Insurgency (PC) Second Opinion Review

By Athanasios 22.05.2016

Review for Insurgency on PC

Insurgency is basically the "sequel" to the award-winning, total conversion Source mode Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat, which, being a mod, was free, and, of course, much lighter on content. Both, however, had the same goal: to be the most realistic tactical first-person shooters on the market, and, luckily for those into games like Counter-Strike, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, or the popular Red Orchestra series, their creators have succeeded.

Before going into detail, one thing must be made perfectly clear. Those expecting to have fun with the solo portion of Insurgency... simply won't. Apart from the fact that there's no reason in doing so in a product aimed 100% at online play, fighting "omniscient" bots is simply annoying in a title where half the fun lies in the understanding that the "other guy" is a human, with flawed human eyes, ears, and, hopefully, mind.

Moving on, what's in store here? The whole war thingy takes place in various locations of Western and Central Asia, and revolves around the clash between the US Security forces and the jihadi Insurgents. Of course, there's no plot here, and why should there be one when this is just about two teams shooting each other; therefore, this would all be the same if the names of these two factions were Blue and Red.

Screenshot for Insurgency on PC

Unlike traditional FPS, tactical shooters require a lot more time to be invested on learning every little thing about them, and this is no exception - maybe even more so. The second aspect of this sub-genre is realism, and Insurgency is probably the most realistic yet. One to two bullets? Death. Grenade explosion? Death. Stand near a thin wooden wall? Death. Forgetting that this isn't Unreal Tournament and running like Rambo? Death and ridicule from some angry, angry teammates.

The word 'tactical' means that choosing a gun is more of a strategic decision than a matter of picking up the most powerful one, since they all have their pros and cons, not to mention that everyone can only carry a limited amount of weapons and attachments, or special accessories. Furthermore, like in real life, there's no crosshair, and while shooting from the hip is possible, it's all about scopes and iron sights. This isn't Quake III Arena, so approach with a wholly different mind-set.

Screenshot for Insurgency on PC

The other half of the equation is the online community, as this is a squad team-based game, and, therefore, requires playing with people who know how to protect themselves and their war buddies in order to have some fun. Now, while there are lots of calm-headed and helpful players out there, like with any constantly expanding community, the servers of Insurgency are full of immature dolts, something that can make the less tolerant players to just stop playing - and, mind you, while not a flaw with Insurgency itself, it is a big problem.

When all the planets align and a decent team is assembled, however, the fun is unbelievable. Sure, it might not be as adrenaline-pumping as an arena FPS, but it actually manages to pull everyone on edge. How? Besides the fear of death, pulling the trigger requires knowing who you're shooting at, since, again, like real life, everybody looks very similar. Oh, and by the way, no name tags floating around, no messages concerning who died and from who, and, generally, a mood-enhancing lack of info.

Screenshot for Insurgency on PC

Unfortunately, and although this has improved over time, it's still a flawed product. Namely, it has lots of bugs (most not game-crushing, though), with the most notable ones creating problems with the UI and the controls. Another minor problem concerning matchmaking (which is generally good) is that the netcode has some issues with mid-to-high ping connections (90 or more); therefore, it is preferable to go to the server browser.

Many have also noted the dated visuals, and they are indeed very disappointing, even when compared to other 2014 titles, and yes, even for those with a bit more than a shoestring budget like this one. However, nothing is really ugly or anything, just… mundane. The biggest problem is the gameplay itself. While in many ways it has incredible depth, in others it's pretty barebones. No matter the mode or map chosen, it's the same experience every single time. Great? Yes, but it can get a bit repetitive after a while.

Screenshot for Insurgency on PC

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

Insurgency is the epitome of the realistic, squad-based, tactical FPS, which is quite the feat for an independently developed and funded product. It has a few problems, sure, but it is constantly evolving and getting tweaked, with tons of new, community-made content published every now and then. Note, however, that, like with every video game that caters to the needs of a very specific type of gamer, this is not for everyone. Some will love its real-life challenge and "restrictions," while others will hate it for them.

Developer

New World

Publisher

New World

Genre

First Person Shooter

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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