Played the new demo. I still really like it.
However, long-term potential is up in the air - even for a looter-shooter fan such as myself.
I didn't really pick up on this the first time, but it seems there's a distinct lack of dedicated end-game content. Now, it's been a while since I bothered to play this kind of game for a long time after the story ends - but I'm always keen to keep an open mind.
What really, really shines in Anthem - that might be a little subtle for people who're not as familiar with the nuances of this genre - is the moment-to-moment gameplay in terms of the distinction between Javelins.
That came as a surprise to me.
But I always go a little crazy and obsessive when I check out new games that I might potentially really like - and so I do some relatively exhaustive experimentation research into the finer points.
Essentially, I directly compared Anthem features to my favorite feature implementations in similar games.
I have a very long list of "best in genre" feature implementations that I look for in other games - and if a game takes enough of the good stuff and mixes it up with something fresh, then I'm almost certain to enjoy it for a good while.
For Anthem, each Javelin has a set of unique differences that aren't immediately apparent. For instance, they all have their own takes on how they fly, dodge and jump. At first, you don't really notice it - but it's the sort of thing I pay attention to, because it tells me how much effort the developers put into the key areas that make games work in the longer term.
In this case, it's very clear to me that some people on the design team REALLY cared about making 4 distinct classes with very distinct playstyles.
The Interceptor moves like a dream and fights like a dream - and fits my preferences perfectly.
This is contrasted with Destiny, Division, Borderlands and even Warframe (to a lesser extent).
Warframe does have very different classes (they call them…. warframes) - but they all move more or less the same in terms of basic controls. Sure, one or two can actually fly - but the basic jump/movement mechanics are identical across the board.
Destiny classes all feel much the same, to be honest. Sure, they have distinct powers - but in terms of movement and visceral gameplay - they're all but identical.
In Anthem, you can actually feel what you're doing and you can feel what class you're playing on an instinctual level - it's that well tuned.
Beyond that, it takes inspiration from the right places in the right ways - in a few other cases.
For instance, it takes from Diablo 3 when it comes to having multiple active powers that are a primary part of your arsenal. As in, they're not rare support skills like they tend to be in Destiny 2.
This means the actual shooting is more or less secondary - and the way you combine power-usage is a LOT more active than the games I mentioned. You're shooting off "cool stuff" left and right - and you're almost never waiting around for a cooldown.
This is significant and key for my enjoyment.
Beyond that, they also take the legendary "game changers" from Diablo 3. Meaning, Masterwork and Legendary items all have the potential to FUNDAMENTALLY change how your powers work and how you customize your setup.
Then they take inspiration from HGL, Borderlands and Destiny when it comes to the actual weapons.
There are multiple weapon categories with at least 3 variants of each - on the basic level. For instance, you have a sniper rifle that does major explosive damage (but only has very limited ammo) - and you have a sniper rifle that doubles as an assault rifle (depending on how you shoot with it). This is at the CORE level - meaning this is before any modifiers.
When you get Masterwork weapons - you can have yet another set of "game changer" modifiers on them. For instance, one weapon ignites enemies when you hit a few times in a row - which, in itself, is a primer for a later detonation.
So, you can combine both gear and weapons in ways that completely change your playstyle. Also, unlike Destiny - you can have Masterwork/Legendary game-changer items in every single slot, which makes for some potentially insane combinations.
But it's all about the potential for now. I don't know if they have enough items and modifiers - and I especially don't know if there's enough of the world to explore and repeat on harder difficulty levels.
This kind of game needs more than pure progression - and, at this point, it seems it might be lacking content. I doubt there's more than a few weeks or months at the most - after completing the main campaign.
So, it hinges on how fast they can deliver content and change it up in a live fasion.
I really hope the Youtubers-have-to-generate-subscription circle-jerk "gamer outrage" doesn't hit Anthem too hard, because I think Bioware really made an effort here.
At least Destiny 2 (which was free for a bit) has a single-player campaign, which is enjoyable for the 15 or so hours it lasted. Looks like there is 0 single-player options here.
What? Anthem has a 40 hour campaign that's entirely singleplayer if you want it to be. In fact, all the meat of the story is singleplayer only.
