Breed (video game)
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| Developer(s) | Brat Designs |
| Publisher(s) | CDV |
| Release date(s) | EU March 19, 2004 NA April 2, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) USK: 16+ PEGI: 16+ OFLC: M15+ |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| System requirements | 1.0 GHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, 32 MB video card RAM, 8X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 9.0, 1.0 GB available hard disk space, Windows 98 |
| Input | Keyboard, Mouse |
Breed is a squad-based science-fiction video game developed by Brat Designs and published by CDV Software Entertainment. The game was released in the U.S. in March of 2004 for the PC and Mac.
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[edit] Storyline & Plot
In the year 2600 much of the Earth’s population have left their homeworld and formed colonies on the worlds of the Besalius ‘binary’ star system. All seemed peaceful in these fledgling colonies but as the last shuttle arrived in 2602 they were attacked by a terrifying alien race that would be nicknamed ‘The Breed’. These attacks seemed to be random with little or no thought or logic, but they were devastating nevertheless. Under such an assault the colonies had no choice but to send out a distress call to Earth. In 2603 Earth's collective military, known as the United Space Corps, mobilized a formidable fleet of attack cruisers in answer to the growing Breed threat, putting their very best and brightest at the helm. These ships now made a year-long trip to the Besalius system – hoping that they would not arrive too late.
Every cruiser was equipped with the latest technology and weapons, as well as being fully stocked with a compliment of ground assault vehicles and fightercraft. Within their vast hulls, each cruiser also housed an array of genetic gestation pods, capable of growing a constant supply of ground forces – known as GRUNTS (Genetically Revived Universal Tactical Sentient). Fiercely loyal, bred for combat and totally expendable, the Grunts were the hardened backbone of the USC military.
After their year-long journey the fleet arrived at Besalius in 2604 and swiftly engaged the Breed presence across the system. The battle was long and hard, as the Breed did not give up the system without a fight; their lack of intelligence was more than compensated by their ferocious nature in battle. This conflict with the Breed would come to be known as the Colony War. The human's resources were drastically drained during this rigorous fight and the USC forces are stretched to breaking point. In 2624 the USC forces claimed victory in Besalius, but it was not without cost – the colonies had been devastated and the fleet badly damaged to a point that only the USC Darwin was capable of making the journey back to Earth. Captained by Saul Richter (A legend now with over two hundred victories against the Breed under his belt) war weary and battle scarred, the ship and remaining crew began their return journey.
In 2625 that the victorious veterans of Besalius finally returned home expecting a heroes' welcome. Instead, the crew of the Darwin found their world on fire, that in their 20 year absence, the Breed had conquered Earth. The Colony War on Besalius was nothing more than a diversionary tactic – a plan to pull the bulk of Earth’s defence forces away, leaving it ripe for invasion. The human population had been enslaved or devastated, the survivors had been enslaved by the Breed in forced labor camps.
But humankind was not quite ready to go into the darkness just yet. The USC Darwin quickly moved into orbit around the Earth and remained there under the cover of a cloaking device. Captain Richter began to order ‘surgical strikes’ upon key enemy targets. The Breed were still recovering from their war on Earth and had not yet regrouped their infrastructure. As such, they could not organize a solid defense against such subterfuge. Eventually the crew of the Darwin managed to link up with the human resistance under the command of one Carla Alvarez, their charismatic leader. Between the hidden USC Darwin and Carla’s fighters the desperate soldiers only hoped that they could turn the tide, and one day win back Earth for the human race.
[edit] Gameplay
Breed is a squad-based first-person shooter, similar to many other sci-fi shooters, and entirely comparable to Halo. The player's view is always from that of a first-person perspective and is tacked with a heads-up display which counters the player's ammunition count, armor, and equipped weapon. The player can only carry two weapons at a time (as in Halo) and there is a wide selection of weapons at one's disposal, everything from energy weapons like plasma cannons to your standard assault rifle and obviously a few exotic alien weapons. There are also a range of vehicles such as an APC, jeep, and a space fighter which can be used at certain points in the game.
The main point of the game is to regain control of Earth from the Breed although some have criticized its lack of depth as well as inefficient storytelling elements. Most of the game's 25 levels involve the player, as an anonymous USC grunt, shooting his way through numerous enemies and completing mission objectives given to them by the commander. Levels consist of wide-open areas, although obstacles such as roads, bridges and cliffs appear to keep the player on track to the next waypoint, tending to make level-design slightly linear. In a few instances players can pilot an aircraft from outer space, head through the Earth's atmosphere, then continue their journey down to the planet's surface. Breed's 'gameplay kernel' allows various aspects of a mission to be played out simultaneously in space or on the planet itself. Breed's squad-based gameplay however is more along the lines of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, allowing players to choose which squad member to play as and switch between squad members in the middle of combat. In this respect, players can choose to tackle many of the missions in several different ways. In spite of these innovations, the core gameplay of Breed remains very in the likeness to most games of it's genre.
Online play includes several maps to choose from and very few modes to play. A few maps include vehicles into the mix of things, although the game's emphasis in development obviously tilted more toward the single-player campaign. In all, 16 players can play on any given map.
[edit] Characters
Breed's characters are mostly anonymous. The identity of the commander who shouts orders through the player's speakers is never clearly stated (he may be assumed to be Captain Richter).
In terms of playable characters, they are also anonymous USC soldiers. The player can control 3 different squad members, a grunt, a sniper, and a heavy gunner. Each squad-member is equipped with different weapons and can be controlled at any given time throughout a mission. The grunt, the character with whom the player begins the game, is usually armed with a standard assault rifle and shotgun but can also pick up other weapons. The sniper carries a sniper rifle and assault rifle, though this is sometimes replaced by a silenced sub-machinegun. The heavy gunner is armed with a large four-barrelled minigun for suppressive fire. throught instinces of the game, one can also be an engineer or a medic but they are rare for you to get to use.
[edit] External Links
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