Game:

Ravaged (2012)

Category:

Review

Duration: 45:13

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31

I'm playing Ravaged, a vehicle-focused online first person shooter by 2 Dawn Games and Reverb Publishing. This team-based shooter is online-only, as it does not have any single player content or a tutorial to teach the nuances of the combat. There are two game modes (capture the flag and conquest) that take place on eight maps of varied sizes. Each of the two factions get slight different weapons and vehicles, the latter of which include ATVs, buggies, trucks, 4x4s, tanks, and helicopters. Some require skill to pilot successfully (especially the helicopter) and all handle plausibly well. You cannot drive and shoot simultaneously in most vehicles, which emphasizes team play. There are five classes in Ravaged: the scout (with a light machine gun), assault (with a rifle), explosives (with a grenade or rocket launcher), sniper (a choice between a rifle or crossbow), and the heavy (with a machine gun). Using the rifles is straightforward, but the rockets experience significant gravitational drop that makes them require more skill to operate effectively. All classes get a secondary weapon, a melee weapon, and another item like grenades or mines. Ravaged doesn't make you unlock weapons as there is no persistence or progression in the game (just old fashioned murder). You cannot "lone wolf" in Ravaged (again, placing emphasis on team play), as the rocket launcher is necessary to take out vehicles, but that class is useless against infantry. In addition, you can spawn on your squad leader to get in the action more quickly, so teamwork is definitely highlighted. Ravaged is fast-paced, thanks to speedy vehicles and low soldier health that makes for quick, deadly engagements. When the maps are populated, the gameplay of Ravaged makes for a refreshingly chaotic experience. Ravaged has found a nice middle ground between the "twitchy" Quake/UT shooters and the slower-paced Battlefield games, filling a comfortable niche between the two extremes.