[Edit: Multiplayer matches have a max of eight players, but teams do not need to have an even number of players]
Intruder is all about stealth. As an Intruder, you must sneak behind enemy lines to recover one of two briefcases and bring it back to an extraction point. As a Guard, you must defend these briefcases with your life. Teams have a maximum of four players, and there are multiple winding paths to the objectives. At a glance, it seems no different from any other online tactical first-person shooter. So what makes Intruder so special?
For one, there’s the 3D sound. Wait, I’m not selling it enough. (a-hem) THERE’S 3D SOUND!!!
This is by far the coolest feature of the game, and what makes it stand out from other games in the genre. When you talk into your microphone, anyone within earshot can hear you, including members of the opposite team. But your voice travels realistically. A whisper is less audible than a shout, and your voice gets smaller the further away you go. You can also hear footsteps, vents opening and water splashing…so moving and acting quietly is instrumental to your success.
Matches are tense. Each match is punctuated by pervasive silence coupled with a deep, growing fear. With no respawns, you often don’t know who’s alive and dead, or what trap could be waiting around the next corner.
You have a hand-held radio which you can use to talk to far-away teammates, but enemies can hear this as well. You can try keeping your voice low, but it’s often more strategic to just ask simple questions like “is anyone still alive?” which can be answered by a less-audible click of the radio. You can even give hand signals to visually communicate. The last thing you want when you’re crawling through a ventilation shaft is for your radio to go off, inviting the enemy team to chuck grenades in after you.
You have a plethora of gadgets at your disposal, including motion sensors, a cardboard body double and a pole mirror that lets you peek around corners – which pretty much makes you feel like James Bond mixed with a SWAT captain. It’s surprising how much fun it is to hear your motion sensor ping and detonate the remote mines you’ve placed near it.
Another interesting mechanic is the idea of balance. Leaning out of windows or standing on tables lowers your balance, making you less accurate. You’re also much more accurate when prone than when standing. This means no sniping while running at full speed (looking at you, Call of Duty). It also means that you can get knocked over…pretty easily, actually. Bullets, grenades and even accidentally jumping on a banister can knock you down, causing you to go prone for a few seconds
Using the camera to peek around a corner.
until you mash the space bar and get back up. This does provide an interesting mechanic where Guards can arrest Intruders who are downed – quietly taking them out of the game without making a scene.
The game has its share of problems. Intruders and Guards look pretty similar, so it can be easy to accidentally murder your teammates. (I’ve done this plenty of times. Sorry, everyone). There are also a couple of graphical glitches, but hey, this game is still in ALPHA, so it’s hard to complain.
Right now there are only two playable levels and two modes. But anyone who buys it now will get all future updates for free, which is a great incentive considering that because of how much positive buzz this game has been getting, it’s probably going to sell for a good amount on Steam when it’s finished.
Honestly, there’s so much more to talk about in this game that I feel like I’m just beginning to scratch the surface. I could probably write a whole host of articles on the mechanics alone, but I have to get back to playing, so I’ll just leave you with this awesome gameplay footage.
Developer Superboss games just might have the right stuff to breathe new life into a creatively stunted genre. Even if you’re not traditionally a fan of first-person shooters, this is a game to watch.
You can check out the game for yourself at the official website.
Tim Hitpas
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