Earlier today I was able to attend a presentation from Bethesda games and Battlecry Studios for their recently announced upcoming game, BattleCry. A lot of info involving the game’s aesthetics, character classes, and gameplay elements were revealed, and those interested in team-based multiplayer games like Team Fortress 2 may find a lot to like here.
A free-to-play action game with support for up to 32 players at once, BattleCry will take place in an alternate timeline set around the early 20th century where gunpowder has been banned, leading to a more unique arsenal of weapons for its cast of characters to fight with. Some of the characters and environments were shown, and the game overall has a nice look with some slight stylized elements, such as a graphical filter akin to cel-shading that’s applied to the sun and clouds.
Players will be able to select from three factions: The Royal Marines, the Cossack Empire, and another which will be officially revealed later. Character classes are generally the same across each faction aside from designs, and they include the melee-centric, sword-wielding Enforcer, the stealthy, twin-bladed Duelist, the projectile-focused Archer, and others.
By playing matches, gamers will be able to unlock new skills and abilities for each class, along with visual customization elements like different armor, helmets, and even the opposite gender for each character. Each class by default has 3 unique abilities that can be used, and all of them appear to share the Adrenaline meter, which can be built up through fighting. Players can choose to release their Adrenaline for special attacks, or save it up to unleash a temporary Ultimate Ability, which powers them up all-around for a short period.
After each match ends, you’ll have the option of saluting other players who performed well, which will result in the recipient of the salute receiving a reward. Movement across maps will contain double jumps, sprinting, as well as numerous points in each environment that can be quickly grappled to for quick traversal. Finally, plans to continually support the game past its official launch with new modes and maps were confirmed, along with the announcement that the beta will start some time in 2015.
We will keep you updated on BattleCry as more news is announced.