Amazon Games - the video game producing offshoot of the Amazon retail mega-corporation - is releasing its first game into the market on May 20th, and its kind of a big deal. Crucible is a free-to-play team-based shooter, with players choosing from a variety of characters to team up and jump into battle on a hostile planet. One of the biggest features of Crucible is the interactive environment. Teams don't have to just hunt down opponents, they also have to stay alive on a hostile planet, battling creatures and the elements.
Amazon has a lot to prove in the video game space, and the company is jumping in feet first, moving directly into massive multiplayer games (which we all know can suffer from some pretty rough launches). Amazon has made its name on quality experiences and customer service. It will be interesting to keep an eye on Crucible to see if it is impacted by the usual stutters, queues, and catastrophic failures that usually accompany the opening weeks of new online titles.
In addition to Crucible - which was developed by Relentless Studios - Amazon Games is also working on two MMOs, New World and The Lord of the Rings, both of which will likely experience the same issues encountered by every other online title. Amazon Games doesn't seem to be too intimidated by history.
Crucible will have three game modes at launch. Take a look below for an overview (and video explanation) on all three.
Heart of the Hives: A 4 vs. 4 battle against giant boss Hives that spawn throughout the world. Each Hive contains a valuable Heart, and the first team to capture three Hearts wins, making each match a dangerous balance between racing the opposing team and surviving the powerful Hives.
Alpha Hunters: Eight teams of two take the battlefield and fight to be the final team standing.
Harvester Command: Two eight-person teams battle to capture and hold Harvesters spread across the map, vying for control of the Essence that drew them all to the planet. Teams earn points by controlling Harvesters and defeating opponents, and the first team to 100 points wins.
I'm totally going to take Crucible for a spin when it releases. Any game that has the amount of resources behind it that this one does is going to be worth at least taking a look at. You can wishlist Crucible on Steam here. See you on Wednesday!
