Now, you may be asking yourself why I’m quoting Ghost in the Shell, however once I explain what Studio Radi-8’s HL2 modification, NEOTOKYO°, is all about, you’ll quickly understand the anime reference. NEOTOKYO° is a tactical first person shooter unlike most that you have played. Think of it as the ultimate cross between Counterstrike and something much more methodical, like the early Tom Clancy shooters or even SWAT 4. So, now that you’ve taken that in, digested it a little bit, and compiled a vague image in your head about what to expect from NEOTOKYO° …forget about everything I just said. Things are getting confusing, right? Well, bear with me and keep following the rabbit hole deeper for just a little bit longer.
NEOTOKYO° is a standard, round-based, arena shooter like the games I just mentioned, however in truth, it’s nothing like any of those or the other dozen Half Life shooters you may find by doing a quick search over at ModDB. It’s visceral, unrelenting, stylized, and has one of the steepest, most covert learning curves I’ve seen in a mod in quite some time. The game breaks all the conventions of your standard multiplayer shooting game and gives a big middle-finger to just about everything you thought you knew about fragging newbs and facing humping their corpses.
The first thing that puts NEOTOKYO° in the “Not-like-all-its-FPS-cousins Category” is its heavily Ghost in the Shell-inspired setting. Upon first glance, you may even think NT is in fact a GitS mod. But, if you made that assumption, you would indeed be very wrong. Radi-8 has openly admitted their love of Mamoru Oshii’s work and how his beloved anime classic has played a significant role in the design and fruition of NEOTOKYO°. From its sprawling, not-so-distant futuristic metropolises, to the android dolls called ‘Ghosts’ that play an important role in the game’s core functionality, to the secretive special forces soldiers that carry out the orders of bureaucratic ideology that tears the world asunder in its unique storyline, it all screams 90’s Japanese animation. In essence, if you’ve ever wanted to PLAY an anime, this is about as close as you’re going to get.
STORY
Radi-8’s baby takes place in a near future Japan that has descended into political, economic, and social turmoil. After a failed legislative push to alter the existing Japanese Constitution, a military coup de tat transpires by members of Japan’s armed forces, the GSDF. However, much like the new legislation attempt, the coup fails, but not without striking fear into the heart of Japan’s Prime Minister. From this panic, the Prime Minister forms a branch inside the Interior Ministry’s National Security Forces (NSF) called Group Six. Answering directly to only the Prime Minister himself, Group Six and the NSF are tasked with the duty of protecting the Japanese Constitution, no matter the cost. After catching wind of that a rogue, ultranationalist group within the GSDF Special Forces (known as JINRAI) is staging a second coup, a war between the NSF and JINRAI is ignited.
GAMEPLAY
Complex stuff, no? Well, the gameplay itself makes the storyline seem like child’s play. Initially you may not think anything is too out of the ordinary as the game modes and class system don’t appear revolutionary or innovative in any way. But, again, you know what they say about assuming, right?...right?! It makes an ASS out of U and ME…get it?...cliché, overused, and not funny or clever in the year 2010, you say? Noted. Anyhow, the game offers players the ability to choose between 3 classes: Recon, Assault, and Support. Each class has its own arsenal of weapons and abilities which, in turn, create class-distinguishing strengths and weaknesses. However, while so many other games implement a rock-paper-scissors scheme to their class system, NEOTOKYO° never makes it seem like one class is abundantly or evenly marginally better than the other.
To be successful in NT, it’s imperative that each team has a balanced number of these classes. For typical PUG’ing purposes, a team that is comprised of all the classes has a better chance of winning the match than those made up of just one. So, what do all these classes do, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Recons are what you’d expect from the name; they’re nimble and fast, but can’t take many hits. The assault is the more all-around class; they don’t excel at stealth, speed, or tanking, but they can do a little bit of everything well, but not great. The Support class is, as the name may imply, the heavy-hitter. They’re like the guy that stands behind the belligerent, drunk dude at the bar who wants to throw down on anyone that gives them the wrong look, and simply ends fights before they begin just by looking tough as shit.
Adding to the individuality of each class is the pool of weapons they can choose from. However, like Counterstrike, all these weapons are not readily available at the start of each round. Until the player has earned them through acquiring XP which is rewarded for kills, surviving the round, capturing objectives, and helping capture objectives, that is to say defending players who are the objective carriers, they are limited to only a few guns. Once a player has ranked up to a particular level, they unlock a new weapon, which is then open to them for the rest of the match.
