That’s because in the real world in the game of paintball no one follows orders, no one really listens to your teammates and in the heat of battle everyone is doing their own thing. That’s also why the game can be somewhat rewarding to play when you go with a handful of close friends - where you’d be able to take on twenty people with just two friends at your side. Of course this game also plays like that when you play multiplayer and do even a minimal amount of chatting to coordinate plans. The computer AI just can’t keep up.
At this stage the beta does have a couple of issues that hopefully will be resolved, not being able to quit out of a match being the worst, of course! The other notable issues are that paintball is a game where looking around is extremely important and at times the fields can just be too open. This probably can’t be addressed but will instead require players to adapt. Worse is the respawning of opponents in the capture the flag game, because they respawn at the flag. So if your team is successful in hitting them, then it can actually impair your efforts to get away with the flag.
Finally, this budget title, which will be priced at under $20, should easily appeal to hardcore fans of the sport but it is probably too much to hope that users will be able to create mods or at least make their own maps. However, considering the recent outcry of violence in games, this should appease those who want to experience an action game without gratuitous violence. No one dies, and like in the real game, hopefully you can laugh afterward and just enjoy the experience.
by Peter Suciu
Contributing Editor