[h1] <-- Review written for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/35180752/] 3 Point Play [/url] --> [/h1]
Gene Rain: Wind Tower is a game that we should discuss. I've played like 1 hour since it was released, and even if you may not consider that much time, I have to mention that first impressions when it comes to games, specially on Steam, are really important, once again, considering the fact that games can be refunded when you have up to two hours of playtime; while we received this game on our Curator, this could be interesting to you, as a potential buyer and player.
Well, let's begin.
<< Overview >>
Gene Rain: Wind Tower is a chinese-developed cover-based third-person shooter with a fairly unique setting in which the humanity is struggling against something called the "Genetic Rain", which affects humans but not mechanical life-beings. Among the humans, the rich, powerful people, are able to get themselves a mechanical heart, but this, in the other hand, being really expensive, makes it impossible for the people in the lower social strats. In this game, you play as Alex, a member of the resistance fighting against the robots in order to bring attention to his cause and save humanity, by destroying the Wind Tower which gives the game its name.
In order to do this review, I'll note the pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses of the game.
<< Story and Setting >>
When it comes to story and setting, I have to say this game excels in those aspects. I got really interested in it, and the gritty atmosphere really absorbs you. The first levels are gorgeous to see, filled to the brim with neon lights and mechanical decorations, giving it a really industrial feel with a futuristic vibe.
However, the really clunky english translation makes it really hard to keep track of what's going on. I don't really know chinese, so playing in english is the only way for me to actually get into the story and understand what's going on. While english is not my native language, and thus, I can understand to some extent the meaning of the words I read even if it is a bad translation, I don't really like dealing with bad translations.
<< Gameplay >>
When it comes to shooter mechanics, it is a cover-based shooter. So there's a lot of things that you'd expect, specially if you've played Mass Effect or other similar titles: Enemy names with their health bars, shooting from cover, "cover-shaped" walls enough for a man to take cover behind, flanking enemies.
However, it does require a LOT and I say A LOT of polishing in this aspect, because:
[list]
[*] Jumping over cover will straight up not work. I've tried to vault over cover and the character will instead try and get on top of it (???)
[*] There's no cover-to-cover movement. While this is not as big (I think) some other games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution had a system in which you can jump from a cover to another quickly, taking less damage and increasing your mobility overall.
[*] There are no grenades. Grenades should nowadays be a staple for these kind of games; how else are you gonna take someone out of their cover if they keep crouching, or in the other hand, how are you gonna feel motivated to move and not turtle behind a single cover all day?
[*] There's actually no need to take cover. While I played the game, I noticed some bugs (are they bugs, though?) which somehow make the melee attack way stronger than it should be. By running (with shift) and spamming melee (with V) the character will kick without doing the animation and keeping his speed, couple that with the fact that the melee damage will go in the direction you're aiming at and the fact that it has a really long range (even getting enemies behind cover) and the fact that you have a 100% heal system every 2 minutes, and you have a recipe for disaster. I killed a boss just by getting behind him and strafing around while spamming kicks.
[*] The AI is fairly dumb. While I rushed them, they would try and get into a corner, without shooting me (!!!) or would otherwise come and meet their inevitable demise by running face first into my turret. Some robots will try to flank you, but as soon as you get close to them, they'll give up and return to their previous locations.
[/list]
<< Gimmicks >>
There's a really interesting crafting system. Yet picking up the materials could be way easier in my opinion. For some items you just need to stand up in them and press the "Save to Inventory" key for a few seconds. Wouldn't it be way better if it auto-grabbed the materials as you got close? This wouldn't be the case if you could add modules to your weapon while in the outside areas, but since that's not possible, I just don't see the need for such a tedious looting mechanic to be there, after all, you'll have more than enough time to review the materials you got when you go back to your base.
<< Conclusion >>
So, what we have here is, again, a cover-based shooter with some really weird mechanics. Perhaps they're honoring their shaolin legacy by giving us such an OP kick? I don't know. This could be the start of a new genre called Run'n'Kick.
Either way, the game is not bad by any means. It is, however, a gem in the rough, and it needs to have a lot of dirt removed, and some really intense polishing done. I'll be more than glad to help in whatever mean I could if the devs decide to reach out to me. For the time being, I'll probably keep playing the game, and see what else is in store for me in it, but as for you, my dear reader, I recommend you buy only if you're willing to wait for the afforementioned fixes and polishing.
