Severely Imbalanced...

SaintGraye

..I would recommend steering clear of this game, despite the Free-to-Play premise and whimsical anime-esque motif, as the issue of balance trumps all: my very first game pitted me, a level 1 player, against a team whose lowest member was level 12. Subsequent games saw that same lowly level 1 facing level 25 and even 30 players, all of whom can easily one-shot you with their standard weapon, despite playing a Guardian with my protection skill enabled. Matchmaking, in other words, is a farce, with no regard given to team composition nor player-experience; everyone, regardless of whether they're sporting upgraded weapons or a dozen levels more than their opponent are all tossed together willy-nilly and let loose for the "noobs" to be repeatedly slaughtered. While this may sound brilliant in premise, at least for the higher level players, it becomes a veritable nightmare of spawn-camping and insta-death for the newly inducted.

Furthermore, the mouse control is stilted with lateral motions demanding large, sweeping moves of the mouse to register more than a forty-five degree pan, whereas zooming in with a scope (available solely to the Assassin class) turns those same movements into screen-blurring swipes. Lacking any means of customizing the mouse-sensitivity (on any axis), I was forced to rely upon the inherent sensitivity swapping button on my actual mouse to accommodate rapid transitions between the two; while that may be acceptable in a slower paced game, in a shooter it is unforgivable.

Finally, the available game modes are as paltry as they are predictable, with the bog-standard Team Deathmatch, Domination and King of the Hill making an appearance, nothing more. No innovation was attempted, no original modes created or unique mechanics introduced. Every single mode offers the same drab mechanics we've seen perfected elsewhere, though often in a sub-par form. Team Deathmatch, as I mentioned, becomes a very one-sided affair when a single team is provided a glut of high-level players, Domination is nothing more than "stand in the flashing zones" and King of the Hill is reduced to an even more simplistic "stand in the flashing zone."

I had hoped to find a trifling little distraction in this title, something I might play to while away the hours between updates on my preferred MMORPGs, yet I found nothing to hold my interest. Weapon-locked classes, an uninspired skill system and "upgrades" that follow the same cash-shop dependent principles established by so many other been-there-done-that games.

My recommendation? Play something else. Planetside 2, Blacklight Retribution, Gotham City Imposters and Tribes Ascend all offer superior customization, game modes and graphics, whilst those seeking a more lighthearted atmosphere can never go wrong with Team Fortress 2.