B
ACK when Ripley first climbed into a powerloader and invited the Alien Queen to step away from Newt, exoskeletons were the realms of science fiction.
Fast forward a few years, and technological advancement has made fiction, reality.
While still in their infancy, exoskeletons have very real world applications which will literally change people’s lives.
Not only are they being developed to help in factories - like Ripley’s aforementioned loader – but they’re being developed to help the paralysed ed to walk.
Now you may wonder what I’m rambling on about, but exoskeleton’s, or exo-rigs, play a central part in the game I’ve been playing this week.
The Surge is a dystopian tale about the end of days. Cities are hugely overpopulated, jobs are scarce and the machines are rising...
From the get go it’s clear developer Deck 13 has taken heavy inspiration from Dark Souls and Bloodborne. In fact, I don’t think it’s unfair to say it’s much more than just a homage – it’s an out and out clone.
If the gameplay was cloned from Dark Souls, then the plot was taken from Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium.
Our ‘hero’ Warren is a wheelchair user who has agreed to work for CREO, a shadowy corporation. In return, they’ll fit him with an exo-rig which will help him to walk again.
It takes a lot to make me wince, but the fitting of the rig makes for uncomfortable watching.
Kitted out, Warren is dumped outside the factory and discovers he’s been selected for disassembling – and the fight begins.
Graphically, it’s very pretty. The desert town pieces reminded me a lot of 90s Kurt Russell movie flop Soldier, derelict containers and makeshift med bays litter the environment.
Amongst the waste are discarded humans, people who have been fused with exo-rigs just like Warren, but their suits T The Surge may not be original, but it’s suchs a polishedp versionve of the games we lovelov don’t work quite right.
One of the more interesting aspect of The Surge’s gameplay was the targeting system. Unlike most mele-combat games where you can only target an opponent, The Surge allows you to target specific parts of your foe.
This makes for a much more considered approach to combat. Some enemies have unprotected limbs, and require less energy and less time to defeat.
In a much more gory approach, dismembering specific parts of your foe means that you can loot the technology from that part of their suit – and make your own.
Scrap collected from your kills also comes in handy when you enter a med bay, as it can be used as currency to level up your rig or craft something you need.
This element of the game reminded me a lot of Dead Space – and works just as well.
This ability to constantly reinvent Warren, means you can specifically equip him for certain encounters – an absolute God send when you come face-toface with your first boss, an over inflated, not quite as charming ED-209 wannabe.
There’s a decent-length campaign here – with 30 to 40 hours of gameplay – and while none of The Surge ever feels like an original idea, it’s been twisted and polished enough to make it feel like something different. HHHH H BUY IT: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. INJUSTICE 2 FARPOINT GRAND THEFT AUTO V PREY FIRE EMBLEM ECHOES: SHADOWS OF VALENTIA MARIO KART 8 DELUXE FIFA 17 TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON: WILDLANDS 9. ROCKET LEAGUE 10. THE SURGE 6. 7. 8. £36.85 from shopto.net