During our coverage of the 2014 San Diego Comic Con, I had the chance to play the 8 player multiplay mode of the pending Sunset Overdrive on the Xbox One. We were told that there had been an electrical problem and that the systems would be running again in 15 minutes. Roughly 25 minutes later we were ushered over to our stations to play, and after donning out headphones, we were given instructions by a staff member on how to navigate the map and play the mode.
There were two generator targets that we were required to defend from enemy attacks, and we were told that we needed to treat the ground like lava and stay away from it as much as possible. As such, we used air vent drafts to scale buildings and grappled and slid from overhead wires and pipes to move about the map. I selected an AK 47 from the weapons menu and spent a couple of minutes preparing for the match by sliding around the map, taking random shot at objects to practice.
Sadly the systems all crashed again and once again the “power issue” was blamed as techs removed panels and crawled under the systems. I had wished I had lined up to play EVOLVE again which was on display on the systems behind us as they did not seem to suffer from this power issue.
A clearly frustrated rep for the company told us to go to the Microsoft Gaming Lounge at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, a good 30 minute walk with the con crowd, so we could play it.
Several minutes later the systems had not been restored so I took the time to record a video showing the downed section and absence of line.
What little I did play of the game was fun but hardly groundbreaking. The emphasis is not on graphics or blazing speed, but rather a fun mix of action and gameplay as the key is going to be hitting targets while moving and being able to stay mobile.
I liked the notion of an 8-player game as over a lan, it did allow us to seamlessly synch up with one another and play without lag. I really liked what I saw and while I cannot say it is worth buying an Xbox One over, it is a step in the right direction for the company and should be a title that most Xbox One owners will want to check out. I will get some more time with the game in a few weeks at PAX Prime so hopefully we can get a longer gameplay session to report on for you.
