Full Circle Magazine FR

Valve has just released Siltbreaker Act 1 which is a new, story-driven, campaign-style, action-adventure, co-op game. The game was released on June 8, 2017 and, although it was one week late, it’s a welcome addition to my video game library. It’s a tough game to play, but in the couple of days I’ve played it, it’s been a very rewarding experience. The game is actually more of a game within a game as it is available for owners of 2017 Dota 2 The International Battle Pass for the low price of $9.99 which can be bought either within Dota 2 or else separately through Steam’s Battle Pass page at http://www.dota2.com/international/battlepass. Siltbreaker, like Dota 2 is developed and released by Valve, the company behind the Steam game engine. Battle Pass owners get a bunch of other items besides Siltbreaker, and proceeds from the sales of the Battle Pass go toward the prize pool for this year’s The International 2017 event which will be held in Seattle, Washington from August 7th through the 12th, 2017. This year’s Battle Pass is very similar to last year’s, with a few changes, the main change being the addition of the Siltbreaker campaign game In typical Valve fashion, the original release was delayed. The game was scheduled to be released sometime during May 2017 but ended up being released in early June. After I got a Battle Pass, I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to review the game in time for this month’s magazine but, just in the nick of time, Siltbreaker was released.

Valve vient de publier Siltbreaker Act 1, un nouveau jeu d'action-aventure doté d'une véritable intrigue, avec des modes campagne et co-op. Le jeu est sorti le 8 juin 2017 et bien qu'ayant une semaine de retard, c'est un ajout apprécié pour ma bibliothèque de jeux vidéo. Il est difficile d'y jouer, mais au cours des deux jours que je l'ai fait, l'expérience était des plus gratifiantes. En fait, le jeu est davantage un jeu au sein d'un autre jeu, puisque disponible aux propriétaires de 2017 Dota 2 The International Battle Pass pour le prix modique de 9,99 $ US. Il s'achète, soit à l'intérieur de Dota 2, soit séparément sur la page Battle Pass de Steam à http://www.dota2.com/international/battlepass. Comme Dota 2, Siltbreaker est développé et publié par Valve, la société derrière le moteur de jeu Steam. Les propriétaires de Battle Pass ont droit à tout un tas d'autres trucs outre que Siltbreaker, et les recettes des ventes de Battle Pass contribue aux prix pour l'événement The International 2017 de cette année. Celui-ci aura lieu à Seattle, Washington tu 7 au 12 août 2017. Le Battle Pass de cette année ressemble beaucoup à celui de l'année dernière avec quelques changements, le principal étant l'ajout du jeu de campagne Siltbreaker.

Comme c'est souvent le cas avec Valve, la publication originale fut retardée. Le jeu devait paraître à un moment quelconque au mois de mai 2017, mais fut finalement publié début juin. Après m'être procuré un Battle Pass, j'étais déçu parce qu'il semblait que faire la critique du jeu avant la date limite du magazine de ce mois-ci soit impossible, mais Siltbreaker est sorti à point nommé.

My expectations were high and the excitement was almost at boiling point by the time the game was released. It was a most definite welcome sign when I started Dota 2 on June 8 and immediately there was a banner informing me of Siltbreaker now being available. Upon starting Siltbreaker, a digital comic book appears which slowly tells of the tale behind Siltbreaker concerning the happenings in the Dark Reef. A left mouse-click is required to cycle through the comic book. The story is pretty interesting and can be read while you wait for the network to match you up with a team. Once your match begins, the first thing you must do is select a hero with which to play the game. The game is limited to only 14 heroes out of the 110+ available in a regular game of Dota 2. The 14 available heroes play very much like they play in a regular game of Dota 2. The items you build are the same for the most part, except for new items that are available only in Siltbreaker. Leveling up your hero is also similar to Dota 2… but this is where the similarities end and the differences begin. From here on, Siltbreaker sits on a class all of its own and feels & plays very different from Dota 2. For starters, you are teamed up with three other players which makes you belong to a team of four instead of the standard 5v5 in Dota 2; not to mention the fact that you’re not playing against other players but rather you’re playing against the computer AI. The campaign is rather hard to beat, and will definitely require you to run through it a few times before being able to reach and defeat the final boss Rhyzik.

You have to progress through different zones to beat the game. The first couple of zones are not too hard, but they introduce the concept of the game and give you an idea of what to expect. Unlike Dota 2, the camera is not controlled 100% by the player but rather it moves with you as you make your way through each zone. As you explore each zone, you encounter lots (and I do mean lots) of foes along the way. In addition to these enemies, some of the zones have a mean, scary boss that needs to be beat. Unfortunately there are few guides available as of now – because the game is so new – but, by the time you read this, I’m sure there will be more than a handful of guides to help you along your way. Some of the levels (or zones) will have other obstacles besides enemies – kind of like puzzles that need to be timed properly to get through. One of the unique aspects of this game is that it doesn’t allow you to save your progress – which means it has to be beat in one sitting or not at all. So, for older gamers like me, this is reminiscent of the old arcade games when you put in a quarter and played on that arcade machine until your character died. In fact, this almost reminds me of the classic The Gauntlet video game. Even if you don’t beat the game, there is still benefit to be gained from playing it as each zone will award you anywhere from one to three stars, depending on different factors, as long as you perform well. One star will give you 200 points toward your Battle Pass, two stars will give you 400 points toward the Battle Pass, and three stars will give you a treasure which will contain rare and hard-to-find items that are available only through this game.

The game is played with a mouse & keyboard, and, depending on which hero you select, the actions for your key bindings will differ. The graphics are phenomenal but, at times, it almost seems like there’s too much action on the screen and it may even feel a bit too clustered. The surround sound is superb, and the accompanying soundtrack is deserving of an award. I have not encountered any problems yet with the game in the few days I’ve been playing it except for Internet lag from other players – which once forced my team to pause a couple of times to allow for the player who had disconnected to re-connect. But I suppose that’s something to be expected from co-op multi-player online games anyway. I enjoyed playing Siltbreaker very much. Perhaps my only complaint about it is that there is no tutorial at all. The only way to learn how to play this game is to just jump right in and start playing it, which can be intimidating – especially if you take into account that other players with whom you might be paired up are likely to get annoyed with your mistakes due to your lack of experience. Siltbreaker Act 2: A Vault in the Deep is due to be released in July of this year. Unfortunately, it seems like Siltbreaker will be a limited edition game that will vanish shortly after the completion of The International 2017, which may be sometime in September 2017. Then again, if Valve has enough positive feedback from gamers, there is a small chance that this game might live to see another day beyond its expiration date. Not having released any new content in quite a while (fans are still waiting for Half-Life 3), it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Valve to give Siltbreaker the chance to stick around for a while. Although I’ve really enjoyed playing Siltbreaker, the fact that it will most likely go away in a few months and the lack of any sort of tutorial makes me deduct a whole star from my rating. Minimum Requirements Operating System: Ubuntu 12.04 or newer CPU: Dual core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz RAM: 4 GB GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600GT (Driver version 331 or newer), AMD HD 2xxx-4xxx (Driver mesa 10.5.9), Intel HD 3000 (Driver mesa 10.6) Hard Drive: 16 GB available space Additional Notes: Broadband Internet connection