Disintegration

This action title is a game that takes the term "hybrid" to new extremes. One minute when you're playing Disintegration, you think you're playing a first-person shooter, but the next, you've switched over to a real-time strategy game. Toss in the occasional flight simulator/racing vibe, as well as a few side quests, and you wind up with a game that could be describes has having a bit of an identity crisis. And make no mistake, early on, things can feel confusing and disjointed. But much like an orchestra tuning up before a show, what starts off as a noisy mess soon slides into place and makes way for an impressive performance. As frustrating as things might be at the start, there comes a point when players break through a wall, find a groove, and everything just sort of clicks together. Before long, you're strafing enemy squads on your Gravcycle while simultaneously ordering your squad to chuck grenades and focus fire on hefty juggernauts, all working together like a well-oiled machine.

The controls aren't the only bumps in Disintegration that smooth out over time. The plot feels a bit stale at first, but once players start to uncover more about Romer Shoal's past and how he wound up going from celebrity spokesman to rebel outlaw, the foundation of the game's lore starts to gain more structure. The gameplay can seem repetitive at times, with players going through the same motions in missions and fighting the same foes. But once you notice, the game changes things with some new threat or twist to shake up the formula. The game's three multiplayer modes put their own spin on classic shooter match types and while these seem familiar, there's a heavy reliance on players' command of their ground units. In fact, in some matches, those are the only units that can score points. This tends to put players in more of a support role with their Gravcycle. Like the rest of the game, it makes for an awkward change of pace at first, but one that becomes second nature in time.