Insurgency is being rebuilt in Unreal Engine 4 for consoles and PC in 2017.
In addition to console support, Insurgency: Sandstorm will contain some exciting new features such as a new story mode and eSports framework. The game is being built from the ground up with competitive multiplayer, console split-screen, and singleplayer in mind. The story mode will focus on a squad of characters as they face increasingly challenging chapters, from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 through the insurrection period and leading to the present day.
Looks great and I am glad they are able to update and build upon their already excellent game/IP. I actually thought the developers did an amazing job within the Source engine as the current aesthetics and art direction work really well. There are scenes in the current game that are very screenshot worthy.
I will keep a positive outlook, but expanding to consoles and a focus on e-Sports give me pause. On one hand this is one of the best shooters on the market today and I will be happy to see them grow their audience, but I hope they don’t compromise any of the vision and ideals that make Insurgency so great right now. This is one of the best high-lethality, tactical-, and team-focused shooters that is NOT burdened with a bullshit unlock system. That sets them apart and makes them stand out amongst the other me-too shooters.
I will be following this closely and this team certainly deserves more success.
The first beta is available this weekend for those who pre-ordered it, while the next one will start August 30th and run until the release at September 18th.
And Polygon’s Charlie Hall really likes the co-op:
Personally, I’ve been playing since the pre-order beta started and I absolutely love the co-op. I guess it’s the game I never knew I wanted, since historically I’ve been shunning more “realistic” hardcore shooters while leaning more towards arcadey shooters like CoD and BF. But for me, this game beats them hands down. The intensity of Insurgency combined with the pressure when being one of the few still alive is riveting. Also, it helps that the gunplay is great and the awesome soundscape is maybe only surpassed by the already mentioned Battlefield series.
Insurgency Sandstorm (and really everything by New World Interactive) is my go to multiplayer shooter these days as was the original Insurgency before this. The PVP multiplayer is great, but most importantly the game offers excellent PVE modes with well-tuned AI bots that draws a large community.
I think the Insurgency series has been my favorite since it sits in a comfortable niche between the fast arcadey Call of Duty/Battlefields and the finicky simulation of Arma/Squad. They also just introduced a Hardcore mode that slows movement down, limits ammo supplies, and makes everything more deliberate and tactical.
Insurgency has fun little touches like being able to slowly open a door to peek in a room or just breach and kick it off its hinges. For reloading you can just press the R key to do a normal reload and retain your magazine with remaining bullets; doubletap R to do a fast reload where you just throw your magazine on the ground and discard any remaining bullets but get a new mag in sooner, or hold the R key to check your current magazine and get a sense of remaining rounds.
