DISINTEGRATION

Destined for success?

“THE BLEND OF BLASTING AND RTS ELEMENTS FEELS UNIQUE.”

Considering this online sci-fi shooter was created by a former Bungie bigwig – Marcus Lehto – it’s no great shock that Disintegration rocks a certain Destiny 2 vibe. Spend a couple of rounds on the Low Town map in the quasi-bomb mode Retrieval, and the Guardian-aping parallels quickly become clear. This is a hectic blaster with not only serious Cayde-6 envy, but (happily) some real invention.

Sure, Disintegration’s bipedal bots may resemble Destiny’s perennial wisecracker. Yet peel away the familiar sci-fi aesthetic, and the inventiveness of V1 Interactive’s part-FPS, part-squad-shooter is clear. After spending a few hours with the closed beta, there are signs of scrappy optimism for Disintegration. Are the production values of this essentially indieproduced rough diamond miles behind Bungie’s MMO hybrid shooters? Of course. Get past the fugly visuals, though, and the game’s airborne firefights and streamlined squad controls begin to shine.

When directing ground troops from your

Gravcycle – essentially a hovercraft with all the firepower – as you control one of seven distinct Crews, Disintegration’s blend of first-person blasting and RTS management feels genuinely unique. If the final package can deliver both an engaging campaign and addictive multiplayer mosh pits, this down-anddirty hybrid could yet find a committed audience.

Do you attack the player or their foot soldiers? The game straddles classic FPS and RTS genres.

Above There’s a Twisted Metal quality to the game’s weird and colourful Crew designs.