PC Gamer

The flying feels natural enough that I

tune out the instructions of my BioWare

handler to explore the starting area. I only

realise there’s an overheating mechanic

when my jetpack overheats and I fall to the

ground. Once it’s cooled down, I

sheepishly reactivate it from the ground

and fly back to my guide. He explains

environmental effects, and how if I fly

through a waterfall, I’ll cool off midair.

Eventually, it was time to get down to

business: shooting stuff. Anthem falls

somewhere between Destiny and Diablo

• a co-op mission structure reminiscent of
  the former attached to a loot progression
  system more similar to the latter. Combat,
  however, is of the over-the-shoulder
  third-person variety, and right now it
  seems like Anthem’s weakest element.

BY THE BOOKS

It’s fine. It works. It’s probably the best

action combat BioWare has made. But

Anthem won’t be competing against Mass

Effect, but with more accomplished

shooters. I’m rocking an assault rifle with

my ranger Javelin – the exoskeletons that

Freelancers wear – and killing bug

monsters is mostly a case of holding down

the fire button and pointing at the bit of

the enemy that triggers critical damage.

The demo ends as my squad faces off

against a huge monster. We hit it with our

abilities – my build has a freeze grenade

that combos with a pulse cannon, and an

ultimate that sends a missile barrage at

the additional critters flooding the arena.

We take down a quarter of its health when

the demo unceremoniously concludes

with a cutscene teaser.

I’ve still got questions about the full

experience, but I’m impressed both by

how good it looks and by how good some

of its key systems feel. I come away

thinking, ‘Yes, I could sink time into this.’

Given the amount of competition around

right now, that’s something of a success.

Phil Savage

PLAYED

IT

BioWare’s multiplayer shooter

takes off in a big way

ANTHEM

B

etween GTA V,

Vermintide II, Destiny 2

and the upcoming Monster

Hunter: World, I’m already

well served for endless co-op games.

Can Anthem muscle its way into the

rotation? Having played a section of

one mission, the answer is a

definitive: yeah, maybe.

BioWare’s multiplayer action RPG makes a

good impression as I jump off a cliff and,

bam, with a press of the left stick (I’m

using an Xbox controller for this demo),

my jetpack activates and I’m flying around

a forest. It’s neat, and it’s obvious how it

benefits the design. Environments, while

still linear, can feel large and open. Routes

can be more interesting. And, when

surrounded by a horde of insectoid jerks,

escapes can be more dramatic.

RELEASE
February 22, 2019

DEVELOPER

BioWare

PUBLISHER

EA

LINK

http://www.ea.com/games/anthem

NEED TO KNOW

Anthem is BioWare’s stab at

the online action RPG genre.

E3 PREVIEW ROUND-UP

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ENVIRONMENTS,

WHILE STILL LINEAR,

CAN FEEL LARGE

AND OPEN