Continuing with their rampage against wooden doors everywhere, Indie studio Killhouse Games have just updated their Early Access title Door Kickers with a host of extra content.

Players can now utilize the Squad Doctrine Tree, which will allow you to spend promotion points on improving your squad each time you level up. By doing so, the folks at Killhouse Games say that this will help to remove any unnecessary micromanagement as you won’t need to progress each squad member individually, keeping things squarely focused on the team effort.

Modding has also been given a facelift with the inclusion of the Steam Workshop. This will allow any player-created content to be pooled into one localized place, allowing easy management of any custom levels or game features you wish to use. Those looking to create content can also check out this handy ‘how-to’ guide on how to create your content.

For a full list of features, check out the list below:

Features:

• Bigger maps (zoom/scroll enabled for all maps)
• New scenario type: Protect the VIP
• Three new enemy types (Operator Orville, Juggernaut Emil, Assassins)
• Three new maps
• Improved enemy/SWAT AI
• Export replays to video
• Modding support + in-game mods menu
• Steam Workshop support
• Can resume a game anytime during a replay
• Added enemy ghosts for last visible location

Other:

• Added maxFPS and vertical-sync in options.xml
• Improved FPS / loading time
• Game size reduced significantly (due to compressed textures)
• Can now hide the HUD while playing; not yet in replay mode
• Multiple graphics improvements
• Rebalanced armor types
• Rebalanced 9mm and .40 caliber vs .45 caliber pistols
• New sounds
• Game now loads .dds files in addition to .tga and .png
• New door types added – elevator and bus doors

Fixes:

• Can no longer be heard through walls when picking locks
• Fixed a couple of replay-desync bugs
• Fixed some ambient sounds that were too loud

Modding/Structure changes:

• Changed location of single mission and RMG repositories
• The distance at which shots are heard is now specific to each weapon
• The noise distances for stealthily opening a door vs kicking it down are now configured separately.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

I can’t claim to have ever kicked a door down. It sounds like something only the toughest of grizzled superheroes would do, and if we slip back into reality for a second I’m almost certain it would hurt. Luckily you can supplement any physical pain for virtual satisfaction in Door Kickers, a game that really seems to have a vendetta against doors.

You assume command of a SWAT team, controlling each member simultaneously from a top down perspective. As each level starts, you’ll have the freedom to pick which of your guys you deploy, what gear they use, and where on the map they will spawn. There are a few notable differences on each gear load-out – lock picks and silenced weapons that allow stealth entry and shotgun wielding breach masters to name a few – but for the most part I never really had cause to dive into this feature. Because you’re given a set of predefined soldiers to pick from at the start of each level, I never felt the need to go in and play around with the gear of my pre-existing units. The ones I started with seemed to work just fine, and I would never have any issues coping without my stealth guys for a round of two if they had been killed in a previous mission.

Losing one of your own during an engagement is treated as little more than a minor inconvenience, which dampens the sense of risk as you plan out your path through each level. After a unit dies in a mission, their ‘slot’ is considered out of action for the duration of the next mission before being filled with a randomly generated new squad member. By doing this, the game makes you feel like the units at your disposal become expendable commodities rather than prized members of the team, and by having no incentives to keep your favourite soldiers alive, it becomes too easy to condemn a squad member to die for the sake of an easier outcome.

Controlling your squad is intuitive, and all but the most advanced actions are simple to execute by drawing out a path for each unit to take. To accompany this, the game sports a useful pause mechanic that allows you to freeze the live events of each level, giving you time to assess the situation and draw out your plan before the bullets fly. Along with controlling your positioning, you must also manage each unit’s line of sight, which becomes important in the later levels as a fog of war obscures any parts of the map that aren’t currently in your team’s cone of view. The way Door Kickers handles this is by allowing you to set a focus direction for your units, so they can strafe past corners and doorways whilst still being able to watch for incoming threats. It’s a simple mechanic that adds more depth to the proceedings, as an unaware squad member can easily be reduced to a chalk outline if they aren’t looking in the right direction.

Being a tactical game about putting your foot through various doors, I’d be remised if I didn’t talk about this mechanic. You will encounter a lot of doors, usually with a generous helping of armed thugs just waiting for someone to pay them a visit. When approaching a door you’re offered several options, and whilst I’ve yet to find one that simply lets me open the door with the handle, the choices are all tactically sound. The flash bang, for example, can be used to pacify any goons hiding around in the next room, allowing your guys to rush in and murder them before the tinnitus wears off.

