Deceive Inc., the tried and true of an interesting multiplayer spy shooter
Deceive Inc.
If an indie video game wants to have some ambition these days to break into the consciousness of an increasingly polarized audience on the big triple A productions, it must have on its side some distinctive elements so original as to make it an absolute novelty, at least for its genre of reference. . The millionaire shooter blockbusters usually flatten themselves on formulas of sure success leaving the independent avant-garde the hard task of making their way into the jungle of originality with machetes, in search of treasures never found before.Trying to earn money a spot in the spotlight, a small Canadian studio based in Quebec City, Canada, thought of making a very different first-person shooter, inspired by those classic spy movies in which secret agents always had a large number of tricks up his sleeve to get over the supervillain on duty. We're talking about Deceive Inc., an interesting cartoon-style multiplayer shooter from Sweet Bandits Studios.
You want to know all the reasons why you should seriously consider adding the game to your list of Steam wishes? Find out, in our tried by Deceive Inc..
A shooter worthy of Ian Fleming
One of the agents of Deceive Inc. There was a reason that in the email exchanges that preceded the hands-on of Deceive Inc., a one of the most common recommendations from the development team was to complete the game tutorial before the event starts. The title of Sweet Bandits puts in place a rather complex gameplay formula, which however revolves on some fundamental principles that demonstrate the great consistency of the study. Deceive Inc. is in no way interested in expanding its playful offer, and bets all its cartridges on a PvP multiplayer sector in which alone or in a team they face other secret agents controlled by human opponents who like us have a unique purpose: to steal a briefcase with confidential information and run away from the area.To reach the goal, however, the players must first survive some phases of preparation for the shot, since the briefcase is located at the center of a maximum security bunker hidden who knows where inside a huge villa, the only map available during the hands-on. The first phase of the game is dedicated to the exploration of the structure, full of protected areas and areas reserved for personnel, in which we can infiltrate by stealing the identity of one of the many NPCs that populate the map. Remaining constantly hidden is the key to survival, because lives are extremely limited and if a player were to catch us red-handed they could eliminate us and easily get rid of a competitor to the final victory.
As we said, in the first moments of a game you explore the map, collect ammunition, access cards to the various sectors and useful upgrades to improve the skills of the spy, all resources that will prove invaluable in the advanced phase of the match. This game situation is always very calm, also because everyone remains hidden and is engaged in the search for three electronic consoles, which once activated open a passage to the bunker and start the next gameplay phase.
In this, players can finally make their way inside the bunker in search of the briefcase, which once grabbed signals the position of the spy who has possession of it to the entire lobby. If for most of the time Deceive Inc. proves to be a shooter in which very little is actually fired, from this point on, deceptions and subterfuges leave room for bullets, which fly between the rooms of the villa while the players try desperately to get to the extraction without the possibility of camouflaging anymore.
Tools of the trade
Some agents of the game, each equipped with unique equipment and skills The idea of focusing all gameplay on stealth, since we could see, it seemed completely successful and it's a lot of fun trying to figure out if an NPC can be a player only to find out that he has blown his cover for a glaring mistake. Fortunately, we will have a large number of gadgets and skills on our side to help foes enemies.There is no Ethan Hunt without explosive glasses, or a James Bond without shooting pens. Each spy has his tools of the trade and it is not surprising from this point of view that Deceive Inc. is configured as the most classic of hero shooters, with unique characters each equipped with a whole set of specific skills. Each character is then further characterized with a special weapon, which often reflects the characteristics of its owner. If we then add that you can take the field by choosing two gadgets from a list full of alternatives, it goes without saying that the experience offered by the Canadian studio's game can also prove to be exquisitely strategic.
The briefcase, the object most coveted among the spies of Deceive Inc. The profound degree of customization of the secret agent's abilities is tied hand in glove with the peculiarities of a gunplay that at this stage seemed quite confusing and imprecise. Being able to count on unique skills and gadgets becomes fundamental, if hitting enemies with your weapon is always a decent nightmare. The ammunition is then completely unobtainable, with the result that during the hands-on the final stages of a game have often turned into disorderly fights between handfuls of players who had exhausted all the magazines at their disposal, before killing someone. In short, Sweet Bandits still has a lot of work to do in refining his work and, not surprisingly, the version at our disposal was far from representing the final one. The idea is there, but it will have to be realized.
Deceive Inc. is a PvP shooter supported by a series of brilliant ideas, but which at the moment lends itself to several critical issues that mainly concern the shooting model . The only luck is that in the title of Sweet Bandits there is very little shooting, and the studio still has plenty of time to polish the imperfections of what was after all an alpha version of the game. The test, on balance, tells us about a genuinely fun shooter, who has a well-defined soul and all the potential to do well at launch. Keep an eye on it.
