Review for For Honor. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 14/02/2017
Humility and dedication are among the most important characteristics that every good developer should have in their peculiar baggage. Knowing how to recognize the mistakes made and work on them for months, years, listening with great humility to the "voice of the people", in this case that of the many gamers who spend hours and hours on the servers, is one of the fundamental concepts behind success, albeit maybe not immediate, but conquered on the field. This is what happened with For Honor, an ambitious title released on the market by Ubisoft last year and featuring a rather slow start, followed by an inexorable mass exodus of the community, so much so that everyone screams for failure.
Accomplice a number of choices to say the least questionable (first of all that of entrusting matchmaking to a p2p system and therefore the absence of dedicated servers), a general imbalance of the heroes, unforgivable for a self-respecting fighting game (albeit with the necessary distinctions of the case, considering the peculiar nature of the title), and more generally a constant feeling of wasted opportunity meant that the work by Ubisoft Montreal risked quickly falling into oblivion, thus missing the opportunity to give the videogame world a small pearl, a very long breath of fresh air in the midst of an all too ancient vision of a generation unable to offer something truly innovative.
So, as the months go by, the canadian dev started to work constantly on the production, listening to the feedback of players who remained loyal to the cause, in an attempt to revive the fate of a title that, undoubtedly, has shown many advantages since day one, net of the problems listed above. The first, fundamental step was to insert the long-awaited dedicated servers, a fundamental move that actually rekindled the light on the entire production. The crossing, however, continued unabated, with a constant and well thought-out series of updates aimed, in particular, at smoothing out imperfections as much as possible, in particular the heavy imbalance of some heroes.
This huge restyling work culminated with the arrival of the expansion Marching Fire, the first paid so far released, which in fact has radically changed the gaming experience, without however distorting the basic formula. We say it right away: Marching Fire has fulfilled the mission successfully, but we want to explain to you in detail why. Polish your armor and prepare your best weapons: it's time to get back to fighting. For what? For the honor, obviously!
From China with fury
The first, fundamental, novelty introduced by Marching Fire is represented by the arrival of a new faction, the Wu Lin, and consequently of new playable heroes. The four additions are masters of different disciplines inspired by Chinese martial arts, each belonging to a different category: avant-garde, heavy, killer and hybrid.
What immediately catches the eye, once any battle has begun, is the excellent balance work done in the development of the new forces on the field. That the mighty is being used Jiang Jun, agile Shaolin, the lethal Nuxia or taking the reins of the Tiandi, the newly arrived Chinese warriors are perfectly in line with the "elderly" ones, avoiding the danger of finding characters in their hands capable of upsetting the much-needed balance, obtained through many efforts. It goes without saying that they are all splendid to use and to see (with the exception, only partially, of the Nuxia, which is almost anonymous in some situations), although they are quite complex to understand, given the high amount of combos available. Learning to control them is the most pleasant of challenges: nothing will satisfy you as perfectly as dominating one of them (or even all of them, it depends on you!). There is something for everyone: four heroes for four different styles, based on your abilities and preferences.
Do not be discouraged, however, by an initial impact that may seem disarming: the new heroes are so complicated to use but, once you start getting closer to their mechanics, they will be able to give you a unique feeling of satisfaction. This, however, is not due only to the beauty of their movements, but also, and above all, to the work done by the developers in trying to make the title more approachable even for those who are not real veterans. With the arrival of Marching Fire, in fact, the company has decided to rearrange the enhancement system of each hero, in an attempt to make the title more usable and satisfying for everyone, once again, in our opinion, succeeding in a great way.
Becoming stronger will be a "privilege"
This result can be said to be achieved thanks also to the new upgrade system. Don't be scared: the level reached remains, the effectiveness of the equipment changes. Whether you are a novice or a veteran with equipment upgraded to maximum level, in Marching Fire to rule it are the Privileges. The latter are real bonuses that can be activated through the pieces of equipment: if you are interested, for example, in regaining part of your life points with kills ("Remedy" privilege), you just have to wear equipment that has this privilege to a high level, in order to activate the bonus and make it as effective as possible. Each piece of equipment can have one or more privileges, and each of them has a numerical value that indicates its effectiveness.
With Marching Fire you will no longer find who loads revenge mode with a couple of saves or who is capable of causing you massive damage with a single shot, but you will clash against opponents more within your reach, even if you are starting out. Not only: if you are a veteran and have kept your old equipment, you have a better chance of combining the privileges in the way that suits you, which manages to make the various heroes more customizable and to highlight your tactical skills. Knowing how to combine privileges with each other in the most effective way is a skill that requires a thorough knowledge of For Honor and its mechanics and that will make veterans very happy, finally free to "manipulate" their hero in the way that best suits theirs. style.
