Having a novel concept behind a game is always appreciable but projecting that novelty onto the screen is a whole new ball game. Dust 514 suffers from the very same dilemma albeit a few redeeming moments. The extended skill progression which bestows various powers and upgrades and the numerous character customization options are the saving grace of the game. Dust 514 is the brainchild of developers having equally cryptic name “CCP Games” which are based in Iceland. The game is a free-to-play online shooter played from a first person perspective. The novelty of Dust 514 also called Eve: Dust 514 is that it’s directly tied in to another CCP games title called Eve Online. Whatever actions and decisions players make in one game has consequences and ramifications which are reflected in the second one. The effects can be most visibly scene impacting the political and economic status of the other.

Premise

The premise of the game is something we’ve seen before, which traces the destructive nature of human race as they literally suck the very essence of life out of planet earth and then look for other planets to colonize. Thanks to a new mode of traveling called faster than light, traversing the breath and length of the galaxy is a menial task but the very same technology has given birth to fierce competition between corporations which specialize in it.

Over the course of time, a Wormhole was discovered which acted as a gateway to an entirely new and inhabited galaxy. The human race rushed forward to colonize the new found galaxy but an untoward accident caused the wormhole to collapse leaving the colonies cut off from their main worlds. This spelled doom for many young colonies which perished without supplies and support, and the ones that survived over the years forgot all about their origins and their technological knowledge. As time elapsed, these colonies rediscovered the faster than light technology and from the very same colonies came five unique space traversing nations which are now considered the super powers of the galaxy.

There is a slight distinction between Eve Online and Dust 514 players. Eve Online players would be stepping in the shoes of Capsuleers, elite starship pilots rendered immortal through cloning and consciousness transfer, whereas Dust 514 players would be stepping in the shoes of immortal infantry soldiers.

Gameplay 

No doubt the story and the novel concept of interlinking two games and peppering it with decision and consequence aspects make for an amazing plot! But when it comes to gameplay, the entire novelty fizzles out because of a combat system which just doesn’t align with the immersive quality of the premise.

There’s inconsistency between the magnitude of battle and its impact felt in both the games. Players would notice that the majority of the battles and their consequences are more profound in the Eve Universe but that too adheres to a precondition. Whereas, players in Dust 514 are reduced to lowly foot soldiers which often don’t gel in with the bigger picture and feel no impact of the big picture. This successfully reduces the game to a simple multiplayer team based shooter affair where sides have arsenal at their disposal and fight to wipe each other out. This is such a shame considering the potential of the entire game scenario, it could’ve been something much more interesting and immersive. Players would be fighting to get dominance over various planets in the EVE online world. Each planet is consistent of several large districts which are rife with resources. The landscape of each planet is virtually the same, which becomes a bit monotonous, but the placement of buildings and other surface structures varies, which keeps things interesting.

The game mechanics are responsive, but nothing extraordinary to write home about. Shooting is functional and does its job of bringing down enemies. Being an FPS, the overall movement of your online persona may feel a bit sluggish at first, but with progression of time you’d get used to it.

Character customization

My favorite part of the game however is the customization part which lets you create a perfect mercenary! In this regard, Dust 514 offers another novelty as it deviates from the staple FPS condiments and introduces a customization system which is mostly found in RPG games. There’s customization of the outfit or the dropsuits, which can be upgraded to increase armor and shield capacity, a whole host of weaponry, vehicles and accessories to choose from. The amount of customization option may at first seem a bit overwhelming and require a little time to figure out what works how, but it will pay rich dividends for your foot soldier on the battle field.

The customization comes at a cost though. To avail all the nifty perks and upgrades, you’d require the in game currency called ISK and skill points. The skill points will ascertain the category of items available to your character in the market. The game generously endows both the currency and SP after every match, finesse in battle and dexterity is rewarded with War Points which are later converted to SP.

With enough ISK and SP accumulated, you can regulate the type of player you’d like on the battle field. A mercenary that specializes in snipping at enemies from a distance or one who uses close range weapons like shotguns for getting in close and dealing massive damage. The game allows for morphing your mercenary provided you have enough of the aforementioned commodities.

Shortcomings

Apart from the inequality of thrill factor associated with EVE and Dust 514 roles, the game has other shortcomings too. It lacks the certain pace, adrenaline pumping and urgency factor that we’ve come to associate with other games in the same genre. The pace of the game can sometimes be languid. As for technical issues, the frame rate hitches at most inopportune of times which can become quite unnerving. The maps are monotonous and one can’t help but shake the feeling of grind owing to overall slow progression.

Verdict

Dust 514 can truly be enjoyed to its fullest if you join an interstellar corporation and become a part of all behind the scenes conspiracies and underhanded tactics to uproot your enemies. Playing alone is a great way of earning SP and ISK but you’d soon get bored of constantly delving into random battles. The menu interface contains a staggering amount of information which may baffle most players and takes time to get familiar with. But to give credit where its due, I would definitely commend CCP game for their innovative linking of two games and giving us something we’ve never seen before. CCP games has an impressive track record and Dust 514 is still a title that intrigues me even with its shortcomings. It’s highly ambitious and groundbreaking and I hope with addition of more content and by severing its heavy dependence on EVE online world it can be further refined.

The critics however don’t share my enthusiasm it seems, as the game has met with lukewarm response from them. Currently, dust has a 61/100 metacritic rating, which is not justified for a game of its caliber. I would give it a solid 8/10.  

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