For Honor – Marching Fire
Dance into the fire to fatal sounds
Much like trying to see your reflection in a rock, there’s no sign of ‘u’ in this game’s title. Take it as part of the multicultural, historical flavour (with a ‘u’)! Samurai, vikings, shinobi, gladiators, knights, and more are represented in the character roster. Even with this latest update, there are sadly still no cowboys or pirates. Maybe next year, eh?
Marching Fire brings a huge number of additions and tweaks, many small, some so big they rough you up and ask you for your lunch money. That said, you’ll benefit from a surprising amount even if you don’t pay for the DLC. If you do give Ubisoft your monies for the expansion, all four fighters from the new Wu Lin faction – warriors from ancient China – are immediately unlocked and ready to play.
Jiang Jun, possibly our favourite, carries a whacking great spear; this barrel-bodied beardy is the heavy of the pack. Beefy lad Tiandi is well balanced, a good starting point for the faction. Nuxia is an excellent choice for rapid attacks but, like other Assassins, only holds her stance for a second or so at a time, so demands more discipline when guarding. The staff-wielding, more lightly armoured Shaolin, meanwhile, can be difficult to defend against, tricky to read and surprisingly quick. You’ll find yourself dancing between all four, enjoying them all.
You also get the new Arcade mode for your money. Not really a second story mode, this throws you into fights with random modifiers from a pool both good and bad for you and your AI opponents. You can even invite a friend to play co-op for some fairly easy XP and gear. It’s a neat idea, but not
THE SORT OF SHAKE-UP ORDINARILY ASSOCIATED WITH A SEQUEL RATHER THAN AN EXPANSION.
one likely to hold most people’s interest for very long. All players get access to the new 4v4 Breach mode. This is fantastic, the sort of shake up ordinarily associated with a sequel rather than an expansion. A ram slowly makes its way through a fortress via two gates. With the help of small armies, one team tries either to destroy the ram or to use up all the attackers’ respawns, while the other team tries to break through and ultimately kill a tough AI Commander. The bigger maps and tactical elements – attacking or defending key areas such as ballistas and cauldrons of fiery death, for instance – really set Breach apart from existing 4v4 mode Dominion, plus fights are often more chaotic than usual, in a good way. Ubisoft’s on (Marching) fire here.