Each hero is now more customizable
Therefore, there are no longer only the three parameters to choose from, but a large number of privileges, all more or less useful depending on the character used and the type of game. This radical gear change might seem, at first, a big damage to those who have spent a lot of time (and steel) trying to upgrade one or the other hero, but trust me: abandoned the first impact, this new system will will open the doors to an unprecedented depth of customization.
Let's prepare for the Assault
Another interesting addition concerns the modes: assault and arcade. The first of them is a kind of Payload, but much deeper and more complicated: not only attackers and defenders on the pitch, but also archers, pikemen, officers, guardians and commander (a sort of chess king), and not just a ram to escort to their destination (to make him break the gate and allow the team to kill the commander and win the game), but also bastions to conquer. Each guardian killed will give rise to a bonus, which can be offensive or defensive, and each conquered bastion will give you access to other ways to damage the enemy team.
Don't think that the AI-controlled characters are similar to those present in domination mode: here even the pikemen can be dangerous, the officers are able to stand up to your hero, not to mention the archers, damn annoying, and the commander, with a not indifferent amount of life points. We certainly don't mean that the officer can easily end your life, but he can pose a threat if, for example, your health is already compromised. Furthermore, the damage caused by the various soldiers is really substantial: a handpiece can send your character to a better life, waiting to be revived.
Your strategic streak will be put to the test
Playing an assault with friends can be a tough challenge, and team play, here as never before, is the only way to win. After all, unity is strength, and it has never been so truthful: hoping to take home the skin without a coordinated and cooperative team becomes almost a utopia! The only real flaw of this new, splendid, mode is that it's all very chaotic, especially if you play single or you are a beginner, or both (in this case, practice first in other modes!). Of course, the developers have included an explanation and, once read, the thought of having understood and being ready to throw yourself into the fray could resonate in your mind: nothing could be more wrong! Once in the field, you will find yourself in a relatively large map, full of pitfalls and full of warriors as never before ready to send you back to the Creator, above all, we repeat, if you are alone.
Arcade mode has only half convinced us
The other additional modality left us with a bad taste: da Arcade we expected something different. This new challenge will allow you to face mini stories, divided into chapters and distributed according to difficulty. For each difficulty there is a specific level of equipment required, and mind you: as you go, this mode can be a really tough challenge. Each chapter will see you grappling with some AI-controlled heroes and bonuses and malus (ranging from increased attack value to the ability to burn the opponent) to both you and enemies. The game allows you to face this challenge both alone and in the company of a friend and allows you to receive experience and equipment from it. Not only that: games played in arcade can be safely used to finish contracts relatively quickly.
We expected a richer mode than a simple sequence of fights against AI-controlled heroes, but it still remains a well-made and useful addition, both for the experience, the equipment and the contracts, and to become familiar with the mechanics of the various heroes, learning to control and counter them effectively and, at higher levels, a way to have a different kind of challenge, something not present in other situations.
Marching Fire is also a feast for the eyes
The qualitative contribution that Marching Fire brings with it is not limited to the new modes or the introduction of new heroes. In addition to all this, in fact, he was operated on a heavy graphic restyling, which affects practically every aspect of the visual sector. Everything has been perfected, starting from the menu, now more refined, quick and pleasant, up to a substantial work of enhancing the textures, now reproduced in high definition, to a heavy reinterpretation of the lighting system and many other small tweaks, capable of to offer an enviable glance.
At least as regards the Xbox One X version, the one we tested, For Honor shows itself in splendid shape, with a very high quality graphics. Even the heroes have been "embellished" thanks to the introduction of new equipment and skins that, in some cases, also allow us to scrutinize what is hidden under the enigmatic face of warriors historically "hidden" behind their masks. Nobushi e Peacemaker, to name a few, will now have a face: nothing sensational, of course, but it is still an interesting find and that goes well with the new course of the game. How many wondered what their favorite heroes looked like? Now you can finally "look in the eyes" all the heroes.
Marching Fire it's everything For Honor fans, both longtime and newer, deserved and desired. A gigantic expansion, capable of upset (for good), without ever distorting, some of the most important aspects of the game, with the ultimate goal of making everything as usable, balanced and rewarding as possible. The introduction of the new faction, therefore of the four new heroes and the new mode Assault they give new life to the whole ecosystem, now more alive than ever and finally able to offer a more satisfying experience. The new hero enhancement system, then, is the classic icing on the cake, capable of making the title much more accessible but at the same time damn more complex, both for newcomers and for veterans. Let's add a respectable graphic restyling and everything takes on important proportions. The only discord is represented by the Arcade mode which, to date, is certainly not what we expected at the presentation stage. Too bad, but we are sure that Ubisoft will do everything to fix even this small flaw. At the same time, we can't help but wonder what the title would have been today, if all this goodness had come at launch or a little earlier.
► For Honor is an Action-type game developed and published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 14/02/2017
