Eximius: Seize the Frontline Review (Steam)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Eximius: Seize the Frontline
Developer: Ammobox Studios
Publisher: Ammobox Studios
Genre: Action, Strategy

Price: $19.99

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Eximius: Seize the Frontline has humble origins, but also carries big dreams on its shoulders. Coming from bright minds at Malaysia-based Ammobox Studios, the game is one of stark ambition, seeking to combine the novel concepts of real-time-strategy gameplay with first-person-shooter mechanics in a manner that few others have tried before. True, titles like Natural Selection 2 do come to mind. Eximius: Seize the Frontline, however, goes far beyond the leanings of its predecessors. While it may bear the trappings of a modern military shooter, it makes for a brand-spanking-new, exciting way to experience both genres at the same time.

In Eximius: Seize the Frontline, there are two main classes to select in-game. You can work either as an officer on the ground or as the top commander aiming to lead the army to victory. The choices inherently different approaches and interactions with the game, and dictate how you’ll be experiencing its mechanics firsthand. As an officer, it’s your job to do the gruntwork. With a gun in your hand, you’ll be ducking behind cover, moving from objective to objective, and shooting down whatever foes you come across, be they man, drone, or vehicle. It’s standard FPS fare, and while the gunplay is fairly mediocre, the good variety of weapons you have on hand combined with the punchy nature of their sounds makes for a decent fun time. The feel isn’t like that of any release in the Call of Duty or Battlefield series, but it does play great, especially when combined with the overall RTS mechanics.

In Eximius: Seize the Frontline, the officers lead the charge and the commander who supports it. Officers are the ones who spearhead attacks into enemy territory, but the commander is the one who purchases upgrades, drops health packs for his soldiers, buys vehicles, and even assigns squads of friendly non-playable characters to support the attacks. This interaction with both classes brings up a highly tactical experience to the forefront, one that relies on communication as well as on skill to really shine. You’ll have assaults on defended positions while salvos of missiles drop to augment your charges. You’ll encounter heavy resistance from jet troopers and assault vehicles, and have to fend off upgraded players and grunts on your way to secure victory. It’s a fun, dynamic experience waiting to be discovered, and, when it all works, it works wonderfully.

Therein lies the problem in Eximius: Seize the Frontline, though. For all the potential that it carries, it’s held back by one main flaw: It has a low player count. A multiplayer-based game with only a small multiplayer community to back it up will have intrinsic issues, and while some games can manage, it cannot. With its current population not even reaching triple digits, unfair match-making is to be expected. There simply aren’t enough people to play with, especially for newcomers, leading to a very difficult new player experience. This doesn’t mean that it’s a bad game. In fact, it has all the makings of a compelling one. Unfortunately, in its current state, it is hard-pressed to cope with issues like skill gaps between new players and veterans. And it doesn’t help that tutorials are vague and high latency props up – temporary hurdles, to be sure,, but nonetheless difficult to get past.

Bottom line, Eximius: Seize the Frontline is nothing short of outstanding under the right set of conditions. Else, it has a handful of barriers to entry for those looking for a casual game to enjoy.

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THE GOOD

• Superb combination of RTS gameplay and FPS mechanics
• Surprisingly enjoyable combat, against both NPCs and other players

THE BAD

• Very low player count, resulting in less than enjoyable gameplay experiences when matched with veterans
• High variances in latency

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RATING: 7.5/10

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