Assault Agenda: Tanks for all the Fire Power

Tags: assault, pax, preview

This following preview comes to you courtesy of Aurix. It focuses on the gameplay style of the Assault, one of the 4 classes in Global Agenda.

        I had a chance to play Global Agenda at PAX and was very impressed by the intense combat and smooth game-play. There are plenty of articles revealing specific details about the game but those details are still subject to change. So I decided to skip those parts and instead describe the unique feel of each character class from a first person perspective. Match-made PvP skirmishes were the focus at PAX and my first hands-on experience came from the viewpoint of a high level Assault character. For those who don't know, Assaults specialize in absorbing damage and dealing it out, often over a large area. The linked screenshots come from the official site, so while they aren't entirely accurate to each situation, they should give you some visual context.
 

     Our drop-ship hovered above the edge of a man-made arena while we were given a verbal crash course in combat. The platform before us was clearly held high above the earth's surface, but the futuristic building ahead blocked the rest of the view. My newfound teammates and I listened patiently, eagerly awaiting the opening of the hangar's force field and a chance to use our shiny new toys. The moment soon arrived and we shot out in all directions, flying effortlessly over the map with the help of our jet-packs. I perched myself atop the tall building, surveying the territory and searching for a moving target. Three large structures stood against a clear blue sky and three capture point symbols could be easily seen through their walls, leaving no doubts about our objective.
 

     My jets roared as I flew towards the building at the center of the map. Landing on the second story balcony, it became immediately clear that I wasn't alone. I ducked next to the entrance and peered through the door, my pulse quickened as I spied several enemies securing the room. After taking a moment to recover energy, I zoomed in my maser rifle and caught their attention with a barrage of radiation blasts. This sent them scurrying behind the scattered cargo containers where they returned fire, barely scratching my sturdy armor.
 
     With no time to lose, I stormed through the door and took cover myself. Laying down a suppressive stream of shots kept them off the point for a bit and a few of my rockets convinced them to stay put until our teammates arrived. Then all hell broke loose. Gunfire and explosions filled the room as I charged the capture zone. Several transparent orange hemispheres laid in wait on the floor, and after stepping into one, I quickly learned that they contained an explosive surprise. I blasted the other mines while strafing between shots and dropped a few of my own explosive little friends. I chuckled to myself as I watched my spider mines skitter towards their unsuspecting victims.
 
     A moment later, the enemy Recon who was likely responsible for those glowing traps, uncloaked and slashed into my back with his devious looking blade. I pulled out my radiant axe to reflect his strikes and kept him in my sights to ward off another vicious back-stab. We exchanged blows and held the capture point in a stalemate while the epic battle raged on around us. He could move like the wind but he still wasn't fast enough to avoid my grenade. Though I have to admit, neither was I.
 
     Despite my self destructive learning curve, I survived the blast and our forces were about to win the fight. We spread out to finish off the invaders and before long, the point was ours. I was desperately low on health and there were no Medics to be seen, so my only hope was to find a health orb left by a deceased enemy. I wandered out the back door and quickly met my fate at the hands of a Robotic and her floating pet drone. A few energy blasts later, I was back at the drop-ship spawn point, itching for a rematch.
 
For more info on the Assault class check out the Ten Ton Hammer Assault Q&A here
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