Guns of Icarus online

I started playing this game when the Beta came out, which was pretty fun but rather buggy. So I decided to go back onto the game and check out how it’s changed since then.

Music

Now, the music in Guns of Icarus online is really pretty. It fits well with the theme of the game and manages to relax you when you need it most.

Their website

Before playing the game, Steam felt it needed to be updated, so I spent that time having a look on the Guns of Icarus website to see whether they'd put as much effort into the site as they have the game. To my surprise, they have. They've made a real effort to make the game's world seem real to players on this site, including the creation of a world history page. The site also contains information on gameplay, trailers, an FAQ page, a store and many places for their growing gaming community to hang out when not playing the game.

The cost

Guns of Icarus online is a relatively cheap online game, costing just £14.99. There are also two other versions available- the collectors edition (£24.99) which includes the game, the Captain's costume pack and the soundtrack; and the collectors edition 4-pack (£29.99) which includes everything in the collectors edition as well as three extra copies of the game!

If you want to customise your character with items other than those that are given to you by the game, you do have to pay per item for the customisation. It's relatively cheap, though, so it should be ok. Or you could just stick to not customising the outfit.

Actual gameplay

After logging on to the game I noticed that the interface has changed since the Beta. In the Beta, the screen was very much dominated by a chat screen. Since then, everything has become much easier to look at and, more importantly, find.

The interface of the game.

Character customisation has also changed since the Beta, with characters being customised in two separate areas. Firstly, to customise the "look" of their characters- which includes gender, skin colour, hair colour, eye colour and facial details (scars). To customise a character's outfit, players must access the "Role" tab and change the outfit of each role separately. As I've stated before, the clothing customisation is quite simple unless you use money to buy outfits, but I quite like the basic outfits that are available.

There are three gameplay options- "quick join", "matches" and "practice". "Quick join" puts you into a match with a random role at a random point, "matches" allows players to set up matches between different numbers of ships and "practice" lets new players familiarise themselves with the game.

The roles available within the game are pilot (captain), mechanic and gunner. The captain's job is to ensure that the ship stays in the air by flying it- either away from the battle or towards it depending on the state of the ship. Mechanics repair any damaged parts of the ship and can also buff them. Gunners are the ones who take control of attacking the other airships. Each crew member can repair or man guns, but it's better if players stick to the roles they choose if that's possible. Teams consist of four players, with one as Captain and the other three as whichever role they choose- I personally prefer to have two mechanics and a gunner, so I can stay in the air for longer.

Ships are quite an important element in the game. Each ship differs in speed, maneuverability and the amount of guns it can carry. You can either customise your ships from the main menu or, if you're a Captain, from the ship selection screen (under "ships").

I really enjoy Guns of Icarus online and would recommend it- whether you're just looking for a new team game or specifically one with airships in it.

MmRed