Helldivers | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Arrowhead Game Studios |
Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
Director(s) | Johan Pilestedt |
Designer(s) |
|
Programmer(s) |
|
Artist(s) |
|
Composer(s) | Johan Lindgren |
Engine | Autodesk Stingray |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Windows |
Release | Super-Earth Ultimate Edition (PS4) Windows 7 December 2015 [3] |
Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Helldivers is a top-down shooter game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita (with cross-play) in March 2015. [4] A version for Microsoft Windows was also released via Steam on 7 December 2015, making it the first game Sony published for Windows.
Helldivers has both local and online co-op for up to four players. Helldivers received positive reviews from critics. A sequel, Helldivers 2 , was announced in May 2023 and was released on 8 February 2024.
In Helldivers, the player needs to coordinate their actions during chaotic combat to complete objectives and avoid friendly fire casualties. [5] The game pits the players against three different enemy species and tasks them with ensuring the survival of Super Earth. Players engage with procedurally-generated missions where players must accomplish a series of objectives. At the start of each mission, players can choose their loadouts (sets of weapons, equipment, and gear) and deployment positions. They can also use the game's unique[ citation needed ] stratagem mechanic to enhance their options, catering to the map layout or their individual playstyle. For example, the player may choose stratagems that focus on providing additional firepower or mobility, or give themselves supportive abilities such as calling in precise airstrikes.
The game has a single difficulty option, though the player can then choose a hard or easy planet for their missions. This changed over the course of development.
In each mission, the player must fight or sneak through enemy-controlled territory to complete the given objectives, then escape via a dropship. It is possible to fail some of the given objectives without immediately losing. It often benefits the player to avoid direct combat if possible, as the enemy has infinite reinforcements, and there are no in-game rewards for simply killing enemies.
The game keeps many of the mechanics common to the genre, like Fog of War and a map that shows any enemies the player(s) can currently see. The enemy will patrol their territory, impeding the player's attempt to complete the given objectives. Enemy units that come in contact with the player(s) will try to raise an alarm, which will result in continuous waves of enemy reinforcements for as long as the alarm remains active. The player can prevent an alarm by avoiding enemy patrols if possible, and can cancel one by defeating all units currently aware of the player or by fleeing the area.
Once all mission objectives are successfully completed or failed, the player is then required to call in a dropship and escape with all their remaining units. This takes 90 seconds and draws enemy attention to the landing zone, resulting in heavy fighting. Entering the dropship completes the mission.
Friendly fire is always active. This includes the players' personal weapons as well as other, less direct sources such as air support and deployed turrets. Supply drops or vehicle deployments can also crush allies, requiring players to carefully plan their actions during the game's many chaotic combat sequences or take preventive measures to mitigate these risks. Options include upgrading turrets to stop shooting when players enter the line of fire or choosing weapons that fire over allies.[ citation needed ]
There are tangible benefits to multiplayer as teammates can help a downed ally recover, as well as provide healing or ammunition. Several heavy weapons come with a backpack that allows a second player to help reload, and some resources can be pooled for the group to access. In online play, it is possible to allow random players to join a mission in progress through optional matchmaking.[ citation needed ]
The dystopian universe of Helldivers has mankind ruled by a 'managed democracy', an alteration of contemporary democracy where the outcome of elections are more predictable. The pseudo-democracy has become more than a way of electing a government, it has become a creed by which the inhabitants of Super Earth fight for - without fully acknowledging what it means.
Super Earth, the fictional futuristic Earth is beset on all sides by three hostile enemy races (the Bugs, the Cyborgs and the Illuminates) that, according to the government, in one way or another need to be subdued. And while the Helldivers are a pure combat unit, they are often tasked with retrieving technology, activating oil-pumps or other activity that is deemed important by the government to preserve freedom and the Super Earth 'way of life'.
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | (PC) 83/100 [6] (PS4) 81/100 [7] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Destructoid | (PS4) 9/10 [8] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | (PS4) 7/10 [9] |
Famitsu | 31/40 [10] |
Game Informer | (PS4) 8.5/10 [11] |
GameSpot | (PS4) 8/10 [12] |
GameZone | (PS4) 9.5/10 [13] |
Hardcore Gamer | (PS4) 3.5/5 [14] |
IGN | (PS4) 9/10 [15] |
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | (PS4) 8/10 [16] |
Push Square | (PS4) [17] |
Shacknews | (PS4) 8/10 [18] |
USgamer | (PS4) 4/5 [19] |
VentureBeat | (PS4) 75/100 [20] |
The Digital Fix | (PS4) 7/10 [21] |
Metro | 8/10 [22] |
The game received "generally favorable reviews" on PlayStation 4 and PC, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [6] [7] In Japan, where the game was ported for release on March 5, 2015, Famitsu gave it a score of two eights, one seven, and one eight for a total of 31 out of 40. [10]
IGN played the demo version of Helldivers at the 2013 Gamescom, and reviewed the demo positively. [23] Game Informer also gave the demo a positive rating, commenting that it "isn't easy, but this throwback to classic top down shooters is still a good time." [24]
GameSpot 's reviewer Cameron Woolsey noted that the PlayStation 4 version has "fantastic cooperative action" but "missions and story are lacking." [12] IGN said of the same PS4 version, "Brutal, focused, and mechanically rich, Helldivers is one of the best co-op action experiences you can have." [15]
In a review-based web series Previously Recorded, Rich Evans described the game as "stratem-up":
At face value one when I saw the video for this, it looked like it was just a twin stick shooter. I expected something extremely dumb but kind of fun, and what you get is kind of a lot deeper. I thought it was going to be a shoot'em-up, it's more of a strategy based-... It's a, it's a stratem-up! A "strate-shmup". Because it's not just shoot at things and dodge bullets, there's more to it than that. [25]
Helldivers was nominated for "Action Game of the Year" and won for "Handheld Game of the Year" at the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards held by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. [26]
In May 2023, Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a sequel titled Helldivers 2 . Unlike the first game, the sequel is no longer a top-down shooter, but instead is a third-person shooter. The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows on 8 February 2024. [27]
The PlayStation Store is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
Section 8 is a first-person shooter video game developed by TimeGate Studios and published by SouthPeak Games. It utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released in September 2009 for Xbox 360 and PC, and for the PlayStation 3 on March 25 in North America and April 15, 2010, in the PAL region.
