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Earthfall
Released On: Jul 13, 2018
56
5.8
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
56
16% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
63% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
21% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 19 Critic Reviews
56
16% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
63% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
21% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Aside from average voice acting, Earthfall is a gorgeous, innovative masterpiece that innovates on the Left 4 Dead formula. And it is well worth a look.
Earthfall is a solo or multiplayer FPS that pits four remnants of a human town against some underwhelming aliens that are rampaging and at times swarming. It will not stand out from the other dozen games of its type but it is another reasonable choice that - at least - doesn’t require lessons.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
5.8
24% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
41% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
35% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 17 User Ratings
5.8
24% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
41% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
35% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Earthfall is one of those games that are a break from the norm. One person told me that if you have played Left 4 Dead, then you may have a vague idea of what this is about. However, unlike L4D, this is not a horror-driven romp (even though you have to shoot all around you as the alien menance attacks you from all fronts). The key words here are alien hordes, team mates, weapon variety and checkpoints. All 4 categories are far suited to me than another (yawn) zombie-based shooter. Its not everday you get to shoot a variety of surreal appearing and sounding so-and-sos! Submachine gun? Nice! AK-47? Superb! Fire axe? Wonderful! Flamethrower? Like totally awseom, dudes! The only two flaws in this game are that the gusy you fight alonsige with are as dull as ditchwater; Im not asking for a rundown of what you are doing on the weekend, but come on guys, a little chit chat full of enthusiasm wouldnt do any harm would it? All yo uget for them is AGGH HERE THE COME! HERE'S A MACHINE GUN! WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO (SUCH AND SUCH A PLACE)! Also, the fact that you r team mates can get caught in teh firing line is ok, but there should be a system that if you shoot your team mates a bit too much (and it happened to me a lot, when Mr Clever Clogs stomped out in the midst of all those aliens) they woudl go down and you have to reveive them, or lose a team mate for a few seconds, just to add more tension to the gameplay. Overall, teh shootign mechaincs felt really good. And the fact that you eventaully build up a lore of all the aliens you have encountered (and their background) is something to look forward to at least. The storyline is a bit baldn and stodgy, but you get the overall picture. If they had made as epic as Lost Planet or added a few elements from The Club thsi woudl have been really good. Plus some good dialgues (and elaborate clothing) of the team would have made this FAN-OM-ENAL!!!
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Xbox One
Left 4 Dead is a game that I’ve sunk a huge amount of hours into and it’s a game I still play to this day because there’s something about it that just keeps drawing me back in. Anything that is remotely like Left 4 Dead then immediately gets my attention and after reading a few people’s comments on it Earthfall looked like it was cut from the same cloth as Left 4 Dead. After sinking a few hours into Earthfall it’s quite clear that it’s like Left 4 Dead but I wouldn’t exactly call it a clone. It has a few of its own interesting ideas included and whilst it’s not as good as Left 4 Dead this game still provided me with a lot of enjoyment. Obviously the most important aspect in a game like this is its shooting mechanics, and I’m pleased to say that they got the gunplay spot on. Killing enemies always delivers a satisfying feeling to you and the variety of weapons all feel different and they all pack a punch, which is great. The enemies in the game are also packed full of variety and they all provide you with a different challenge which keeps things fresh and interesting for a little bit longer. Unfortunately though the missions in the game don’t have a lot of variety in them and it’s probably a good thing that both the weapons and enemies do have variety because the missions in the game do become repetetive quite quickly. This isn’t a good thing either because in terms of content the game doesn’t have much for you to get to grips with and the story that accompanies this content is very basic to say the least and in terms of depth there just isn’t enough of it in regards to the story. That being said despite its lack of content and lack of story it still hasn’t stopped me from returning back to the game and that’s because when in full flow Earthfall can be an incredible amount of fun. You’ll also be pleased to know then that the fun factor doesn’t get harmed by any problems because on the technichal side of things the game holds up really well throughout your time with the game. Something else that does well throughout your time with the game is the game’s presentation. Don’t get me wrong there may be better looking game’s out there, but even though Earthfall isn’t the best looking game in the world it still manages to create a wonderful atmosphere and both the visuals and sound design combine together perfectly. At the end of the day Earthfall is a game that is perfect for people who enjoy a good adrenaline-fuelled shooter. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t the best shooter available to you but it gets the important aspects spot on and in the end you can do much worse than Earthfall.
