Collapse is an amazing project. And the point is not even that this is one of the few militants recognized by gamers created in the territory of the former CIS, but that the development company Friv5Online managed to create an original world and realize what was promised. Was there a virtual destroyed Kiev in the press releases? Upon receipt, sign - even the Maidan is present. Sword battles? Spectacular, with some skill, fights can be turned into natural cinematic action. Well, and so on - let's not, perhaps, get stuck in listing everything worthily realized, but let's get down to business. To the sequel entitled "Collapse: Rage".
Although first you need to figure out what is actually going on here. The plot of the original revolved around the Dump - an area that arose after the invasion of virtual aliens on virtual Kiev. The authorities, of course, fenced off the Junkyard with strong walls, installed all kinds of automatic turrets on them and did not go there. But inside the perimeter there were people, including those who not only managed to survive, but also to lead the rest - the Lords. Over time, they also laid down their heads, except for the last - Rodan. Our hero. Having learned a way to destroy the anomaly, Rodan moves to its very center, but already two steps away from the target, a new detail is revealed to him: in order for the anomaly to close, he will have to sacrifice himself. However, throwing himself into the abyss, he soon regains consciousness, alive and well. The plan did not work, what to do next is unknown.
The new goal is to run away from the center of the anomaly, which has fallen to pieces and spawns monsters with a vengeance. The plot now does not provide for forks and an abundance of interlocutors - only Professor Gorin will regularly call Rodan on his PDA. He will tell you a further direction, reflect on why the anomaly has not closed, provide valuable advice and at the same time joke (for example, in the version presented at IgroMir, the scientist managed to forget why he called).
One of the main drawbacks of the last part was the extremely protracted battles. I took a dozen steps, wandered into the "arena" - and for the next five minutes I found something to do for Rodan. He galloped effectively from side to side, defeated a dozen opponents, and then, having solved some simple puzzle, repeated the operation again. At the same time, he found winning combinations of combos, learned about the presence of a "jump" and began to run past enemies, stopping only in areas that were required for cleaning. Opponents were divided into two types, preferring either to fight close with swords, or to shoot from different futuristic weapons. "Swordsmen" donned armor and were reluctant to be shot, hinting at the need to get the blade, and it was long and dangerous to run to the shooters. In general, the rule "knock out wedge by wedge" worked to the full, but only somehow schematically.
What is nice, in the continuation, this nuance was taken into account. At first, the changes in Collapse are imperceptible - well, Rodan's sword train became not white, but multi-colored, which is now. But later it turns out that the very essence of combos has changed - all kinds of bonuses are given for their implementation. Rodan no longer needs to look for first aid kits-regenerators in the back streets - opponents will go too. He pressed the "W" key, called another something - and now the hero's gait becomes more vigorous. If you strike differently, the hero will replenish the supply of energy necessary for special strikes. Well, or get a double portion of experience.
Oh yeah, experience and leveling. Well, such a thing - having crumbled n-th number of aliens into a salad, Rodan gets the opportunity to improve his own skills. For example, for a combo first-aid kit, he will receive not 10 hit points, but 15. Or it is more effective to perform special attacks. By the way, not all battles will now be large-scale - on the version provided for IgroMir, one could meet small groups of enemies. Rather, they act in the role of "humanitarian aid" - with such it is much easier to fill the next level or feel superiority using firearms.
A nice detail is a different work with music. Previously, when almost every enemy appeared, the battle theme began to sound from the very beginning, which very quickly became boring. Now the familiar "Run" tune from NewTone can be heard from the middle or even from the finale, which is a very refreshing experience.
The storyline campaign isn't the only entertainment Collapse: Fury plans to offer . Three other modes could be enabled directly from the main menu.
Despite the slightly skewed balance, the original had a very spectacular combat system - Rodan, without being particularly distracted from performing a combo, could jewelerly escape the enemy's blade or effectively roll over the flowerbed so as not to get under fire. However, there was no such mode where the player could easily get a weapon and arrange an action without unnecessary dialogues and running through the levels. Now there is an opportunity - the "Arena" mode. A kind of Crimsonland , except that Rodan will be more stable than a sprite soldier and leans more on using a sword. They lock the hero in a suitable location (so far four of them are planned) and let in waves of opponents. As soon as the latter falls, they will offer to choose some kind of bonus - a machine gun for a thousand rounds or an increase in the level right on the spot and without intermediaries.
Of course, with each wave, opponents are more and more dangerous, and surprises are unexpected. For example, an exhausted Rodan who wants a refreshing first-aid kit or at least a free shotgun may be offered as a "bonus" to give half of all experience earned or to part with one level of pumping. And it will not get out - buttons "What !?" not provided, the question stands squarely for him.
The "Challenges" mode will offer riddles and all kinds of tests for cunning. It looks like this - the location is loaded, some kind of pistol is issued, and in the PDA the task is to defeat 10 snipers with the 72nd point. They hide in the window openings and give themselves away exclusively with shots and red beams of sights, so you have to look for them, but better quickly - monsters run below who don't care deeply about snipers, but Rodan is delicious by default.
Finally, it is more likely not a mode, but this level of difficulty - "Hardcore". Before turning it on, the hero is recommended to be properly pumped, since with him opponents build up a couple of centimeters of armor, and at the same time destructive power. What will happen if an unprepared Lord comes to such monsters is understandable.
Achievements have also appeared, however, exclusively in-game. In addition to "accumulative" (shoot so many opponents with such and such a gun), there are also very ironic ones - for example, the achievement "hamster" is given to those Rodans who get to the end of the level with full pockets of ammunition, without a single scratch and ready to execute heels of special strikes. Having received a certain number of achievements, one can hope for bonuses - a grenade launcher or a new way to do without first-aid kits with the active assistance of opponents.
Even judging by the not very large demo version presented at IgroMir, we can say with confidence that the Collapse gameplay has changed for the better - it has become more dynamic and unpredictable. There was not much in the demo version - new "bosses", for example, are still being polished now, and some video effects are subject to updating. We will continue to observe the project, and the most interesting facts, of course, will find their place on the pages of Friv5Online.com.