While I enjoy OOA, this game is totally different from the original. I originally found the OOA franchise just looking for VR games and thought it would be fun to play. The original game was, this one is a different story. I don't think it will be possible to explain why I dislike this game without comparing it to the original.
Let me explain everything that makes the two games different, both for the better and for worse.
[b]- Gameplay[/b]
Out of ammo 1 had great gunplay, the only problem I had with it was the throwing mechanics being totally disgusting and that essentially made grenades useless. In OOA 2, the throwing mechanics have been fixed, this was the first thing I noticed in the tutorial and it immediately satisfied me. However, while throwing weapons were easier to use in this game, guns were completely useless. The only time first person combat is really important is during the first person campaign missions, I will go into why those are the worst later. Guns in this game are a chore to use. Their only use is to shoot bandits which are the only ranged enemies in the game, bandits only show up during the non-first person missions. Again, I will talk about these missions later.
First person movement in OOA2 is essentially the usual expectation I have for VR games, however this expectation is very low. Obviously I wish VR games had better movement but I can't really say more since its not used in the actual meat of the game.
[b]- Campaign[/b]
The "campaign" in OOA1 is not a campaign. It is just a collection of levels, however there is a recognizable progression of difficulty in the original game.
The campaign in OOA2 is an actual story driven campaign. There is a story in this game, but there isn't any difficulty progression until the final level which I only nearly failed on my first try. OOA2 is not hard. The levels all have the same strategy for beating them this is it:
(I will discuss all these mechanics later).
[u]Step 1:[/u]
Send the survivors to gather scrap.
[u]Step 2:[/u] place barricades by the scrap piles
[u]Step 3:[/u] place a platform and a guard tower by each scrap pile
[u]Step 4:[/u] Healing Doggo
[u]Step 5:[/u] Win level.
Notice how I did not discuss the usage of possession at all. This is because possession is useless.
[b]- Possession
Possession is an essential selling point of both OOA games. If you want to possess your units buy OOA1, do not buy this game.[/b]
Possession in OOA2 is disappointing for multiple reasons.
[u]1. Gunplay is painful,[/u] the double barrel shotgun is very difficult to get used to reloading and if you have multiple guns reloading becomes a massive problem. This makes possession pointless and the NPCs have no trouble aiming and reloading on their own. The NPCs easily carry the player through every level.
[u]2. Resource Management.[/u] OOA1 had no focus on resource management. You get a supply delivery, you use it. OOA2 however, uses a resource material called scrap. Scrap must be constantly collected by NPCs during which time they cannot fight. I actually like the concept of scrap being a sort of currency...
But the usage of scrap is what makes possession difficult. This game would not be an Out of Ammo game, without you running out of ammo. When an NPC runs out of ammo, YOU MUST REFILL IT. YOU HAVE TO. So this often results in the player possessing an NPC when suddenly someone screams "NEED AMMO" at which point you MUST REFILL IT, I mean must, if you don't the unit will die, despite having a melee weapon (I will go into NPC AI later). Anyways, if the unit is lost it can put strain on your defenses, I said the game was easy, but what I didn't say was that you had to play it properly. Possession is completely impossible when you have to reload ammo the whole game.
[u]3. Possession is useless.[/u] The NPCs have perfect aim and reload like gods. Taking possession of an npc is not efficient nor fun.
[b] First Person levels
The Campaign consists of 3 first person levels and 4 basic god mode levels. The first person levels are just filler [/b].
They are not enjoyable, nor is there ever any imminent danger unless you decide to just stop playing the game. This is a good time for me to talk about Melee weapons. Melee weapons are hilariously overpowered. Every FP level has overpowered melee weapons in it. All you need to do to win is pick one up and you'll be fine. There is no better way I can describe how I used melee weapons other than I just spammed them. Just twist your wrist and the weapon can rip off a zombie's head. There is no danger in the FP levels. Before you buy this game, consider the fact that you will only play 4 levels that are actually out of ammo-esk and even then, you are getting nothing but a tower defense game because possession is just a no no.
[b]NPCs[/b]
There are 2 types of NPCs in this game, survivors and enemies.
[u]Survivors:[/u]
Nothing special, they're just people, you can assign them to structures and scrap piles. They don't miss their shots.
Phrases: "NEED AMMO" and more.
Enemies:
During my playtime I noticed 3 enemy variants.
[u]Zombies:[/u] No danger, they only drain ammo
Phrases: "FRIEND?" and more
[u]Bandits:[/u] Dangerous, they should be dealt with immediately... By the NPCs, not you.
Phrases: "WOOOOOO WE GOTCHA BOIIII" and more.
[u]Reapers:[/u] Low Danger? They seem to have a ranged AOE attack, but I've never seen an NPC die due to them. Consider them weaker bandits.
Keep in mind that I have only 90 minutes in this game as of writing this review, I did beat the entire game on normal in that time and found none of these enemies to be particularly special.
[b] Structures[/b]
The structures are the best part of this game. I am not joking. All structures have upgrades, however the NPCs will not use the upgrades.
[u] Barricade[/u]
The barricade is a structure that gives the NPC a shotgun.
Upgrades: [i] Nailgun turret[/i] - A nailgun turret, I don't remember if it was automated but I know that I had no use to buy this upgrade since the NPCs COULD NOT USE IT.
[i] Flamethrower[/i] - definitely not automated, didn't buy it because the NPCS COULD NOT USE IT.
[i] Upgraded armaments[/i] There might be more to this however all I know is that it gives the NPC a SMG, but the NPC COULD NOT USE IT. This upgrade was only useful if you intended to possess the unit and use the SMG yourself.
[u] Guard Tower[/u]
Sniper NPC, a must have for dealing with bandits.
[i] Some sort of turret[/i] I forgot it but I do know one thing: THE NPCS CAN'T USE IT.
[i] Upgraded Armaments[/i] Same thing, plus some molotovs. Again, the npcs can't use it.
[i] Something else [/i] (Npcs can't use it).
[u] Platform [/u]
Gives the npc a revolver, good for dealing with bandits. A very useful tower.
[i] Some sort of turret [/i] Npcs cannot use it obviously.
[i] The healing doggo [/i] This is the only upgrade in the entire game that gives the npcs something useful. When an npc is injured, the platform npc will throw the tennis ball to that npc, the healing doggo will then create a temporary healing aura at the npc. This upgrade is a must have.
[i] Forward Base [/i] Notice how I actually remembered the upgrade name? Yeah, this is because the game kept telling me "Nice platform, how about you upgrade it to receive scrap!" As you can see, this acts as a drop off point for scrap. This can significantly reduce scrap collection times, also a must have. Only problem is that npc pathfinding is garbage, the npcs will always deposit scrap to the RIGHT side of the platform.
[b]Ok so this review is massive. And I'm tired, here's the TL;DR
OOA1 is a better game.
OOA2 Makes possession useless and only has 4 real campaign levels that have some level of enjoyment in it. Do not buy OOA2, if you liked OOA1, you will likely not like this game. Do not expect more updates to these games. OOA1 still is missing some of the great improvements brought to the second game but it is still better. [/b]
