Announced just before E3 we have Battlecry from Bethesda and BattleCry Studios. This is the new title that is a 32 player multiplayer hack 'n' slash title where players take on the role of one of five classes from one of three different factions in the game. Up until now we only had a nice CGI trailer for the game and a few screen shots that showed off the cell shaded looking world of visceral combat. Luckily it was also available to play while on the floor of E3 and I got to play quite a few matches of the game as one of the enforcers in the game. Here are my thoughts on what I was able to experience.

From the start of the Battlecry 'demo' I was loaded right into one of their worlds and was instantly reminded of the aesthetic of Borderlands. Only the art style before you think I am saying that this ripped off things from that game. Can't blame BattleCry Studios for using a great look that sells well already. But that is enough of the visual aspect of the game as it is all something that can be seen and not experienced.

From the start it plays as most other third person hack 'n' slash as far as running and jumping. It was a bit odd that the main attack was linked to the right trigger of the gun instead of one of the face buttons. The face buttons were where all the special attacks and moves were linked. I wasn't able to dive into the options and see if they were customization but it felt odd that this was the default. Especially since you would have to hammer down the trigger to keep the attacks flying. It was exhausting on the trigger finger to say the least. It also got to the point where I forgot the other trigger lifted the shield.

It also made me forget the fact that I had special moves to use on all my enemies. This led to a lot of dying on my part. This of course was not just for me though; it was this case for everyone and seemed like the actually way the game was meant to be played. Meaning that you are only supposed to be active for a few minutes before you get ganged up and ripped apart by the enemies. Only to respawn and rinse and repeat. I wish this was exaggeration on my part but this is how it went for the 20 minutes I was playing.

This could just be early production woes; Battlecry was just announced after all. It just really felt like I was playing a version of the God Of War: Ascension multiplayer on hyper-speed. I can see great potential in Battlecry but it will need some new modes or a great deal of balancing as four hits shouldn't kill a tank character. Especially from a speedster, light attack character. It ended up being annoying more than how it should be…if that makes sense.