<p>[youtube url=&#8221;http://youtu.be/AjbY271qrw0&#8243;]</p>
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<p style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 11.25pt 0in 11.25pt 0in;">Earlier this month at Bethesda Softworks&#8217; Pre-E3 event, I got the chance to get an early hands-on look at the demo for the upcoming free-to-play, third-person online team action combat game BattleCry. The new game, developed by the Austin-based BattleCry Studios, has an interesting, steam-punk setting and style. It&#8217;s set in the early 20th century. The world&#8217;s most powerful countries have come to an agreement to ban all use of gunpowder during warfare and battle, under a treaty called The Black Powder Treaty. You get to play in a team of two warring factions, British-esque Royal Marines or the Russian-inspired Cossacks. All battles are designated in specific WarZones area as your factions face each other. Since all firearms are banned, combatants can only use bladed weapons or projectile weapons that do not have gun powder.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-59305 size-large" title="BattleCry1" src="http://www.explosion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/cossack_rampage-1024x576.jpg" alt="BattleCry" width="820" height="461" /></p>
<p>You don&#8217;t see many third-person action multiplayer games like this that are free-to-play for the PC. Surprisingly, the gameplay and controls are very good. The characters move very well across the WarZone battle arenas. Jumping and traversing the areas work incredibly well. Each character has a special ability&#8211;an electric grappling hook to elevate your character to certain areas. There are also jumping speed ramps to sail your character across the arenas or chasms. The setting and design of the characters are extremely interesting. It&#8217;s a very steam-punk look and style, but wrapped in a third-person action game package. The game&#8217;s appealing, cool art style is credited to art director Viktor Antonov, who previously worked on such titles as Half-Life 2 and Dishonored.</p>
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<p>For the demo, there are three particular character types you could select for each faction: the Enforcer, a shield and sword wielding tank; the Tech Archer, who has ranged attacks with a special crossbow or electrical Tesla weapons; and the Duelist, who has stealth abilities. The game encourages you to procure iron in order to advance and rank up with your character. Each player type has its own unique look, weapons, and abilities. Personally, I enjoyed using the Enforcer the most.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-59306 size-large" title="BattleCry Enforcer" src="http://www.explosion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/enforcer_victory-1024x576.jpg" alt="BattleCry" width="820" height="461" /></p>
<p style="line-height: 14.1pt; margin: 10.2pt 0in 10.2pt 0in;">The gameplay is focused on melee combat. Each character has a type of rage meter, which is called the Adrenaline System that unleashes a more powerful Ultimate Ability attack. When you place the right combination or type of attack, you can actually dismember or decapitate your enemies or even cut them in half. The melee combat is where the game felt a little clunky and rough. Building up a combo attack could run more smoothly. Certain head-on attacks against your enemy head are harder to execute. Using your shield or block technique works very well in making a strategic push toward your enemies. The combat and gameplay in the demo are quite buggy. Hopefully, those issues will be smoothed over in time for launch.</p>
<p style="line-height: 14.1pt; margin: 10.2pt 0in 10.2pt 0in;"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-59307" src="http://www.explosion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Welcome-to-the-WarZone-1024x640.jpg" alt="BattleCry" width="820" height="512" data-wp-pid="59307" /></p>
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<p style="line-height: 14.1pt; margin: 10.2pt 0in 10.2pt 0in;">So far, the title shows a lot of promise. The endings of the battles feature overviews of the matches with old school newspaper headlines and clippings, which give the game a nice sense of texture and world-building. The demo only featured two WarZone environments, but I was told more will be added later. The developers also gave me the impression that another Empire faction could be added into the mix as well. BattleCry will have a beta release in 2015.</p>

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