Like Minecraft But With Murder –
This is an early access article
With the explosive success of Minecraft, there have been many mods to make it better. Some have attempted a fighting system with a destructible environment but none of them have done it well until now. With that need comes “Blockstorm” from GhostShark, an FPS with a Minecraft look and feel. It features a block style look to its characters and environment, which by the way can be destroyed and crafted mid game with a shovel and blocks.
This innovative design of crafting and destroying your level in is perfectly suited for the target audience of Minecraft players. It’s hard not to enjoy getting a sniper rifle, getting to the highest point, then block the stairs to your location with blocks and then walling yourself in except for a small view to take everyone out from beyond your fortress made of blocks.
An FPS Minecraft
Now in early access, Blockstorm is not perfect, but after speaking with many of the game community, it seems that the developers (GhostShark) are listening to their players and trying to include content on a regular basis. This attention to its players is a pivotal thing to have in an indie game, since it will only make it better in the long run.
Blockstorm gives you some fairly traditional weaponry including rifles, shotguns, and pistols to start off with. You get to choose what weaponry you get, but in turn there is a weight value to each weapon, and the heavier you become, the slower you will be. This weight mechanic makes for some pretty great balancing of teams and interesting gameplay. Maybe you will only need a sniper rifle and some grenades and be light as a feather, or go Wolfenstein style and get the rocket launcher, C4 and AK-47. This game has three modes for online gameplay, which include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Assault.
While this game does have a lot to offer, it suffers from the fatal flaw that all FPS have to deal with: popularity. No one will play a game online where there are only a few people playing. So while it may have some really cool gameplay, it will never be Call of Duty and will never have their numbers, which can be a serious problem down the road. Not to mention, being in early access means they aren’t done fixing bugs even now, and there is only a promise of the future development, so it may take quite a while for you to see new maps, game modes, or weapons which can be the life or death of a good FPS.
Overall, I would give this high marks for breathing new life into the FPS genre with new concepts and incorporating a popular existing game mechanic into what would have normally been a unlikely match. This is especially impressive considering this is the first game from the minds at GhostShark. If Goldeneye and Minecraft had a baby, this would most certainly be the offspring, and like any newborn, its potential is unlimited, but its future uncertain.
Written by: Adam