Review: Hybrid

[xy_game]Hybrid is set in the near future, 2032 to be exact. A Hadron Supercollider built in Australia has imploded and an alternate reality has collided with ours. A species known as the Variant come from this reality, a world war has broken out with them and a group of our world rebels called the Paladins. Both sides are fighting for Dark Matter, gained by controlling districts and continents won in battle.

The game takes place over a season, the winner defined by whichever faction first collects 100 Dark Matter. At the start of the game you pick your faction and will play on that side for the rest of the season, you can swap to the other side if you wish but only once. Each continent is broken down into districts where the battles take place. Win a game on a district and your possession percentage raises. Once it reaches 100% you keep control of that district and gain Dark Matter.

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The battle map is implemented well and helps immerse you into the game. It gives the game a meaning rather than a bog standard Multiplayer menu option which throws you into the first game available with no repercussions if you lose. I played the game over a few days while writing the review and watching the fight for possession of zones was fun to watch.

Hybrid is a cover based shooter much in the style of Gears of War with one major difference. Both factions do not like to walk a lot because they have Jet Packs! Movement is almost entirely performed by selecting a nearby set cover area and pressing the A button. Your player will then automatically fly to that area, meanwhile you can look around and/or fire at opponents. It is an interesting concept and it generally works well due to the map design.

The battles take place over 10 maps which can be played in several modes ranging from Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy and King of The Hill styles. Unfortunately the maps are a little bland and forgettable, mainly due to the method of movement. The maps feel limited in where you can go, to me it felt like many maps were essentially two corridors pushing players together to make them fight. Playing several games in succession can start to feel very repetitive.

There are a variety of weapons and abilities to choose from. Weapons are your standard fare from pistols, sub machine guns, assault rifles, sniper guns and large machine guns. Some work better than others but everyone is catered for. Abilities are quite fun and allow players to use teleports, highlight enemies, increase weapon damage. Choosing the right combination with other players on your side can prove to be very advantageous. If you are impatient you can buy these weapons and abilities with Microsoft Points before you naturally unlock them as you level up.

As the game is 3v3 player you may not be used to playing in a small team. Safety in numbers is always helpful so you have three drones to help you out. The Stalker stays beside you and provides close quarters assistance, the Warbringer will slowly find a nearby enemy and attack and finally the Preyon will fly off at high speed with a panic inducing scream and physically attack the first enemy she finds. These drones are unlocked at 1, 3 and 5 kills respectively. It is possible with a bit of luck to continually unlock these throughout a game which can make the game feel very unbalanced.

Graphically the game looks reasonably good, running at 60 frames per second at 720p. Perhaps not that hard when you consider there are few open spaces to push the frame rate down. The maps all look visually different but as mentioned they all feel similar in layout. Sound effects are used well and give plenty of audible feedback notifying players when abilities have recharged or your drone is ready for example.

This is the first game in a while where I feel somewhere underneath there is a great game wanting to break out. The decision of only moving by flying from cover to cover is a brave one that does work, but is let down by the lackluster design of the maps, essentially two or three corridors with pretty scenery around them. The most annoying issue for me was the wait to find games while matchmaking, with waiting time well over a minute a regular occurrence. Perhaps a sign that there are not many people playing the game. Hybrid is definitely worth a trial download, but I would probably skip the purchase.