Destruction Switch Review by SwitchWatch
Developer: COSEN
Publisher: COSEN
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]Release Date: Out Now!
Price as of Article: $9.99 USD, £8.99 GBP
Game code provided by COSEN for review
An evil organisation has planned a variety of terrorist attacks across the globe to destroy the new world order. However, an elite special forces unit has been gathered from all over the world to come together and fight fire with fire, using their unique abilities to stop the enemy dead in their tracks. As battles are won, though, dark secrets unfold, revealing human cloning – the very secretive Project X.
[/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Gameplay” open=”on” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ use_border_color=”on”]So what does it take to become a secret agent? Apparently, a unique personality and move set. When the game begins, you’re shown a short intro to explain the story using still images. It’s not great but I would consider it passable, at best. It’s your typical end of world scenario and your team is the only one who can sort everything out.
But instead of a single hero, you control a team of 4 unique individuals, each with their own special attacks and weapons. You travel as a team through different countries and multiple missions. You can level up your heroes with the gold you earn from successful missions, as well as materials that you are awarded with after each mission is complete. These help you craft new and improved weapons, armours, and perks that increase you characters’ abilities.
The Team!
At the very beginning of the game, you have 4 heroes to play with. There are 11 heroes in total, but they need to be unlocked through the achievement menu… more on that later. Each hero has two unique abilities that can be used with the Y and X buttons. These abilities can be buffs to increase speed, increase damage, or other abilities like shields or powerful attacks. Also, every character has a standard fire mode which they can use with the A button.
Movement is controlled with the left analog stick and you can swap teammates using the L and R bumpers. Different characters use different weapons and you are able to mix and match who you want in your party. Characters like Veronica can use a sniper rifle and she’s great at dealing powerful hits from far away, but her reload times are pretty long. Then you have someone like Sherry who is a medic and, thankfully, has the best healing ability out of all the characters I’ve unlocked so far. She can heal the closest allie’s health, restoring it by 50%, which is incredibly useful in a pinch.
All characters are pretty varied, such as Sanjay the cyborg, Billy the cowboy, and Yuki the ninja. I really like the different characters as they all have their own unique personalities which shine through their dialogues in the main campaign.
Equipment!
With the world at stake, you need to have decent equipment and, thankfully, there’s a lot to unlock. After each mission, you level up by gaining experience points which then increases your level and stats. Money you get after missions can be put to good use in the armoury, for upgrades, or for perks in the workshop.
Armoury!
In the armoury, you find your characters’ weapon loadouts. Here you can purchase new weapons with gold you’ve collected from completed missions or diamonds which you earn from achievements you’ve completed.
Weapons range from pistols and rifles, to shotguns and sub-machine guns. At the very beginning you only have a single weapon available, but once you’ve acquired some money you can start spending it to upgrade your arsenal. Each locker needs to be purchased to use the weapon that is stored inside. Selecting a weapon with the A button brings you to 3 available options.
- You use materials you’ve gathered from missions to level-up your weapon. Each weapon needs certain materials and gold for them to unlock their next level, increasing weapons stats.
- You can also create accessories for your weapons and armour in the workshop. Again, certain materials are needed to create these unique perks that add extra firepower or reload speed to a selected weapon.
- Last but not the least, you can equip or unequip weapons.
This is the same for armours as well as perks, and improvements can be made if you have the right items and money to purchase them. And you definitely need to upgrade frequently, as missions become tougher as you progress. I really like this, as I feel like my characters are constantly growing, becoming more powerful and resilient with each mission.
Missions!
You start on the world map and move to each country as you progress. Mission structure is pretty linear as each mission is broken into sections. Complete the main goal then move on to the next one. Areas do offer multiple paths but most lead to dead-ends. You’ll normally be heading towards where enemies are grouped up, then find the next batch and repeat the process.
It would be boring if missions were all about killing, but there is some variety here. Protecting certain characters/structures or a survival mission may occur against hordes of enemies. Other missions may have you using turrets, defeat a boss, or find a certain object. It all spices up the gameplay and keeps things interesting. I found some of the early missions to be quite tough until I levelled up my characters enough, at which point I was able to move on. Again, completing missions will reward you with more experience and money to upgrade and purchase new weapons, armour, etc.
