From the same FPS series that has held the attention of over 690 million players, comes an RTS that continues the legacy of its franchise and may be enticing to new fans across the globe. Crossfire: Legion, by developer Blackbird Interactive and publisher Prime Matter, is a classic RTS featuring two unique factions warring across the planet over ideological and political differences. Both factions offer the player a unique playthrough that can offer players endless replaybility, strategy, and variation of tactics. Let’s talk about it.
At first glance, you might think this looks like a crossover between Starcraft 2 and Command and Conquer. While the game is consistent with elements from these two classic RTS’s, it has a unique feel to it from the base-building to the combat. Skirmishes with other players in this test build are fast-paced, definitely creating challenges in strategic and tactical decisions. For example, one map available is a mountainous area that can render even the best unit composition vulnerable.
There are two playable factions at the moment (and potentially a third one teased by the developers), who struggle to overtake the other in theatres across the world. You might even think that the factions were inspired from the FPS Brink from back in the day. The first faction is Global Risk. Their uniforms are clean, their vehicles are pristine, and they have corporate funds for their enterprise. You can think of them as a paramilitary/mercenary group. Their main strategy is to overwhelm their opposition from afar. The other faction is Black List, which is a splinter group that broke off from Global Risk, now jaded from the corporatist undoing of the enterprise. Since they do not have the same resources as their counterpart, Black List uses guerilla tactics, relying on speed and surgical strikes. Stealth and speed play a vital role in their general tactics.
When you are in the lobby, you can see that you can customize your loadout before getting into the game. You can choose between your commanders for their specializations and abilities. For example, Global Risk currently uses Cardinal and Blacklist uses Phoenix. They are represented by a card. We can also see that the cards are applicable to the units as well, potentially adding more flavor to each player’s preferences, desired tactics, and overall experience with others online.
The roadmap ahead looks very promising. The month (January) is the stress test, leading up to next month’s First Look Demo. March will include ranked matches, which I think will incentive people to really experiment with their tactics. April is planned to launch the open beta and army customization, so then we will see how player can take their tactical knowledge and apply modifications to their loadouts for the ultimate advantages. Regretfully, I don’t think that includes an army painter.
Overall, I am looking forward to seeing the Crossfire series expand in this direction. I love classic RPGs, and this title is no exception. I am also looking forward to seeing how Legion is going to evolve in the future with the February announcement of another potential faction, diversity of tactics with what is currently available, and then the army customization. I predict a melting pot of ideas, eventually leading to widely accepted tactics through blood and iron.
Check Out the Crossfire: Legion Trailer:
Crossfire: Legion is slated for a Spring 2022 release. You can wishlist the game right now via Steam Early Access.
I like to think of myself as the average Joe who grew up alongside video games. I have fun playing strategy games, RPGs, shooters, sandboxes, the whole shebang! Every game provides an experience whether it strikes you as profound, mundane, or someplace in between. I'd like to weigh in my two cents before you spend a single penny.
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