To supplement the three class’ abilities, NEOTOKYO° also sports a vision and thermooptic system that adds a depth not found in most other FPS’s. There are three modes of vision that are analogous with each class: Nightvision for the Recons, Motionvision for the Assaults, and Thermalvision for the Supports. Additionally, both the Recon and Assault classes have the ability to cloak themselves with thermooptics. This is where it gets interesting though. Motionvision is the only visor that can see cloaked players, while Thermalvision allows Supports to see through smoke, deposited by their class-exclusive smoke grenades. This system demands a level of teamwork simply not possible or captured by other games of its similarity. It requires players to stick together, call out targets, and breach rooms in unison. Adding to this desired level of team coordination is a squad system that grants players the option to join a squad at the beginning of the match which enables them to monitor their squad mates’ positions and health. If you haven’t noticed by now, this game exercises, with complete authority, the rule that teamwork is the key to success.
Another interesting characteristic of NT is the sheer size of the maps. This isn’t just a giant, square level with a few corridors, a couple crates to hide behind, and the token sniper-prone building painted with a slew of windows. No, no, no. These are some of the largest and most intricate maps I’ve ever seen…period. Each stage is enormous, with multiple levels, fantastic backdrops, numerous hallways, hiding spots, alternate passages to flank enemies, and a vast array of other nuances which help to create online matches that are unpredictable and downright exhilarating.
The scope of these maps seems to hammer home the tactical, team-oriented play that the rest of the mechanics do. Because these levels are so expansive, matches take a while to finish. Additionally, character movement speed by default is somewhat slower than what most are probably used to, so this makes rounds seem even slower than they may actually be. However, the intricacies and size of the maps, coupled with the slower walk/run/sprint speeds and the other teamwork-demanding game attributes are all very deliberate on the part of the game’s developer. Slowing down the speed makes for more strategic planning and playing. And because players have to wait for the round to be over to hop back into the saddle after they are killed, dying is not something to be taken lightly. The penalty of being taken out in NEOTOKYO° is harsh and severe, and makes you care more about how you’re going to approach each match. Caring about living and dying is something not often found in multiplayer gaming, especially when it comes to FPS’s. However, with some specific design choices, Radi-8 has made you care. Whether that’s for better or worse, is something that’s particular to each player.
MODES
So, wait, how exactly do you win rounds in this game? Good question and I’ll be glad to put your little hearts at ease with an answer. There are two modes of play in NEOTOKYO°; Team Deathmatch and, what Radi-8 has dubbed, ‘Capture the Ghost’. CTG is essentially just a fancy way of saying Capture the Flag…well, almost. In typical CTF modes, a team wins when a player obtains the flag and runs it back to their base with it in hand. This is essentially what NEOTOKYO°’s CTG mode implores except, of course, with a unique catch. When a player picks up the ‘Ghost’ they drop their main weapon and are armed with only their sidearm. Now, right away, you’re thinking:
“Oh, eff that, who wants to be that guy? By default, he’s automatically the target of the enemy because he has the objective, and now the only thing he has to defend himself is a simple pistol? No thanks.” In part, you’re right - that’s what you do as the Ghost retriever. But, you have an ability not available to those teammates who opted not for certain death by capturing the mutilated cyborg body that acts as said Ghost.
When carrying the Ghost to its specific, retrieval zone, you can equip it, making it possible to see the positions of ALL enemy operatives. Through the in-game chat option, you can then begin to relay enemy positions to all the members of your team. This means that you can either opt to hunt down the enemy, now knowing where they’re at, or scoot around them to the drop-off point unscaved…except, it’s not that easy. Sigh now, reader, for this review is filled with ellipses. When you first pick up the Ghost, your position is made available for the opposing team to see and will continue to be displayed until you drop the Ghost. This makes it essential that if you’re ballsy enough to pick up the Ghost you either A. Have teammates to back you up or B. are locked into a one-on-one duel and are using it to see where the little bastard may be hiding.
