Battlestrats
BREACH, a new game developed by Atomic Games, hits Xbox 360 and PC on January 26th for the low price of 1200 ($15) MS Points and $19.99 on PC. The price difference is due to the PC gamers getting a few extra features that make the game not only worth the extra dough, and worth more than most games you'll buy at the $50 price tag. These PC extras include support for larger explosions, particle effects and more thorough NVIDIA® PhysX® technology. It will also feature a higher performance Hardcore Mode for players looking to play the way operatives train. As one final note for Windows PC gamers everywhere, Atomic listened and included dedicated server support, with remote administration. Not a PC gamer? Stick with me as I tell you why BREACH will make you put aside Bad Company for good.
Electronic Arts and DICE, creators of Bad Company 2, based most of their advertising strategy on one thing: Destructible environments. Representatives from EA even went so far as to say that this newest addition to the Battlefield series was going to be the "Call of Duty Killer", which as we all know, couldn't have been further from the truth. They had gamers everywhere believing that Destruction 2.0 was the best thing since sliced bread. So we all ran out last March and spent our $60 on a few maps and environments that were, well, pretty stoic. Players were able to blast some walls until the building collapsed or knock down a few trees, but the real life action feeling was still missing. People began wondering if the second floor carpet was made out of concrete or if some of those pesky wooden support beams were even wood at all. Granted, Bad Company 2's destruction was on par with what we would expect, but it certainly wasn't groundbreaking.
Enter BREACH.
A game that has flown under many peoples radar due to delays and being a downloadable title, BREACH shows us what true destruction can look like in a game. Support beams snapping under the constant barrage of bullets, the ability to only shoot a couple bricks or slats of wood from walls to create a gunner post, and floors and ceilings that are just as vulnerable to gunshots and explosions as the walls that support them. Essentially, if you think it should blow up, it will blow up. Coupled with the destruction in BREACH is a physics engine that makes the falling pieces of that building you just leveled weapons in themselves. Larger objects that fall long distances can and will kill a player standing beneath them, so beware if you like to camp in the shadows of a two story building. The gameplay trailer below give some good examples of BREACH's true destruction in all its glory. Move over Bad Company, a new industry standard is about to be introduced... and for $30 or less in cost.
http://www.battlestrats.com/_/general-news/breach-preview-atomic-games-teaches-dice-a-lesson-on-destruction-r612
