2019-06-01_PC_Gamer

Youplayasoneofseveralsilly1980s

archetypes:punk,jock,nerd,andso

on. You have a few loose goals

including finding out why everyone is

missing, locating

survivors, and

uncovering the truth

behind the invasion.

But you’re never really

steered down one

particular path. You

can make your own

goals and explore at

your own pace, either

alone or with three friends.

Scattered across the map are

towns, farms, bunkers, and more

exotic locations including a military

base. Here you’ll find groups of

roving robots to kill and loot to

scavenge. Occasionally you’ll pick up

missions, which are rarely more

complicated than finding a place and

looting it. But I do like how there are

no objective markers on the map. You

have to read clues and engage with

theenvironmenttofindwhatyou’re

lookingfor.Thedirectionan

abandonedcaris facinginmight

pointtowardsa placeworthlooting,

forinstance.It’sa nicewayof

encouragingexploration.

Butthat’saboutthesizeofthe

game:walkingfromlocationto

location,battlingmachines,and

collectingloot.Sometimesyou’llfind

anaudiologora documentthat’llfill

insomeoftheopaquestoryline.But

mostlyit’sjustyou,a subtlesynth

soundtrack,thewindblowing

throughthetrees,andtheeerie

metallicscreechofangryrobots.It’sa

veryslightgame,almostfeelinglike

anEarlyAccessreleaseattimes.But

thereis somethingoddlycompelling,

andSwedish,aboutitsminimalism.

Theworldis beautifullyrealised,

particularlythecontrastofmenacing

sci-firobotswithpastoral

Scandinavianscenery.Thedynamic

weather and day/night cycle

constantly shift the atmosphere

around you, from hazy

golden sunsets to

midnight lightning

storms. And as you

explore you’ll

encounter leafy forests,

rugged coastlines,

quaint villages, and

rolling farmland – all

corrupted by the

presence of those sinister machines

who wander the landscape searching

for flesh to tenderise.

Some machines scamper around

on all-fours like one of those Boston

Dynamicsrobots gone bad. Others

arethesize of a truck, launching

rocketsatthe slightest provocation.

Therearesix in total, each with their

owndistinctive weapons, behaviour,

andweaknesses. The Hunter is the

scariest– a tenacious bipedal giant

witha blade on one arm and a

cannonon the other. You can fight

most of them on your own, but co-op

is essential for taking down larger

targets such as the appropriately

named Tank.

LONE WOLF

Alone, Generation Zero is an

incredibly tense, almost stealth-like

experience. I found myself mostly

sneaking past enemies, hiding in the

trees waiting for patrols to stomp

past or using gadgets to distract them.

Throwing flares, fireworks, and

boomboxes (it’s the ’80s remember)

will lure curious robots away, giving

you a chance to slip past undetected.

With friends you can be a lot more

adventurous, tackling groups of

robots head-on, creating tactics on

the fly. In one session I climbed a

church steeple with a sniper rifle and

a friend used flares to lure enemies

into my line of fire. Having people to

speak to also makes those long hikes

across the map more entertaining.

But the game’s limited content, and a

general lack of interesting systems to

experiment with, means even

multiplayer starts to feel dull.

Generation Zero isn’t very good,

but I do keep coming back to it.

There’s something about that world

that makes me want to spend time

there. With updates it has the

potential to mutate into something

far more interesting, but for now it’s

an impressive setting with a slight

and uninspired shooter squeezed

ratherclumsilyintoit.

NEEDTOKNOW

WHATISIT?

Anopenworldshooter

setin1980sSweden

EXPECTTOPAY

£30

DEVELOPER

Avalanche

PUBLISHER

In-house

REVIEWED ON

GTX 1080, Intel

i5-6600K, 16GB RAM

MULTIPLAYER

1-4

LINK

http://www.generation

zero.com

67

Menacing robots, a

gorgeous world, and an

intriguing premise, but

ultimately too minimalist

for its own good.

VERDICT

Co-op

is essential

for taking

down larger

targets

T

he year is 1989 and killer robots have invaded the Swedish

countryside. This is the undeniably unique premise of

Generation Zero, an open world shooter from Just Cause

developer Avalanche. But this is a smaller production than

we’re used to from the studio. The map is massive, because

Avalanche maps always are, but the game itself is a surprisingly lean affair.

HEAVY METAL

Killer robots invade Sweden in GENERATION ZERO, an open world shooter

from the creator of Just Cause. By Andy Kelly

BOTSTUFF Knowyoury enemymy

HUNTER

Intelligent and

quick, these robots

are formidable.

From afar they

attack with a

machine-gun; up

close, a knife-arm.

HARVESTER

These robots won’t

attack if you let

them to go about

their business, but

they will defend

themselves if

provoked.

TANK

The top of the

robotic food chain,

these behemoths

are heavily armed

and armoured, and

equipped with

rocket launchers.

TICK

Small and agile,

these tiny bug-like

robots will launch

themselves at you

if you get too close

and then self

destruct.

SEEKER

These floating

robots aren’t very

dangerous, but if

they spot you they

alert other bots to

your presence. Kill

them quickly.

RUNNER

Four-legged robots

who work in packs.

A shot to their fuel

tanks will make

short work of them,

but they’re lethal in

numbers.

Generation Zero

REVIEW