A game that has seemingly leapt out of the shadows and is quickly shaking up the FPS genre. With new and unique gameplay, aesthetics and feel; all the while maintiaing the best of other familiar titles, The Finals first impression is one to grab your mates and jump into today. 5/5
Pros
Unique "cash out" game mode and multiple small team game play feels like a perfect match.
Excellent weapon feel.
Satisfying movement mechanics.
Good amounts of character and loadout customisation.
Fantastic graphics and aesthetics in a stylised Vegas setting.
Cons
Heavily reliant on teamwork - less of a criticism of the game, more my comms skills!
Stress inducing soundtrack and audio scape when chasing out.
You will need a solid excuse for missing work tomorrow when you realise it's 4am and queueing for your hundredth game of the night.
Value for Money: Free
Value for Time: 5/5
What is it then?
The Finals is a free to play FPS from Embark Studios that really is shaking up the genre. How many times have you seen another FPS release , and groan when you realise it's just a reskin of all the other offerings in the genre that just fails to differentiate itself? Well from this author's perspective, nearly every FPS I've played in recent years has been just a mildly spiced variant of another; almost parodying the genre. The Finals tears up the rule book but leaves enough threads attached to feel familiar.
We see familiar control layouts, with some gadgets and abilities, much like Fortnight, Apex, PUBG; but this is not a battle royale! The main game modes are multiple 3 player teams competing to get to cash boxes and deposit the cash - essentially a more involved capture the flag style game mode (any of you old enough to remember Timesplitters? - like that, only better!)
Your First 20 Minutes
You'll load up the game, and be bombarded with a colour vibrancy only seen at India's Holi festival (paint being thrown everywhere) and graphics so good you'll think it's an Unreal Engine demo. You'll complete a short tutorial that gives you the basics then BAM - straight into your first game. You can choose between 3 classes (initially only one, but you'll unlock 2 more as you go) small, medium and large build. Easiest way to describe this is the small one is quick but weak, mid is ...well mid, then large is the tank. You can pick gadgets that allow you to fulfill different battlefield roles, medic or support? DPS or mobility? Customise it just how you like! You can fully customise your entire loadout which is a real breath of fresh air compared to other titles.
Gameplay
Once you're into the game , you'll be part of a frantic rush to get your team to the cash first then get the "flag" to the cash out point. When you do start to cash out, you'll soon hear the most blood pressure raising sound on earth. While your heart thumps in your chest and as the countdown plays, enemy teams can still come and "steal" the cash and claim it for themselves. While you're trying to do this, gunfights are breaking out in this tough to navigate environment. Lucky the developers thought of including destructible scenery - meaning no door, no problem. The heavy character can literally run through walls to make new angles to attack or defend from, new choke points, and new ways to run should you get in a pinch.
The fun factor is immense here. With a frantic run and gun playstyle being the perfect companion in your first foray into this game (sorry Battlefield 1 snipers who don't play the objective - this ones not for you). You'll be sliding, jumping and ...well running your way around a rabbit warren of a map, stressed as all hell, but laughing all the way!
If you do find yourself getting dropped, you'll be on a respawn timer unless a teammate can revive you. If the whole team is wiped, you still respawn back in, which for a modern FPS free to play is a welcome respite! No battle royale mechanics here.
Verdict
With only a week under our belts, we need to do more "research?" (That's what I'm telling the other half anyway) but so far this game has surpassed all expectations and continues to impress. Time will tell what the longevity and future support and content will look like for The Finals, but with the right investment, developers and player base, this could be an FPS to break the mould.
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