AUDIO
Having gone on about gameplay elements for the past 2 and a half pages, I want to take the time to discuss the game’s audio presentation. I’ll start off with the music. Soundtracks in FPS’s often go unnoticed or are easily dismissed. Well, I’m here to tell you that NEOTOKYO°’s OST is, without a doubt, one of the best first person shooter soundtracks I’ve heard in my 17 years of gaming. It sets the mood with its epic composition and variety. This is Ed Harrison’s debut CD release, and his passion for music and understanding of NEOTOKYO° is embedded in each sweeping progression and majestic crescendo. Aside from that, the sound effects themselves are very well crafted. Guns sound great, footsteps sound natural, and explosions rip through your headset without remorse. The audio in this game is superb and has been created with a profound sense of precision and love.
THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF
The game however, isn’t without fault. First off, gun recoil can feel obtuse, awkward, and generally inconsistent at times. While recoil generates the need to become more skilled with each gun, it can be done so in a way that doesn’t feel random. Though recoil in real life is indeed random, it has some loose sense of predictability. It would’ve been nice to see that transferred over to NT to create a more stable recoil system. In addition, map design and size can at times encourage camping, which is something you can run into here and there, especially when it’s down to one-on-one. While this occurs in most games, it’s made especially noticeable in NEOTOKYO° due to the exorbitant nature of the maps. This colossal map size, while neat in big games, does not translate well for smaller ones, making some matches drag on for far too long.
Another gripe that is constantly bothersome is how the unlocking of weapons works. To unlock weapons, one has to achieve certain ranks. But, to do this, you and your team have to do well in order to gain the XP needed for the higher tiered guns. While, in theory this sounds like a bulletproof system, it can be made difficult if you are on a team who constantly loses. Whether if it’s because you have inexperienced teammates, are having an ‘off-day’, or are simply outmatched, you are essentially penalized by not being able to access better weapons. When this happens, it makes the game even more one-sided as the winning team more than likely has all the weapons available to them, and, well, you don’t.
But, the real problem with NEOTOKYO° is that it’s too much NOT for the faint of heart. The competition is extremely cut-throat, especially now that the game has been out for a little over a year, the mechanics aren’t what a typical player is used to, and there isn’t a tutorial in-game to speak of, which is badly needed to teach people the subtleties of the gameplay. Plainly put, NEOTOKYO° is not new-player friendly in any way, shape, or form. And perhaps that is one of the reasons why the game’s population is down to a mere handful of people who have been around since the beginning and ultimately pledged their devotion to a project that never quite achieved the recognition it should have. Another reason for the game's absurdly small community could be attributed to the fact that the game, for reasons I haven't quite figured out yet, still has not been released on Steam. This shocking lack of exposure has undoubtedly hurt the game's player base in a big way. What's also upsetting is, because of the substantial drop in players since the release (and some members leaving the team), developer, Radi-8, has not put out anything new since October of last year.
CONCLUSION
But, when it’s all said and done and the dust has settled, NEOTOKYO° is truly a triumph on so many levels. It looks great, pushing the Source Engine to its limit, the style is one of the best seen in any game of this generation, the setting is imaginative, the gameplay mechanics are refreshing and exciting, the re-playability is made extremely high due to the seemingly endless nuances to learn and three unique classes to master, has 13 maps, 22 weapons, and an unthinkable amount of heart. And while the game, at first, can be disheartening due to the time it takes to become acclimated to its cerebral nature, you would doing yourself a giant disservice by not experiencing this hidden gem that has taken multiplayer shooters to new heights.
I'm happy about the:
- Great style and setting
- Fantastically balanced, class system
- Neat cloaking and vision mechanics
- Excellent level design
- Slick interface
- A good deal of varied maps
- Extremely team oriented, methodical gameplay
- Brilliant soundtrack
- Solid graphics
- Learning curve is mercilessly steep
- Maps encourage camping and can be too massive if not played with a full server of people
- Weapon unlocking system can be frustrating if on the losing team
- Gameplay may be too slow for some people
- Lack of an in-game tutorial leaves newbies clueless
- Very small population means you can't always find a server with people in it
- The game's generally not new player friendly...whatsoever.
Check it out if you like games such as: Counterstrike, Dystopia, Firearms, Rainbow Six 3, Swat 4
What beer you should be drinking while playing this game: Brewery Ommegang's Hennepin: An extremely well-balanced, perfect summer beer with a floral nose. A combination of ginger, pineapple, and lemon zest with coriander spiciness makes this beer light, dry, and powdery.
