PC Gamer - October 2011

MONITOR
A better way

It didn’t take long for me to appreciate the Engineer: the class is about claiming a bit of land and holding the line until your dying breath. When played properly, I could use the many turrets and explosives at my disposal to establish a forward base of operations for my group—not unlike the Team Fortress 2 class of the same name.

Instead of shooting the place up like Rambo, I focused my attention on keeping my massive, mechanical war machine running smoothly. I had three turrets— Healing, Rifle, and Thumper (which periodically generates a mini-earthquake to damage all enemies near it)— running at all time, electrical shields to protect allies, and explosives guarding our perimeter.

The Engineer’s explosives (mines, bombs, and grenades), along with heal packs and a flamethrower, are accessed via Kits: utility skills that replace your action bar with a complete set of abilities themed to that weapon. For example, activating the grenade Kit gave me a variety of grenades that stun, slow, light things on fire, or just explode the good ol’ fashioned way.

Always be flexible

All of that’s on top of your basic weapon attacks. Engineers can equip a rifle, two pistols, or a pistol and shield combo, which each allow you a slew of damaging and movement-affecting moves. My personal favorites are the Rifle Rocket-jump that launches you in any direction, the Overcharge Shot that blasts you and your enemy in opposite directions, and the Shield Skill that creates a giant energy wall that reflects projectiles.

It’s amazing how versatile my role in the group could be. When we took on the ghost of a lieutenant and 10 of his spirited followers, I threw down turrets and land mines beforehand. Then I switched over to grenades to attract the pack of lower-level guards, and used my Slick Shoes ability to slow them down with oil puddles as they chased me to our makeshift turret bunker. When they got close, I detonated my land mines to finish ’em off.

By then, a couple of my teammates were taking a beating from the boss, so I activated my bullet-reflecting wall in front of them and donned my Healing Kit to throw medpacks at their feet to help keep them alive. I felt like the star of the show, and I hadn’t even fired my weapon once.

Most of the other encounters in the Story mode required the usual MMO dungeon tricks: don’t stand in red circles, stop attacking when they’re reflecting your damage type, keep the two bosses across the room from each other, etc. It’s a solid design that keeps the emphasis on learning how to combine your individual character’s unique strengths and weaknesses to succeed as a group, not memorizing complex boss mechanics. And that’s definitely a good thing. ■