Why Breach blows chunks

A little less then a year ago at a video game expo on the east coast a video game appeared that wowed those in attendance and internet browsers who were following the news coming from the event.  The game was called Breach and it boasted fully destructible environments and a cover system rare to the FPS genre.  I was intrigued and so were a lot of friends of mine.

Here's a video preview from PAX East 2010

Fast forward to present day and after a myriad of set-backs, delays, and possible bankruptcy Atomic Games releases Breach into the wild on Xbox Live Arcade and PC.  I've been following this game ever since I was initially impressed almost a year ago but now after I've purchased and played the game for quite a few hours I can say I am utterly disappointed.

So why am I writing this blog post?  It's to hopefully prevent you from buying this game and having Breach blow chunks in your face.  So here's the low down on why you shouldn't spend your hard earned $15....

• A face only a mother could love.  The YouTube videos you'll find of the game are obviously the PC version of game, looking nice and gorgeous, but with the Xbox 360 version the game feels like a throwback to the original Xbox.  There's terrible animations, muddy effects from explosions and dust, and extremely plain environments.  If you like nothing on your bagel this might be right up your alley.

Warning: Games may not appear like in screenshots

• Destructible environments are just a gimmick.  In the matches I've played there's little blowing up and it's more like a standard shooter.  In fact there are very few buildings that really matter to blow up.  Even when you do want to blaze a new trail the gameplay tends to make it a more a chore than fun. Even though the new Battlefield series has limited destructibility compared to Breach; it's used more effectively and actually the changes game drastically where in Breach it's just not the case.

• The gun play is sub-par, hit detection is wonky, there's input lag, and it feels more like luck than skill to get a kill.  The gameplay really could've saved the game but it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Peek a boo I see you, now if I could only shoot you...

• Network noobs.  It's obvious Atomic didn't do too much homework while working on the network code.  Here's an example of the antiquated network design, when a host quits the game the match ends and your kicked to the main lobby all the while losing all your experience and stats you accumulated during the match.  Also there's noticeable lag whenever the player count exceeds 6 total players.  In the modern day shooter genre good network code is a must and Breach falls way short.

Lets wrap this up all with this thought; given time Breach can be patched and ironed out into a good game, but why wait when you could pick up a used copy of Battlefield Bad Company 2 which does everything Breach does but better for $5 more.

Yep, it's better

Let me know what you think and whether or not Breach blew chunks in your face