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Xbox One
A playable and competent - if lightweight - crack at a Left 4 Dead style shooter. [October 2018, p.78]
Earthfall is a decent try at filling the Left 4 Dead 3 hole in our hearts, but it's rarely strong enough to be anything other than a lesser imitation of that classic series. Occasionally, the AI director will put on its best show and it'll feel exactly as fans of this sort of game want it to feel, but those moments are too few and far between. With flat characters, AI issues on both sides of the war, and above all else, some glaring pacing problems, Earthfall is a tough sell when the game it's cribbing so closely is backward compatible and still superior a decade later.
In the end Earthfall is unfortunately the exception to that age-old rule, originally spoken and then sung by Mary Poppins – ‘a spoonful of co-op makes even the most mediocre of shooters go down’.
The most frustrating thing about Earthfall is that it squanders its potential at every turn. From subpar graphics and gameplay mechanics to a story that’s been told a thousand times before, and a complete lack of game variety this alien shooter could have been a lot more fun.
An uninspired, unoriginal Left4Dead clone that suffers from wishy-washy shooting and a lack of polish.
(Played on Xbox One X) Feels good to play something similar to L4D after all these years! The game is fun and requires lots of coop strategy. Good stages and interesting special enemies. Overall, it's a solid experience, but needs some improvement in order to keep players.
Graphics need to be updated for the Xbox One X asap. For now, it's blurred to the extreme and with a severe ghosting effect. Difficult is also an issue since playing on "normal" feels way harder that it should. Performance struggles at some points, presenting pretty low FPS counting. I really hope that they fix these things as quickly as possible, otherwise it will lose players fast.
They also will need to add a few campaigns soon. The content is fine for now, but is not as optimized for multiples replays as L4D.
At this stage, my personal score is 7. If everything gets fixed, it will be a 9/10 easily.
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Xbox One
Our heroes will combat aliens in place of hordes of zombies in this game, although they act in a similar fashion to the undead you’ve likely came to know and love. I found their overall design to be enjoyable, with the standard enemies looking similar to the Demogorgon from Stranger Things, with the special forms being peppered in for variety, although most are ripped straight from the other series. You’ll find a bloater-like alien that swells and pulsates with acidic properties that will explode when shot; a creature that resembles a skinned giraffe that grabs the player and runs away, akin to the jockey; a small gremlin-ish being that pounces on the player like the hunter; and the beast, which is visually interesting, but is nothing more than a reskinned version of the tank, albeit with a laser attack that replaces the option to throw rocks as a ranged attack. There are a few unique enemy types, which include the blackout, which is an octopus appearing creature with rotating shields that teleports about, as well as a floating blob that enrages the standard enemies in its range. Even if the enemies were cookie cutter designs taken from other series, it would have been passable had they featured the same level of detail and gore as they were blown piece by bloody piece that the trailer alludes too. While it is possible the trailer was comprised of PC or Xbox One X gameplay, it runs and looks like a 360 game on the standard X1. Sadly, clipping is prevalent, fixtures popping in and out is normal, and a limb mysteriously vanishing is regular, often breaking immersion. The bugs don’t stop there: guns or turrets will often sink or fall within the ground, server issues are plentiful, and crashes occur regularly, especially when too many enemies swarm the group.
The one area that stands out is the arsenal at the player’s disposal. Sure, none of the guns are anything that we haven’t seen before, but there’s a decent amount of them. You’ll find some melee options that will take the place of your pistol, which can be used akimbo, an SMG, shotguns, and a plasma rifle, which is only used towards the end of one of the campaigns. With the exception of the akimbo pistols and melee weapons, all of your options allow for ADS aiming, which was something I always felt L4D was missing; unfortunately, the aiming is rather jerky, which makes hip fire a much more accessible way to play. One cool feature that was included was the option to print weapons at select locations using a 3D printer, which will typically allow for a few options to suit your play style. These will be points of interest the player will have to make a mental note of, as weapons and ammo are not exactly plentiful in numbers – you’ll find one or two guns tucked away off the beaten path, but your AI comrades are pretty terrible when it comes to stealing them from you.
The title can be played solo with AI companions or in multiplayer with up to four player online co-op, with no split screen option included, and both options having their own downfalls. I found the AI to be fairly adept at dispatching the alien threats and when it came to reviving me when I would be downed playing solo – outside of them being jerks when it comes to pick-ups, there are little complaints there. The game offers the option to select their intelligence, with four options in addition to the difficulty of the overall game to pick from. Playing with another human being is obviously preferential; however, everyone but the host will suffer from a 30 second to one minute delay when entering the game, leaving the host to pick over the best goodies that might be found early on, with rubber banding and lag being a constant issue for anyone connected as an additional player.
