Dreadnought: a predominate battleship of the early 20th century that was designed with two revolutionary features at the time: an “all-big gun” armament scheme that featured heavy calibered cannons and steam turbine propulsion.In plain English that means big f’ing ship with big f’ing guns to match. During the early 20th century dreadnought class ships were some of the most fearsome battleships that saw service, mostly in the English Royal Navy. Now with today’s technology war/battle ship do not need to have such heavy armaments. But in space, since there is no gravity, pointing a big photon cannon straight at an enemy ship might come in handy. This is what Yager Development might have mind with their latest game Dreadnought.
If the game Yager seems familiar, it should be. At E3 last year they were announced as the developer for Dead Island 2 but received lots of attention with Spec Ops: The Line. They took what could have been just another mediocre third person military shooter and turned it gaming’s Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now while also taking a couple a shots at the modern shooter game design and commentary on use of violence in a a region that has been designated a hot spot. With a strong use of narrative, its no wonder Spec Ops The Line became a fan favorite. However having giant space ships with really really big guns shoot at each other is far on the other side of the spectrum. However allow me to let my inner child take over for a moment: “ITS A VIDEO GAME THAT HAS GIANT SPACE SHIPS SHOOTING EACH OTHER!!!! WHATS NOT TO LIKE!!!”
As simple as it seems, it looks like there might to be more to Dreadnought than just pointing cannons in a direction and firing. From what was shown in the director’s commentary that was release last year when the game was first revealed, there will be tons of customization in terms of weapon loadout, class loadout and general ship customization. Not to mention the gameplay looks very hectic, as you can see the developers maneuvering the ship in to offensive and defensive positions while firing at enemy ships and taking fire. With so much going on in a match, it seems like frame rate might take a noticeable hit, more so in multiplayer action. There is also concern for a really engaging narrative that’s up to par with Spec Ops The Line. Hopefully Yager will shed more light on the game as I go hands on this Friday.