Swap it up!
You also need to learn how to swap through the different characters using the L and R bumpers. While you’re controlling one character, the other members of the team are AI-controlled.
They will attack by themselves, however, they’re not very good at using their own unique skills and can die quickly. This is where you come in: you will need to swap through the different members and use their unique abilities to either heal or attack with their specials. It’s a pure balancing act and you’re the puppet master. So make sure you have one healer in your team, which is important.
Also, make sure that you’re levelling up every character equally; adding armour and better weapons to weaker allies as it will come in handy, later on.
It’s a shame they’re not as intelligent as you are, as sometimes they get stuck in corners and die or they won’t be able to find their way back to you. It doesn’t happen all the time but it occurs every now and again, so it’s best to swap regularly to maintain their health with pick-ups or their abilities. It can make the game challenging – hectic, in good way.
Achievements!
There are 50 achievements to unlock as you progress through the main game. Most of these will require you to either kill a certain amount of enemies or complete a certain number of missions. Doing these will reward you with money and diamonds. Diamonds are a rare form of currency and can unlock special lockers. Plus, this is how you unlock the rest of your team – by completing certain missions or getting a certain number of kills.
Once the requirements are met, a new team member will become available through the achievements system. Simply click on the achievement to unlock content. These are a nice inclusion in the game and 50 gives you enough to plough through as you move through each mission.
S.O.S.!
One of the issues I have with Destruction on Nintendo Switch is that the areas you move around in look a little bland. It’s a bit sad as characters themselves and their unique powers look pretty good. It’s just a shame the levels weren’t a little more exciting.
My biggest complaint is the auto-lock system which is constantly on. When you’re near an enemy or group of enemies, you automatically turn to face them. This takes some challenge away from the player and I would’ve preferred the right analogue stick to do the shooting like Feral Fury’s control set up.
The ability to shoot 360-degrees would have been a better control option. Sadly, it’s not implemented in Destruction. I think this would make controls and gameplay tighter. It still functions fine and it is still playable, but I would have preferred the option for a different control set up and the option to switch off automatic lock-on. It’s a small gripe in my mind. It just takes some skill out of the title, but it may be suited better for younger gamers who are less experienced.
4-players!
One really cool addition is the 4-player local play option. Before each mission, you can either have 1-player with 3 AI companions or you can have a team of friends to play with, which is so cool. I was only able to get 3 people together to try this out and it was pretty fun.
Instead of the game letting everyone be on the same screen, the game has a split screen feature, so each player has their own view. I thought this was going to be problem at first, but it turned out to be great fun. We had a good laugh with it and it was really enjoyable, plus it performed well!
I don’t get a lot of opportunities to play locally with people but it was a good night. It’s a shame there’s no online play though, as it’s a feature I personally prefer, but the local play option here is great fun. If you want a few matches with the kids or just want to blast through a few missions with friends, it has that structure where you can spend 15 minutes or a few hours playing, as missions can be over pretty quickly – it’s one of my favourite features of the game.
Audio is okay but repetitive, especially on menus as the same tune plays over and over again. There’s no volume control here: it’s either on or off. There’s nothing spectacular but it serves its purpose.
[/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Visuals & Performance” open=”on” _builder_version=”3.17.6″ use_border_color=”on”]
The visuals in Destruction aren’t half-bad. The character models are pretty decent, menus are easy to navigate, and everything is clearly visible. Levels are a little bland for my liking but character models look good.
Performance was good. Everything ran smoothly and I didn’t experience anything that I need to bring up here. Four-player was a highlight and it ran very well. Destruction also supports screenshots and video capture.
For £8.99, you’re getting multiple characters, lots of missions and achievements to plough your way through. Leveling up and buying new weapons is fun and if you’re looking for a 4-player experience, then this is not a bad choice.
Pros
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#5bd999″ icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]11 unique heroes to play as
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#5bd999″ icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]4-player is a blast!
Lots of leveling up of weapons/perks
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#5bd999″ icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]50 achievements
Cons
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#e6567a” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]Music is repetitive
[/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%47%%” icon_color=”#ffffff” use_circle=”on” circle_color=”#e6567a” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]Areas are bland
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