One of the biggest selling points of Left 4 Dead was the replayability it offered due to the Director, which randomized a number of events, making each game a new experience. Earthfall doesn’t have this, and outside of some minor enemy placements, which is likely due to them meandering away, each and every time you play a level it is almost 100% the same.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed much of my time with Earthfall, but it is highly lacking in the content vs. cost, with the full game being completed in around three hours on the regular difficulty. Aside from trophy or achievement hunting, there really is no reason to return to any of the levels once you’ve beaten them. Had this been released on the past generation of consoles at $29.99, it would have been a hit, even without the PvP option being included. That said, I would highly recommend waiting for a price reduction or sale.
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Xbox One
Earthfall is a four player co-op first person shooter clearly inspired by Left for dead but with aliens! Holospark is a small company with the greatest minds behind gaming in it. From games like Destiny 2, Middle earth: Shadow of war, No one lives forever 2, Call of duty 3 and bioshock infinite to name a few. They have also released other games like The impossible travel agency and Séance: The unquiet, Holospark clearly has a lot of talent but how did they do with Earthfall.
Just like everybody else I just thought this was going to be Left for dead but with aliens and that’s not so untrue. That’s exactly what this is, let’s start with the story the world is in ruins. An alien invasion has hit the earth and you play as four survivors using a wide variety of weapons and supplies to combat the alien invasion. The game is broken up into two campaigns with five missions each. Each of them being a whole new area to explore and with different objectives to complete. Now these objectives aren’t different from mission to mission, most of them end up just being fetch this or fix that. Which in my option just adds unnecessary time to missions that isn’t needed, instead of doing something different every mission ends up feeling like you do the same thing over and over again. Even though they look different. This is where the game fails, it already doesn’t have much content and then with the little content it has. It just ends up feeling very unoriginal and there is no endgame that I know of, only by replaying the whole story on the highest difficulty which isn’t that fun.
So after you’ve played the story which would only take you 4 hours at most you have already gotten through everything the game has to offer. Now co-op does offer a nice change and I’m always down to play with my buddies. There is only so much you can do in co-op with your friends. Even the gun play which is a big part of fps games, in this they end up feeling very clunky and like they barely do damage. When you end up choosing your favorites there isn’t much else that changes up gunplay in the game. Even the 3D printer and yes there’s a 3D printer, I just found myself using this as a way to refill my ammo when I was out. Everything you also did to progress throughout the mission would attract a swarm, there is even one point where in the second mission you are fixing a van to escape the area. By simplify putting a battery in the van it would attract a swarm, I mean how loud could that be right?
I feel like at times they did this also just to extend the length of the mission by distracting you with adds every few minutes. Which again isn’t that fun when that’s all you’ve been doing. Even with the different kinds of species of aliens it still felt very unoriginal. Not even the special aliens did anything different they were more of a filler for mission time I felt. The graphics as well did nothing and they had a chance to make the game look incredible but they didn’t. Most alien bodies would just turn into a pixelated mess after getting killed and having the limbs blown off. The game also ran really bad at times and I was playing on an xbox one. A few days also after the games release, the game got a 9.5 GB update which is the size of the game like seriously? When the update was finished it was easier to get in a co-op game before all it did was put you in a lobby by yourself which I guess was a good move.
After everything I had to deal with from this game, all it did was leave a bad taste in my mouth. None of the missions feels original, the graphics the broken co-op it as a whole was just bad. I honestly expected a lot more from Holospark and I was disappointed. The only good thing is Holospark as already confirmed that all future content for the game will be free which is a step in the right direction.
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Xbox One
XBOX ONE X REVIEW.
A solid, fun an playable game. And over price for under half of the content of a full game. I appreciate a game feeling quite polished and releasing but the price to pay is only two campaigns. I can’t imagine people are going to play games like this for long before moving on with this lack of content. AI is terrrible but expected these days with coop focused gaming. Graphics are ok, but not using the full potential of the X as quite blurry and undefined with poor contrast and lighting. I don’t think games should be out of early access until content is delivered. Sound needs a lot of work, a shotgun sounds like a silenced pistol. Need to have option to use normal menu controls (Seems like a trend since destiny to have ‘mouse’ control for a controller and this is dire) The game is fun, but like left 4 dead 2 compared to l4d1 it seems the ai director has taken a back seat for encounters and the specials come in too often rendering less than special.
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Xbox One
Summary Earthfall is a co-operative shooter for up to four players. Using team-based tactics to fortify holdouts and complete objectives, players must work together to survive.
Rated T
for Teen
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4
- PC
- Xbox One
Initial Release Date: Jul 13, 2018
Developer:
- Holospark
Publisher: Holospark
Genres:
