By Mihai Peteu - June 13, 2005

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Pariah Impressions

Pariah is a First Person Shooter based on the Unreal engine.  Featuring vehicular, team-based combat, large outdoor maps, and an allegedly robust map editor, we were more than eager to give some of the Multiplayer game play a try.

For those of you who don't want to purchase the game without trying out the multiplayer features, there is a demo available on FilePlanet.  The demo gives you a chance to try out the following 3 gametypes: Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Front Line Assault.

You are allowed to start out with different two-weapon combinations each time you respawn.  Additionally, you are always equipped with the Healing Tool, which allows you to regain some of your health by admnistering an injection.  After giving each of the weapon sets try, I settled for the "Demolisher" combo, which starts you with the Grenade Launcher and Rocket Launcher.  The grenades bounce on the ground until they stick to an object (preferably the other player), and detonate after a preset timer.  The Rocket Launcher is pure gib goodness, and a very efficient weapon - as long as you do not use it in close quarters.

After a few round of Team Deathmatch, I felt like I was trying out an unpolished UT mod.  The only upside was the lush, outdoorsy map, along with nice lighting and particle effects.  I respect the attempt to stay away from the Unreal Tournament weapons set, but in exchange, Pariah's weapons physics stray way too far into Halo territory.  The Sniper Rifle and Rocket Launcher seemed to react a little too similar to Halo's.  Also, the lethargic movement of my character detracted from my ability to avoid my enemy's shots.  But by far, the most frustrating gameplay aspect was the absolute lack of visual or auditory feedback for whether my shots were damaging the enemy players.  The vehicles do show progressive damage after multiple shots, but the immediate feedback of an on-target shot is simply not there.

To address the choppy frame rate, I turned down my graphical settings.  The game still felt laggy and unresponsive, so to ensure that my internet connection wasn't at fault, I hosted my own local game.  Still, my character's movement felt slow and unnatural, and I never felt fully immersed in the gameplay.  The few enjoyable moments involved sneaking up behind camping opponents and shooting a rocket at their feet so I could enjoy the body-wrenching Havok physics.

Next up was the Front Line Assault mode, and this did not feel much different.  This gametype is like the Double Domination mode in UT, but with vehicles.  After driving the smaller, faster Wasp and the larger, better equipped Bogie around the map, I could not help but feel bogged down by the controls.  You can only turn the vehicle by moving the mouse sideways, and this alone was a huge frustration.  Due to this, I was not able to strafe my vehicle around my opponent and shoot at the same time.

The Pariah trailer only has a quick glimpse of the map editor, and it seemed to have a nice terrain creation tool.  Unlike Epic, it seems that Pariah's developers will only package the editor with the full version of their game, as it was not included in the demo. 

Overall, Pariah seems like a nice piece of eye-candy, with a futuristic battleground feel.  If you have not yet been spoiled by Unreal Tournament 2004's fast-paced, fluid gameplay, then you might enjoy Pariah.  Otherwise, you will immedialy notice its gameplay flaws.