PixelJunk Shooter is a video game developed by Q-Games for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth major title in the PixelJunk series. It was released on the worldwide PlayStation Store in December 2009, and for Steam on November 11, 2013. A remastered version of the game, PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate, was released for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in June 2014, and for Microsoft Windows on October 21, 2015.
Dead Nation is a top-down shoot 'em up video game for the PlayStation 3 developed by video game developer Housemarque. It was released on November 30, 2010 in North America, and December 1 in the PAL region, on PlayStation Network. Dead Nation takes place in a world afflicted by a zombie apocalypse. The player can choose between a male or female character and battle different types of zombies. Dead Nation was part of Sony's "Welcome Back" package, created to resolve the initial PlayStation Network outage. In February 2014 a PlayStation 4 version of the game titled the Apocalypse Edition was announced along with the PlayStation Vita version. The original Road of Devastation downloadable content was included for the PS3 and Vita versions, and the PS4 version was free for PlayStation Plus subscribers in March 2014. The PS4 and Vita versions were released in Japan for release on May 29, 2014.
The PlayStation Vita is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territories beginning on February 22, 2012. The console is the successor to the PlayStation Portable, and a part of the PlayStation brand of gaming devices; as part of the eighth generation of video game consoles, it primarily competed with the Nintendo 3DS.
LittleBigPlanet (LBP) is a puzzle platform video game series created and produced by British developer Media Molecule and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Most games in the series put a strong emphasis on user-generated content and are based on the series' tagline "Play, Create, Share". The tagline represents the three core elements of the series: playing alone or with others locally or online, creating new content using the in-game creation tools, and sharing creations and discoveries online with other players.
The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective. Players use firearms and improvised weapons and can use stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus. In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage in cooperative and competitive gameplay.
Unit 13 is a third-person shooter video game for the PlayStation Vita. This is the last game to be developed by Zipper Interactive before the studio was rendered defunct. It was released on March 6, 2012 in North America, March 7 in Europe and March 8 in Japan.
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in Europe, South America, and Australia, and on February 22, 2014, in Japan. A console of the eighth generation, it competes with Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Wii U and Switch.
Toukiden: The Age of Demons is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita. It was released on June 27, 2013 in Japan. Tecmo Koei Games showcased the PlayStation Vita version of the game at E3 2013, and released the game within North America on February 11, 2014 exclusively on PlayStation Vita. A sequel titled Toukiden 2 was released in 2016 on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty! is a 2014 cinematic platform video game developed by Just Add Water and published by Oddworld Inhabitants as a "ground-up remake" of Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. The game was released in North America on 22 July 2014 and in Europe on 23 July 2014 for the PlayStation 4. The title was also released for Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Wii U. It has been ported on iOS and Android and released worldwide on 14 December 2017. A Nintendo Switch version was released on 27 October 2020.
Mercenary Kings is a side-scrolling run and gun video game developed and published by Tribute Games. It was funded by Kickstarter and released for Microsoft Windows on March 25, 2014, and for PlayStation 4 on April 1, 2014. Alongside the Mercenary Kings: Reloaded update, versions for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation Vita were released on February 6, 2018. An early-access version of the game was released on Steam on July 23, 2013.
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken is a platform adventure game created and developed by Ratloop for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. OS X and Linux ports were later released in September 2013 as part of Humble Bundle, followed by the PlayStation 4 version in November 2020. A remake of the 2009 Flash game Rocketbirds: Revolution!, Hardboiled Chicken is a cinematic adventure game with full single and co-op campaigns and stereoscopic 3D support.
CounterSpy is a side-scrolling stealth video game developed by American independent studio Dynamighty and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as a cross-buy and cross-save title for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. Subsequently, the game was released on Android and iOS on September 5, 2014.
The PlayStation TV, known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on November 14, 2013, and Europe and Australia on November 14, 2014.
Deception IV: Blood Ties, known in Japan as Kagero: Dark Side Princess, is a strategy game for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 by Tecmo Koei, and a sequel to Kagero II: Dark Illusion within the Deception series. The game was released in 2014 for Japan on 27 February, and the western localization of the game was released in North America on 25 March and Europe on 28 March.
PlayStation Now was a standalone video game subscription service on consoles developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The service offered cloud gaming for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 games that could be played on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows computers. In addition, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 4 games could be downloaded to play locally on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. With the expansion of the PlayStation Plus service to offer additional tiers in May–June 2022, the standalone PlayStation Now subscription was shut down, but its services were incorporated into the PlayStation Plus Premium tier.