is actually starting to get close to feeling like call of duty in terms of gameplay, polish and features. Ironsight has also been out for a little while so it’s the perfect time to play it because There is so much content in this game it’s insane. With 25 assault rifles, 16 smgs, 9 sniper rifles and 5 LMG’s. Each with unique attatchments and camos to grind and unlock. There are also 23 maps to play and these maps look awesome. I want to showcase some of the maps on screen right now because how maps look is such a big part of what gives a game it’s character and I think you’ll see why this game reminds of black ops 2 so much. The semi futuristic setting is just presented so well here with interesting, colorful and unique map designs. Clearly inspired by call of duty without completely ripping it off. You also have all of the core game modes you would want to play like Team Deathmatch, Free for All & Search and destroy. Now this game doesn’t have a campaign mode but there are a couple of missions you can do as a single player that are pretty simple but give you a good feel for the game if you’re playing it for the first time. Overall I highly recommend more people try this game out and I’m extremely surprised more content creators aren’t talking about it.
SHATTERLINE
Next we’ve got Shatterline. With a futuristic and imaginative theme this game definitely brings something unique to the table. An alien race known as the crystalline have arrived on earth seeking to consume the planet in their quest to dominate every species in the galaxy. This game has two main features on offer with both a PVE expedition mode and a Multiplayer. In Expedition your mission is to drop into crystalline infected area, complete objectives, loot materials and extract safely. Bringing all the data and materials back to be studied so you can better fight against the crystalline to save earth from domination. One feature they’ve added that gives this game mode a ton of replay value and depth is a skill tree for each character. By collecting resources like shards, spores and energy cores during your expedition you can then spend those on upgrading your characters abilities making you more powerful each time you drop back into the combat zone.
Jumping into multiplayer your greeted with all of the characters in the game who each have their own unique set of abilities much like black ops 3, 4 or apex legends. You also have access to a long list of weapons to progress through and unlock as you play. While the leveling system may feel a bit slow there is always something to keep working towards while you play, which is something that seems to be missing in the FPS genre from triple a studios. As far as game modes on deck you have your classic team deatchmatch, domination and hardpoint. But a really fun game mode that takes place on slightly larger maps is escort. One team needs to guard a convoy containing valuable crystalline resources through checkpoints and ultimately to its final destination. The other team’s job is to stop you from succeeding. This game mode is also the core of the new ranked experience they’ve introduced and is definitely a good competitive game mode. Unfortunately at the time of this recording Shatterline is only available on PC but they’ve expressed numerous times that they are working on console support. This game absolutely deserves a bigger audience but doesn’t quite have the marketing to bring the awareness and attention it needs so if you’re on PC or it comes to console when you’re watching this definitely download it and give it a try.
COMBAT MASTER
Next We’ve Got a game that is essentially a clone of modern warfare 2019 but with extremely fast paced and wacky movement.
Combat Master Is a game I didn’t expect to play or even like because it was originally a mobile game that ended up getting ported over to pc and released on steam for free. If you take the game for what it is there is no denying that there is fun to be had here. While this game doesn’t quite deliver a triple a polished experience it's a good game to load up, have some fun and not take it too seriously. One thing I have to this game credit for is a completely unique game mode they’ve created called combat master, which I assume is where they got the name for the game. The combat master game mode combines some of the aspects of battle royale with a free for all like respawn game mode. You spawn in with just your fists and need to find loot crates around the map for things like weapons, ammo and armor. This game mode is a ton of fun and definitely keeps the game feeling fresh. What could make it even better is if they developed maps specific to this game mode as sometimes to open site lines make it difficult to safely find loot. Overall, if you haven’t played this game it’s definitely worth a download and at the bare minimum and you’ll have a few hours of fun.
HALO INFINIT
Next Let’s Jump Back Into Halo Infinite. A few months ago I wouldn’t have put this game on any list with the title “worth playing”. But after the changes and updates to the game we got in August I think it’s worth another try. At the very least it will definitely keep you occupied for a few afternoons. If Halo Infinite would have launched in this state it might have been praised as one of the best Halo multiplayers ever. If you’re one of the people who tried the game when it first came out and were not happy with it, now is the time to jump back in. With numerous bug fixes and updates giving the game better performance, more content as well as improved sliding mechanics the game is finally starting to look like what it should have been during launch. 343 seems to be rolling out consistently good updates that actually fix the game and deliver content and changes that the fans actually want. If this is any indication of how the game will be handled going forward you might just find yourself grinding this game for weeks to come.
ROBLOX
The Next Two On The List We’re Going to cover at the same time because they’re very similar and both are inside of Roblox. Now hold on stick with me, I know what you’re thinking.. Really…. Roblox….? I know I know I thought the same thing too and then I played them. These two games are Frontlines and Riotfall. Both of these games are surprisingly fun and packed with more features than you’d expect. Both offer a variety of weapons as well as a gunsmith like system to customize your weapon attachments and player perks. There are also camos to grind as well as a proper leveling system giving you things to unlock as you play the game. Riotfall even has an excellent after action report showing you things like xp gained, attachments and camos unlocked. Both of these games have decent maps and I’m curious to see how they continue to improve their map design as the developers better understand the flow of gameplay. One of my favorite things about frontlines is the fluid and fast paced movement. You don’t feel like your character is wearing a pair of cinder blocks for shoes but is also much more tame than the movement in something like combat master that we talked about earlier. While both games have good gunplay, Riotfall excels in its gunplay and is surprisingly fun to quickscope in. To be honest it feels a bit like I’m playing the og MW2 from way back in 2009.
XDEFIANT
Xdefiant is a free to play arcade shooter game that aims to bring back to traditional call of duty experience with their own twist. Led by former Call of Duty director, Mark Rubin. Bringing together all of the factions from different games like Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs 2, The Division and Splinter Cell. Each faction has its own unique abilities similar to games like black ops 3 and 4. As far as gunplay goes I think this game almost nails it. With a few things needing smoothed out from the beta I’m sure the game will find a good balance over time. A lot of people are dubbing this game the Call of Duty Killer but let’s be real, nothing will ever kill Call of Duty. And that’s ok. Xdefiant doesn’t need to end call of duty to be a successful game. It just needs to serve the community of people the enjoy it. Mark rubin has been fantastic when it comes to communication about the game via his twitter account and if you’re interested in staying up to date i’d give him a follow. While you’re over there go ahead and give me a follow too. I’m curious to see how Xdefiant unfolds once the game is out because they have a really unique opportunity to challenge triple a studios. I think they need to really decide how they’re going to position the game in the market by deciding if they want to appeal to casual gamers or go down the esports route. I personally think the Esports route is the best direction to go with this game because it’s fundamentally competitive with the longer time to kill, character abilities widening the skill gap and having a ranked mode. With very minimal marketing behind this game, going the route that apex legends took, by establishing a massive Esports scene, could really help grow the game. Not to mention they’ve been very vocal about having NO SKill based matchmaking in public matches.
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