Project: Snowblind Online
Project: Snowblind features all of the online game modes shooters demand, and then some. Each match will be greatly impacted by the soldier class each player chooses—they're all formidable but the different skills and weapons make some better suited to achieve specific goals. It all depends on your preferred style of play, but if you want to build an effective team, these are the classes to look for in each of the various game modes.
Heavy opposition calls for heavy firepower.
Deathmatch/Team Deathmatch
The choice you make for this, the purest of all FPS modes, is going to be based on your preferred style of play. The Scout is great for those of us who like to charge straight at the enemy, while the Berserker is a better fit for close-quarter combat enthusiasts. For sheer offensive power, however, you can't beat the Heavy and his rocket launcher. This weapon has good range, a homing feature as its secondary fire, and the ability to kill just about any opponent with one well-placed round (and with the rocket's splash damage you don't even need a direct hit to score a kill). The Heavy's ballistic shield lets him soak up more small-arms fire and gives him time to make each rocket count. If you prefer to choose your targets a bit more carefully, go for the Agent—his vision enhancement lets him see through walls so he can blast the enemy with the rail laser. This combo is especially strong in tight maps with lots of walls and corridors, like Wanchai Sewers or Two Martinis.
Capture the Flag/Fast Flag Capture
The one-two punch you want for this game type is a Scout and a Sniper. The Scout's shotgun, riot wall, and boosted reflexes are useful for getting to the flag and getting out with it—use the wall to keep enemies out of your way, the shotgun if they don't take the hint, and your enhanced speed to leave them in the dust. The sniper's cloak is effective in combat, but it doesn't help when you've got the flag—you're still marked with an icon onscreen and in the HUD. Snipers are better used as support for the flag-carrier or defense for their own flag. A Sniper's long-range attack can be used to pick off incoming flag-grabbers and/or cap them as they try to escape with the prize. On offense, the Sniper can thin out enemy defenders to let the Scout in, or take out pursuers as they try to bring your man down.
Keep the enemy busy while your team scores.
Demolition/Quick Demolition
There's only one difference between the two Demolition modes—Quick Demo's bomb timer only pauses after it's defused instead of resetting. Apart from that extra jolt of adrenaline, your team's strategy and your first picks should be the same. On defense, a savvy Sniper can keep opposing players away from his base by combining his cloaking ability and flashbangs along with his long-range rifle (the H.E.R.F. blaster and its plasma-ball secondary fire are also effective at mid- and close range). The basic Grunt can also be a deciding factor in clearing a path or taking on a mobile enemy if you use his mine launcher and ballistic shield effectively—after the initial blast, which you are partially shielded from, polish off any other survivors with the rapid-fire carbine and his frag grenade launcher. No matter what class you and your squad mates choose, always remember to turn your guns and attention outward whenever a teammate is planting or defusing the bomb ... this lets you locate incoming enemies and concentrate your fire on them before they can stop what your team is doing.
Tactical Assault/Assault
The difference between these two modes is that Tactical Assault makes you hack through the other team's shield before you destroy their generator. This is one game mode that often leads to big, confusing brawls in tight places—everyone's in the same place at the same time and they're all trying to do something or stop something as they also try to kill the enemy. For big clusters of combat like this, you want to be a Berserker. Both The H.E.R.F. and the Electric Storm augmentation are perfect for groups of enemies like the ones you're likely to find at each generator, and your gadgets help you herd them together for the slaughter. Toss up a Riot Wall so they can't retreat and then hit them with any or all of your EMP grenades, H.E.R.F. plasma balls, and homing flechette droids. Likewise, the Agent's vision and rail laser are also great for cleaning house from the outside—it's far easier to hack and destroy a generator when you've already dusted all of the defenders inside.
Truce (at least until that Ogre drops)!
Hunter
The last game mode is something of a toss-up when it comes to the definitive pick. The Hunter in this game gets all the goodies: more health, every bio-augmentation, increased damage, permanent invisibility. With these advantages your tactical choice of soldier class is less important—just go with the class and/or weapons set that you like best. You can't expect to be the Hunter all the time, however; try the Sniper and the Heavy for their slight advantage over the other classes—they can perform one-shot kills at a distance. As the temporary alliances shift and change, try to hang back and wait for the Hunter to engage another player, then take your shot. Mind you, if you do this and nothing else, the other players are going to hold it against you and call you names, but at that point you'll most likely be the Hunter, so you can ignore them (or punish them severely, depending on your mood).
Project: Snowblind creates a wide range of options for multiplayer matches. If your team is having trouble in one or more game types, consider which classes you're using ... and which ones you could be using better.
By Wendell Scott
