[h1]5/10 Battle Splash 2.0 is a unique class-based third-person shooter involving water guns, but lacking in gameplay balance.[/h1]
[b]Pros:
+ Interesting overall concept
+ Challenging and unique gameplay
+ Diverse weapons
+ Easy to create server
+ Soft and relaxing graphics
+ Relaxing soundtracks
Cons:
– Unbalanced gameplay
– Bland maps with poor design
– Unbalanced weapons
– Indistinguishable and uninteresting characters
– Current lack of players and servers[/b]
Trianga’s Project: Battle Splash 2.0 is a class-based third-person shooter game involving water guns and anime girls and features several game modes and maps. Although an FPS featuring water guns is an interesting concept, this game needs to further develop its characters, weapons, maps, and gameplay mechanics as they are currently in a somewhat unfavorable state.
[h1]Gameplay Mechanics[/h1]
First of all, I would like to give my opinion on the overall gameplay and mechanics. All the controls function like you would expect in an third-person shooter, such as the WASD, jumping, and cursor movement controls, aiming with right-click, and shooting by left-clicking. It is also interesting that you can use one of the weapons in the game, the rocket launcher, to rocket jump like in Team Fortress 2, which grants you additional mobility. The movement mechanics are not what one would expect, however, although it does make the gameplay challenging, such as how the movement of the characters are somewhat faster than you would expect compared to movement speed in other FPS or TPS, which encourages precise aim. I recommend lowering the mouse sensitivity, as the default sensitivity is not recommended; it makes it hard to aim. Even then, controls are jerky and unresponsive, as if it was operating at 10 frames per second. I would like to see a game with smoother movement and aim.
Secondly, it seems that there is little room for strategy in this game; the players die too fast, due to how much damage the weapons deal. In the "SBot Guidance" gamemode, the robot defeats players in one shot, making it hard for the players to defeat it. There is no kill feed, making hard to keep track of your teammates and the enemies. This overall makes gameplay boring and confusing. Hence, the default settings are also not recommended in this area. There is nothing more hectic than 4 teams with a total of 24 players shooting at each other. I would also like to see more gamemodes that offer strategic gameplay, such as capture the flag.
[h1]Maps, Characters, and Weapons,[/h1]
Regarding all of the available maps I have played on such as “Medieval City” and “Medieval Citadel”, I feel all of the maps are too open and spread out, leaving the players open to fire and leading to boring encounters and the players unable to move effectively, as there are little obstacles to hide behind. This also discourages the players from using weapons with shorter ranges, such as the water pistol, and causes players to wander off from the battlefield. There are also little to no alternative paths on each map, leaving the players little room to be creative with their encounter. The only exception is “Paper World” as there are more opportunities for flanking with the multiple paths and floor levels the map has to offer. I suggest creating maps that have more landmarks, restrict the area the player can move in, and indicate clear paths to the battlefield so the map is both memorable and easy to move in.
Additionally, the character models show a lack of personality and seem generic; moreover, it is difficult to distinguish the four characters during gameplay as they appear too similar and wear similar clothes. The different colors the characters wear do not help with determining which team each character is on. Apart from their distinct weapons, every character has a sniper rifle, rocket launcher, pistol, and water balloon; this does not really emphasize the variation of each character and creates characters with similar gameplay and indistinctness.
Moreover, I like how there is a diverse range of weapons, as the game not only offers you the option to use sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and water balloon “grenades”, but also different variations for each weapon. I especially like the rocket launcher, since its versatility allows rocket jumping and how its slow fire rate encourages precise aim, implementing a hit-or-miss strategy in the game. Its splash also serves as a smokescreen, making the gameplay interesting. I do not see any problems with the weapons except for the fact that they seem to do too much damage, so the weapons either need to do less damage or have a slower reload time, either allowing longer character lifespans or encouraging precise aim. The special weapons carried by each character are, furthermore, either too weak or too strong. The healing weapon is near useless given that the default respawn time is 5 seconds and how the players are able to heal by themselves. The scanning weapon is also ineffective given its small scanning range and how the players are spottable in the open. The turret is too powerful considering how it is easily activated and how little time the player is given to react.
[h1]Graphics and Artwork[/h1]
The artwork used in the game features relaxing visuals throughout the maps, such as autumn-leaved trees and grass. The bloom effect adds to the overall colorful theme the game has to offer.
[h1]Audio and Soundtrack[/h1]
The soundtrack used for the game are mostly decent, if not repetitive. They are also quite relaxing, making them appropriate for a less serious game such as this.
[h1]Other Aspects[/h1]
I have also found a bug where the scores do not reset after a match. For example, if I had 7 kills and 4 defeats in the first match, these scores will stay static and carry on into the next match. However, I like how easy it is to create a server, allowing easy access to the gameplay. As of now, there is a lack of servers and players, so the game needs promotion.
[h1]Final Thoughts[/h1]
Overall, the game offers relaxing and colorful themes and a unique take on shooter games but needs lots of improvement on gameplay balance. I recognize the potential this game has and I'm willing to support the game.
[quote] If you found this review helpful, be sure to check out [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/destawaits/]my other reviews![/url] [/quote]
