Hard Reset initially caught me off guard. I went in expecting something of a cross between Blade Runner and Deus Ex, and what I got was exactly that, albeit more on the action side of things than the role playing or character-driven storyline side. That’s not to take anything from Hard Reset or say that it’s a poor product by any means, because it’s not – in fact it’s just the opposite.
The visuals in Hard Reset were top notch from the get-go and never slowed down. The lush colors that rained from the dynamic lighting provided an atmosphere that engrossed me from beginning to end. Overhead, I saw roadways, towering steel structures and vehicles eagerly flying by, all of which were tinted with a sense of despair: reminiscent of the hopelessness one would experience in a city such as that of Midgar from the 1997 title Final Fantasy VII.
Making my way through the city, I encountered a variety of robots, all of which were programmed with the simple agenda of terminating me. They came in a few flavors, from small, round bots with saw-like rotors, to lumbering mech with gorilla-sized arms, although none of them seemed to behave any differently from one another; they had the simple directive of attacking me straight on. Which brings me to my next point.
Why does my HUD vanish when my character is nearly dead – isn’t that when I need the precious information most? Often times my screen was filled with blood, electric particles, and a deep blue fog around the edges, which commonly distracted me from the task at hand. That is perhaps my only complaint with the title, as I frequently felt overwhelmed, even being attacked by only a handful of weak enemies due to the flaws I’ve just mentioned.
Perhaps the key feature of Hard Reset that I found most amusing was the breadth of customization options available to my two weapons: one of which uses your standard variety of ammunition, while the other relies on energy. Scattered throughout the environment are hubs, which allowed me to upgrade either weapon as I progressed through a variety of skill trees. Five unique firing modes are made available to each weapon, ranging from a particle cannon, homing missiles, and electric mortar to a grenade launcher. Trust me when I say there is no shortage of weapon customizability in Hard Reset.
Much of my time spent in Hard Reset consisted largely of triggered fight sequences, where I was quickly backpedaling and circle-strafing to avoid enemy fire while returning some of my own. True to its Doom 3 and action-oriented FPS roots, my experience with Hard Reset concluded with a boss battle. Glowing weak points from the towering beast were a blast from the past, and after a few well-placed shots, the foe was lumbering toward the pavement.
Ultimately, I found Hard Reset to be an impressive and beautiful showing for first time developer Flying Wild Hog, especially when you consider that they constructed the engine as well. I look forward to the finished product when it makes its PC-exclusive debut in September.
This preview was based on the beta version of the game, which consists of 3 levels.
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