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It’s been a while since I was extolling the virtues of shooting dinosaurs in the face with a variety of heavily armed robot suits. And seriously, who here doesn’t think that sounds like a good time? But in an attempt to keep the interest of players who were getting a little bit tired of the same old suits doing the same old things, Capcom have released a new wave of suits in the first update to Exoprimal since launch.
The snappily titled Overdrive Kit 1 (who comes up with this stuff?) features a whole laundry list of new suits, some new cosmetics and even more dinosaur killing. On paper it all looks groovy. Of course, we don’t play games on paper, so what does this update bring to Exoprimal?
The big news in Title Update 1 and the Overdrive Kit 1 is the addition of new suits, but before you get too excited, they aren’t actually new suits. Confused? What else did you expect from a time travelling dinosaur shooter, eh? What the Overdrive Kit brings are new Alpha variants of the existing suits. So, let’s see what each new variant brings to the party, shall we?
I feel it is probably best to run through each suit in turn…
Deadeye Alpha – the big news here is that Deadeye’s fully automatic rifle, which was handy for shooting lots of small dinosaurs, has been changed into a burst fire rifle. It feels a bit like a pulse rifle in Destiny. What this largely meant for me was that I would aim, fire, then wonder why the gun had stopped shooting, before remembering, swearing a bit and carrying on. Not a fan, to be honest.
Zephyr Alpha – the weapons here have changed from a kind of up close and personal style of weaponry to Energy Chakrams, which makes it possible to engage the dinosaurs without standing on their toes. Given that Zephyr seems to have the life expectancy of a chocolate fireguard (or is that just when I use the suit?), this is a welcome change. It does mean learning a whole new playing style, however.
Barrage Alpha – Rocket Hop. Remember the rocket jump you could do in Quake? This is basically the new ability for Barrage. He has a rocket launcher now that does more damage, and you can use the blast from it to jump higher in the air. I didn’t like it in Quake and I don’t like it here in Exoprimal.
Vigilant Alpha – Instead of having a sniper rifle this time, Vigilant is armed with a semi automatic rifle which lets you fire as fast as you can pull the trigger. Think of yourself as a Marksman? Sorted. In addition, one in every few shots will do extra damage, and this suit also has added manoeuvrability over the standard Vigilant, making it a bit easier to stay alive.
Roadblock Alpha – There’s no doubt that Roadblock wasn’t shy with its shield anyway, but this new version is pretty cool, mostly as it can now draw enemy attention, then burst, taking out surrounding foes. With the new arm mounted shotgun, it makes it a lot easier to do big damage.
Krieger Alpha – You’re looking at a Charge Shotgun here. Krieger is my favourite character/suit in Exoprimal, pretty much hands down. And so when people mess with him, it makes me pretty sad. Having said that, Krieger’s new shotgun is very interesting, as a regular shot will shoot buckshot-like projectiles, but a charged shot turns the round into something more akin to a slug. This is capable of sending enemies it hits flying, straight into other dinosaurs that also take damage. All things considered though, I prefer the original chaingun…
Murasame Alpha – Frost Glaive. Murasame has always been an interesting character to play as, absorbing attacks before turning their energy on the enemies. But now we see the normal playstyle turned up to eleven, as the attacks unleashed are able to freeze enemies in their places. You just need the rest of the team to mop up easily. This is a very interesting addition to the regular play.
Witchdoctor Alpha – Added in here is a Duality Beam that just so happens to make it interesting to play a support character again! Witchdoctor’s Duality Beam can either heal allies or hurt enemies, and the more you concentrate the attack, the stronger the effect is. Switching from healing to killing is now instantaneous, and so, while you have fun, you are also helping your squad. Good game!
Skywave Alpha – In need of a Thunder Clap? This Skywave variant has got the power of lightning – think Thor in a metal suit and you’ll not be far off. The lightning can paralyse enemies as well, slowing them down and giving your squad time to kill the enemies. The update in Overdrive Kit 1 ensures that Skywave is now much more relevant, to be honest.
Nimbus Alpha – What’s better than having two pistols? Two shotguns in the form of Double Barrel. And better still, this Nimbus can use them either to heal or to hurt, depending on the situation. The projectiles spread out a lot, making it easier to keep your team’s health topped up.
In addition to these new suits, the Overdrive Kit 1 brings a whole range of new Modules and cosmetics to earn and equip. Obviously, anything that makes your mech more suited to your particular playstyle is to be welcomed, and with new cosmetics appearing in Warchests, you can soon be up to your ears in new skins, weapons, emotes and so on and so forth.
With minor tweaks to the UI in order to make things clearer, all in all the Exoprimal Overdrive Kit 1 and new Title Update 1 has been a good one, in my book. Not all the suits are hits, by any means, but anything that allows things to get mixed up a bit is a big help. And with new Exoprimal DLC announced at the Tokyo Game Show, including robot Chun-Li, Ryu and Guile from Street Fighter fame, there should be excitement in seeing what the future brings to Exoprimal.