For Honour. Battle of the Three Armies / Overclockers.ua

Medieval themes are often used in the genre of role-playing games or in strategies. But good-quality action games about sword fights, so that with pathos, scope and beautiful graphics, have not been for a long time. Ubisoft decided to correct this omission by crossing in one project three types of warriors at once, the most popular in the minds of the mass consumer. Armored knights will meet in a fierce battle with harsh Vikings and dexterous samurai. To the sound of a battle horn, For Honor calls players to the battlefield to test their skills in a single player campaign and in confrontation with real opponents.

In the world of For Honor, as a result of an ancient catastrophe, three different factions clashed face to face, after which an endless war began and trips to neighboring lands for glory and profit. Within the framework of this simple plot, we are offered a plot story about different characters from the army of knights, Vikings and samurai.

In part, the plot can be called superficial, because we are simply introduced to the warriors that are present in the network game. At the same time, the campaign is still played cheerfully and in places interestingly. The narrative develops in stages and talks about each game faction, the scenery is constantly changing, some new features of the game world are revealed. Frequent change of heroes forces you to use new combat skills. Missions offer different types of battles, from simple races with the destruction of everyone in the way to sieges with staged moments and tough bosses. So the game is perceived brightly and cheerfully, although it is rustic in terms of staging and working out the plot nuances.

For Honor offers battles of powerful warriors surrounded by extras. Each faction has several varieties of powerful fighters that act as direct rivals for the player and use similar combat capabilities. Ordinary soldiers play the role of support or “whipping boys”. When fighting for key points or during the defense of castles, opposing squads of soldiers create a continuous movement, trying to recapture positions from each other. Without the intervention of the player, these units will get bogged down in a fight in one place. And only the appearance of older warriors changes the balance and allows you to repel the offensive or go through the line of defense.

As a result, a feeling of mass slaughter is created, but without the player the situation does not develop. You yourself go on the offensive or react to the attacks of warriors of your class.

The combat system has two modes. You can combine different types of strikes right while running and carry out more powerful combinations. But in a skirmish with powerful fighters, you have to use a fighting stance, which allows you to effectively defend yourself and parry blows. To block, you need to choose one of three positions, and the direction of the enemy strike is highlighted with a red pointer. Everything is clear and simple, but this is at first. Heroes block in different ways, some hold their weapons and shield in a defensive position for a long time, and some can stop the blow only at the moment of timely execution of a blocking move.

There is also such a moment that due to the concentration on the blocking indicator in the center of the screen, it is more difficult to keep track of the actions of the enemies around. And if there are a lot of enemies, then it is more difficult to react to them. Blows are combined with maneuvers and deafening jolts. All this must be controlled, beat off, strike back and quickly change targets.

Each warrior has its own characteristics and characteristics. Someone is faster and more agile, someone is slower, but his blows are stronger. If similar types of fighters converge, then everything is more or less predictable. If you, in the role of a powerful Viking with an axe, met on the field with nimble samurai, then it will not be easy, you need to adapt to the enemy and skillfully realize your advantages. You just swing, and already get a couple of scratches or a whole series of blows that interrupted all your actions. This is especially acute in the battle with the bosses, which are represented by the most powerful fighters of the opposite class to you.

The speed of action for different characters varies, they also have different weapons and different characteristics (stamina, armor, etc.). Therefore, you need to get used to each and master different subtleties, to feel how this or that strike is performed. They all seem to be similar, but there are many subtle nuances. And as the game develops, you realize that the game is deeper and more difficult than it seems at first.

The feeling in combat is more realistic than what many slashers and other sword fighting games offer us. There is even a certain severity, but without a hint of excessive bloodiness and ostentatious cruelty.

This is even stronger in the multiplayer game, where the same characters are available – 12 fighters in three factions. In a fight with real opponents, everything is more unpredictable, even catching the direction of the blow when blocking is much more difficult. Therefore, opponents often ignore the fighting stance, using the tactics of quick strikes and retreats. But if you are cornered, then blocking is the only chance to break out of the ring. A skilled warrior can turn the tide of the duel by parrying, deciding the fate in one successful series of blows. And if you hit a strong opponent, you don’t even have time to understand what happened, because he finishes with you in a matter of moments. By the way, the blocking itself is set by the movements of the mouse, and its reaction is often unpredictable, especially when quickly switching modes and changing the position of the camera.

Each hero has a set of special skills that are unlocked as you gain points during combat. After killing a couple of opponents, you can open the healing or hitting the target point with archers, which helps a lot in combat. There are several battle modes. There is a regular team fight, a one-on-one duel and a fight for points. The last type of battle involves extras from AI and resembles story missions. You mow down enemy units, helping in the advancement of your troops, along the way fighting off real players.

But even the most massive mode offers 4v4 player combat, and the maps do not give freedom for any special tactics. Opponents get involved in a series of duels with each other or try to attack in a group, gradually repulsing points. While one team is on one point, the enemies are on another, and computer AIs are depicting a battle somewhere below. If such a regime had received some additional conditions or siege machines, it would have turned out more cheerful and interesting. And the sieges themselves could also be implemented in the video of the cooperative PvE mode, in order to cut the heads of computer doodles in the company of partners.

There is a leak. After the battle, some valuable item may fall out. New weapons or armor affect the hero’s parameters in different ways, changing his characteristics. You can put on improved armor, but the stamina consumption will increase, which will immediately affect your behavior in battle.

The main problem with For Honor is peer-to-peer. To start the game, you need to wait a long time until the full set of commands is selected. If someone is logged out or has connection problems, the search will start again. Problems with the connection right during the battle are not ruled out. As a result, fleeting battles are combined with long pauses and a constant search for opponents, which is frankly annoying. You can’t just create an open game for others to join at any time. There is a battle mode with bots, but even here you have to wait until the search finds at least one real opponent.

Battles in the network mode are tied to the control of territories on the global map. By participating in battles, you influence the balance and expansion of factions. What is the point of all this, except for overloading the game with unnecessary information, it is not clear. There are seasons and resetting the results of battles before the start of the next game season. Updates with new heroes and game events are also promised.

The game is based on the AnvilNext 2.0 engine, which was used in the latest installments of Assassin’s Creed. The elaboration of the characters is at a height, the smallest elements of armor and clothing are visible. Each level pleases with excellent detail and a variety of landscapes. Majestic fortifications give way to dense forests, mountain villages and foggy swamps.

A nice picture is combined with moderate system requirements. Our special testing will tell you about the capabilities of modern video cards in For Honor. This article also compares anti-aliasing modes, which allows us to recommend SMAA instead of TAA offered by the game.

For Honor is a peppy medieval action game with good graphics. The main advantage of the game is that it brings together completely different warriors. Participating in the battles of knights, vikings and samurai is interesting in itself. The single-player campaign is played cheerfully, but does not please with any gameplay delights or a tricky plot, leaving due to the constant change of the hero. Particular attention is paid to the network game, but the technical implementation is lame, and the available modes do not give the feeling of a massive battle. But there are 12 heroes, and each with their own combat skills and features. The combat system interestingly combines some ease of learning and difficulty in honing individual nuances, there are problems with coordination. Plays harder than it looks on screen. This theme and the game universe have a high potential, which has not yet been properly realized. This applies to both the story campaign and multiplayer. On the other hand, this is a full-fledged blockbuster with cool fight animations, good graphics and everything that Chivalry: Medieval Warfare and other games in a similar setting lack. And if you are a fan of this genre, then the question of whether to buy is not worth it – For Honor will please you.