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The MOBA craze has transitioned to first person shooters, with two titles throwing up open beta tests within weeks of each other. Blizzard's Overwatch put in a solid 60fps appearance, but Battleborn takes a slightly different approach. Borderlands developer Gearbox caps performance at 30fps, with obvious implications for the gameplay in a high-speed shooter where controls need to be sharp and precise. As expected, the experience doesn't feel quite as tight as Blizzard's offering, but Battleborn has charms of its own.The beta offered up two modes of play with a brace stages in each. Story mode sees players work together to bring down waves of enemies before taking on larger bosses in traditional FPS fashion, while the PvP multiplayer sees users working in terms against each other, with MOBA and tower defense elements woven into the action. Robot minions are escorted across the map while battling opponents, skills are unlocked, and everyone uses different characters. This is presented with a comic book art style, and humour reminiscent of the Borderlands games, while the shooting features a similar level of weightiness.
Once again Gearbox Software rolls out its modified Unreal Engine 3, building upon the core technology that powers Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel, with hand-drawn textures that give the game an almost cel-shaded appearance, albeit with a slightly more realistic edge. Surface shaders are more authentic compared to those in Borderlands, resulting in materials such as metals, snow, and stone appearing a little more natural. The lighting model also provides depth to the comic book style visuals, while shadow quality is smooth and free from obvious stairstep artefacts.
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