Review for RAID: World War II. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 26/09/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 10/10/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 10/10/2017
Europe, the dear old continent theater of the fierce clash between the axis powers and the allied countries.
The thunderous bullet called World War II darted from history to the imagination, leaving a putrescent wound as a warning. Many have narrated this story and the realities connected to it in all possible forms of expression, from the film of "Life is beautiful" by our local Benigni, to the dusty pages of "Swastika on the sun" by Philip K. Dick.
Even Mr. Quentin Trantino did not want to remain silent, giving us the biting and light-hearted "Inglourious Basterds". This is the undoubted reference film for RAID: World War II, as we will be called to take on the role of four "expendable" prisoners of war committed to ruining the plans of Uncle Adolfo "aka Führer" and his Mephistopheles.
Engine, action!
We are introduced to the game world by a movie with real actors in which an excellent Jhon Cliff in the role of an allied intelligence agent gives us a playful briefing on the missions that will await us. The whole RAID: World War II it is studded with short sketches in which Hitler will despair or rub his hands at every end of the mission in case of success or failure of our gang of anti-heroes. Too bad that the skits shot are very few and tend to repeat themselves after a handful of hours of play.
They were 4, young and strong and they died.
Although RAID: World War II can be played alone, it is expressly designed for a multiplayer online co-op with up to four participants. First we will be asked to select a character by choosing from four (irrelevant) nationalities and select one of the four available classes: reconnaissance, assault, rebel and destroyer.
The selected class, in addition to modifying the loadout of the character and the related weapons that can be unlocked later, also gives us a unique "war cry": an ability that can be used after killing a predetermined amount of enemies with multiple effects, such as healing or automatically aim at enemies for a few seconds.
By completing the missions we will see our protégé gain experience points, then level up. Each level will give us an experience point that can be spent in the dedicated skill Three to improve individual and team skills and with each handful of upgrades we will have access to new weapons. This system certainly does not shine for inventiveness, carrying out a job as punctual as it is banal.
Been there, did that.
Once you have selected your favorite class and perhaps have reached a friend, we will find ourselves in our secret bunker, far from the Nazi inquisitorial gaze. Our lair can be aesthetically improved by spending gold, while serving as a lobby. Through it you can choose the type of mission to be faced.
The missions are divided into two categories: Raids and operations. The operations are missions divided into several parts with minimal narrative ambitions, while the Raids are mini self-contained adventures. Depending on the selected mission we will be called upon to shoot endless waves of German enemies, carrying out the most disparate tasks: from shooting down a Zeppelin to derailing a train.
AI is almost embarrassing, where the enemy threat is represented by the quantity rather than the quality of the enemy. We will find ourselves shooting incessantly at hordes of enemies as brilliant as zombies, while the only variant in the enemy troops is concentrated in a Nazi with flamethrower, slightly more menacing and leathery than his cronies.
Few muscles, no brains.
The version of RAID: World War II tested on Playstation 4 showed us a graphically dated game, with a dancing framerate and lacking in charisma so as to seem an ancestor of Payday 2, instead of revealing itself as its clone in a wartime setting.
Although the mood of the game aims to transport the player into a war with lighthearted and brutal tones, it only manages to bore, however the strength of the title is to bring a group of close friends to confront an unlikely Nazi war machine, perhaps in laugh at it.
My adventure companion Angelo and I have really committed ourselves to the attempt to laugh, but that feeling of boredom masterfully described by Baudelaire triumphed.
The only time RAID: World War II manages to shine is when it stops being a video game, in the short, masterfully acted yet repetitive curtains.
► RAID: World War II is a Shooter type game developed by Lion Game Lion and published by 505 Games Starbreeze Studios for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 26/09/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 10/10/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 10/10/2017
