Here, you need only find duplicates of your guns and fuse them to your own to boost their power, perhaps improving your magazine size, for example, or the damage you mete out.
Surprisingly, there's no catalogue of mods and attachments to memorise. Hyper Scape's powers come from the hacks you find secreted in buildings or strewn around the streets, not your character, making it an antidote to the unbridled rage we feel when a random player grabs your favourite Legend first on the Apex's character select screen. Firstly, your choice from the limited character roster has zero impact on your game. Rather than take you through all the reasons why Hyper Scape is similar to other battle royale offerings - you know the deal by now, right? - it's probably more helpful to talk about how it differs. Imagine my surprise, then, when I realised Hyper Scape's frantic pace and novel mechanics have hooked me in a way I didn't quite expect. Also, Cyberpunk 2077 isn't even here yet, but I'm already tired of neo-daubed skylines. My innate love of battle royales that don't start with an F is well-documented here, but it's a market that feels agonisingly close to saturation, and I'm not sure I can shoehorn any other regular game into my weekly rotation. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter how long you spend training, getting accustomed to the weapons and abilities: Hyper Scape is all about on-the-job-training.Īnd given it's just us here, I'll be honest I wasn't interested in it. Yes, it talks you through the mechanics - well, kind of - but in truth, everything you need to know about Hyper Scape unfolds from the moment you're sniped from a rooftop for the first time.
There's a training mode, but much like being shown how to pull a pint will never properly prepare you for the mayhem of bar work in a rugby club at half-time, it does nothing. Hyper Scape is relentless and breathless and almost unapologetically overwhelming, which is potentially why, less than an hour in, I've Sharpied "OMFG I CAN'T COPE" in block caps across an entire double page. There's no opportunity for me to pause, contemplate, and jot down an incisive word or two. There's no downtime in Hyper Scape, you see.
I keep notes as I play, and never has my handwriting looked more erratic. The rest of the time, I'm dead before I've even found myself a weapon. Most of the time, I don't even know where my squadmates are, let alone can throw myself into the line of fire. The truth, however, is that in Hyper Scape, I rarely take anyone else down with me. I could cope if I was taking an enemy down with me, perhaps, or heroically throwing myself in front of a squadmate as a final, selfless, meatshield-esque hurrah. I wouldn't mind if I was bowing out as a hero.
Availability: Out now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.But before I get the chance to follow suit - before I even raise my gun - I've been one-shotted by an invisible sniper, and I'm dead. Suddenly, my pal turns and trains his Hexfire over at the rooftop across from me, and I realise we're not alone. Bullets are flying past - miraculously, not a single one hits me - and I tear after my teammates, roof tiles tinkling beneath my feet.
Spotting the telltale golden glow I throw myself onto jump pad and launch up onto the rooftops. There's plenty that's familiar about Ubisoft's belated entry into a bloated genre, but there's plenty that's quietly impressive too.