WARHAMMER: VERMINTIDE 2. PC ANALYSIS!

WARHAMMER: VERMINTIDE 2. PC ANALYSIS!

In October 2015 Fatshark released a title of not too much budget that would reveal itself as one of the biggest covers of the year. The game in question took advantage of the name of a brand that, although it was not excessively linked to the world of videogames, a large part of the public that frequents this electronic entertainment would know at least hearsay. We talk about Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide .

Three years later of the unexpected success of that game, the same developer has released its sequel: Warhammer: Vermintide II , a title that improves almost everything to its predecessor and that adds more depth to the idea of ​​progress presented by that first delivery. After scrutinizing the title to the maximum with my partner of beaten and podcast Jorge Velasco ( Loark ), will play massacre the countless and fierce hordes of enemies that get in our way ... or at least try.

The ascent to the throne

It was at the end of 2008 when Valve , a company owned by the all-powerful Gabe Newell , launched a revolutionary game for the time being. A title in which the word "frenetismo" acquired a clear meaning and that described to the perfection the sensation of overwhelm that produced to fight against hundreds of enemies at the same time. His name was Left 4 Dead , and his synopsis was simple: incarnating one of the four selectable characters we had to face hordes and hordes of zombies in order to get alive at the end of each level.

Both Left 4 Dead and its sequel were a resounding success for both critics and players. The necessary cooperation between the members of the squad, the different types of monsters that we had to annihilate and a quick and accurate gunplay made the title of Valve the absolute master of a subgenre shooter in which there seemed to be no serious competitor.

With the arrival of Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide  the thing changed. The title of Fatshark borrowed many things from the mythical game of zombies, but taking them to a different terrain ... to a more closed and direct combat . The importance of the melee was much greater than in Left 4 Dead and, in addition, the game gave the player the ability to make his character progress, something that served as a clear differentiating factor with respect to the Valve franchise .

Leaving the past aside, Warhammer: Vermintide II arrives with the same or more power than its predecessor, improving everything and expanding the franchise even more . It gives the feeling that, in the absence of Left 4 Dead , the most prestigious brand of Games Workshop has hit the table on the market launching a title that takes this formula to a new level, a level at which currently seems to be just waiting for a competitor ... how many laps gives life.

Like the war itself

If we can say anything about this title as a playable experience, it is surely one of the most direct and fun proposals of the year. Vermintide II is a dose of adrenaline videojueguil that we should consume preferably in the company of other players.

After completing a tutorial in which we are trained for the battle while introducing some characters, we must select from the five heroes available to the one that best suits our fighting style. Each hero represents a race or profession, being possible to play with a mercenary, an elf, a witch hunter, a dwarf or a sorceress. Choose any of them does not "house" definitely with the character, because at any time we can change the hero and improve their performance from the base. Each hero has 3 classes that we must unlock by raising their level and power, which is crucial if we want to face the hordes that await us in the highest levels of difficulty.

After the bloody war against the Skaven , the enemy army has grown considerably adding to its ranks a greater and more varied bestiary than in the first delivery, adding for this occasion to the fearsome army of Chaos hosts .

The number of enemies on the screen is much greater than in the first installment. The inclusion of new types of special enemies forces us to know our enemy and never underestimate them. Lancers who would try to catch us by surprise to separate us from the group, Skaven with machine guns or Chaos sorcerers who tried to cause a breach in the field between us and the rest of the team ... the enemy has grown in number and variety, which brings to the game a layer of greater depth and makes each level a new experience . These enemies do not appear with fixed patterns, that is, we will not always find them in the same place or in the same amount. This factor " random"It can cause that sometimes the thing gets much more difficult from the beginning, or directly the opposite. There will be times when everything is more bearable ... however in others the appearance of an Ogre Rat(or any other huge enemy) will be a premature farewell to the game.

Warhammer: Vermintide II is a difficult game, we will not deny it, but it is certainly a satisfactory experience and highly recommended to "suffer" in company . Hold that little bit more to cross a door, get out alive from a surprise attack of the enemy, annihilate those great beasts that seem invincible ... the epic is the bread of every day and in each game we will see ourselves against the ropes more than once . We will not always be able to finish the level we start, but we will never leave empty-handed. Finishing the level will give us greater rewards, but just for the sake of playing we have assured a bit of experience that will bring greater power to our character.

The game has the classic system of loot through boxes (although in this case without micro-payments) which we can achieve in two ways: by leveling up or finishing a scenario. The boxes are divided into different categories of rarity (common, rare, epic, legendary ...), rarity that is affected according to the milestones that we have met in each mission and finish it with all the live equipment, complete the level with tomes or grimoires equipped, etc.

Once again the random component makes an appearance, since opening a box of "legendary" rarity does not assure us that inside we will find a super powerful weapon, just like in a basic box we do not have to find only common objects. This loot system encourages us to repeat again and again certain missions, since depending on our efficiency at the time of completing it, we will receive different rewards.

The heat of battle

Graphically we are facing a game tremendously superior to the first delivery.  Both the textures and the modeling used enjoy a high quality, allowing us to clearly distinguish what the hell is happening in the heat of battle. The lighting and the different effects of light caused by certain enemies are truly incredible, as are the reflections and the blood that permeates the screen at all times.

The realism and rawness with which the war is reflected in this game is only comparable to the magnificent artistic work with which the graphic designers have impregnated the title. Both the animations of our characters and the enemies provide a level of plausibility rarely seen in a game of these characteristics, probably being the closest we have been to participate in a large-scale war.

Even so the game is not free of failures, especially performance and stability, being really difficult to reach the stable 60 fps without a super powerful graphics card (Nvidia 1080). The optimization for high-end graphics cards is acceptable and allow you to enjoy the game despite the occasional decreases in frames , but as we have been able to test with mid-range graphics cards it is difficult enough to move the game in a stable way even by lowering certain features to the minimum.

The matchmaking system is also highly criticized ,   randomly hosting any of the participants after forming the party. In theory, since Fatshark has promised dedicated servers that will arrive after the premiere of the first DLC  of the game and the first major update patch.

As for the sound section, Warhammer Vermintide II does not have really memorable or recognizable musical themes ... although it does not need them either. Perhaps the most characteristic sound we will find is that of the enemy's warhorn, a sound that will freeze our blood on more than one occasion and that will often prelude our death. We have also detected certain faults with the subtitles , which do not appear during certain moments in which we are told the story and only limited to the brief comments made by our characters from time to time. We assume that this problem will be fixed in future game updates.

Warhammer conclusions: Vermintide II

Warhammer: Vermintide II is clearly one of the most round and important games of this beginning of the year . Its reduced price from the day of departure, its complexity and the tremendous replayability of a campaign that is already long are just some of the incentives offered by a game that has come to sit on the throne of games consisting of annihilating waves of enemies. Both in playable and graphic level is really strong, being also a perfect title to enjoy in company. It is still early to judge the game fully, as it has been announced that it will have DLCs and that a large patch of updates is coming. Still, this first version is fully recommended for anyone who is attracted to the proposal.