The levels can come in a variety of flavours, from bomb disposal engagements to hostage rescue. It’s a good mix of objectives that you’d imagine the average SWAT team would be handling regularly, but after playing each objective type in succession only the bomb disposal and hostage execution missions seem to have you doing something other than murdering every bad guy in the building.

A good example of this are the hostage rescue missions which have you raid each level in search of a number of vulnerable civilians. Whilst there is an option to secure them and lead them outside to safety, the mission doesn’t end there. It doesn’t stop until you seek out and kill every last armed unit in the building, which just seems petty. Not content with foiling their plans of capturing innocents for ransom money, you then have to return to the house and make sure that they know you won by delivering a final burst of justice to their face.

Door Kickers is an honourable attempt to recapture the spirit of those old tactical squad games, so much so that I would be inclined to describe it as the illicit lovechild of the classic S.W.A.T games and the Commandos series. The controls are easy to grasp and offer the potential to set up an elaborate plan of attack when taking on each mission. Unfortunately, in its current state the individual units hold little worth, and the game doesn’t necessarily punish mistakes as much as it should. The AI does a good job in keeping you on your toes during each level, but there’s little incentive to craft a master plan and then execute it like a well oiled machine.

Note: Door Kickers is an Early Access title, and in its current state it is not feature complete. This review is of the game at the time dated, and both content and quality are subject to change.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

We’re in the last quarter, all the bases are loaded, and you’ve just scored a birdie on hole 9. By now you’ve probably guessed I know very little about sports other than the occasional buzzword. Fortunately, the upcoming turn-based future-sports title Frozen Endzone doesn’t care if you know anything about athletics so long as you can think tactically and enjoy watching robots clobber each other in the name of entertainment.

Frozen Endzone is best described as a mixture of chess and American Football, only set in the future and populated entirely by menacing looking robots who like to punch each other for fun. What strikes me the most about the game is how accessible it is to someone who couldn’t throw a ball to save his life. If you’ve played Frozen Synapse - the previous entry in this strategic series – you’ll find many of the gameplay mechanics to be similar if not the same. Multiplayer matches can be played without the need for both participants to be online at the same time, the player can simulate actions of all units on the playing field before committing to a specific play, and the overall control scheme and UI borrows from the previous entry.

New players need not worry about memorizing a long list of rules and regulations as the game is fairly straightforward and easily explained via the in-game tutorial. You spawn onto a grid with both teams players scattered across the various positions on the map. One team ‘attacks’ by attempting to move the ball down towards the end zone – a field that spans the bottom of the pitch – while the opposite team must intercept the ball before it can reach the goal. From this simple formula, both players must scheme and plot their way through each turn, making sure to have their units in the right place whilst simultaneously guessing what the enemy is planning.

In essence, the game is just as much about reading your opponent’s mind as it is about strategy. During one rather tense match versus an AI opponent, my situation looked so dire that the only option seemed to be to wait until my mechano-man got dog piled upon. I spent a good five minutes simulating a number of different moves, trying to find the right approach that would let me get out of this situation. I planned and I simulated again and again until it felt like I was simulating myself inside a simulation. Suddenly, a chance appeared, an opportunity that seemed so outlandish and drastic that it had to work, so I took a chance and committed my actions into the hands of fate. Unfortunately fate decided my ambitions of winning were much too high. As my loyal team member attempted to win the game in one heroic swoop like a glorious 90’s feel good movie, the crushing thud of an enemy player lands right into the poor guy’s face knocking him to the ground to lay in a pool of shame and motor oil.

The game is currently in an early beta state, but there’s plenty to do in the current version. Single player currently offers a Vs. AI mode which will have you facing off against a computer opponent in either one or three-round matches. There are also six challenge scenarios to play through. Multiplayer currently offers the follow four game modes:

• Endzone – Randomly generated playing fields where one player is attacking and one defending. Once the first round is over the positions are swapped and the team with the highest score at the end wins the game. This mode is very quick-fire and recommended for shorter matches.
• One Play – Similar to Endzone, except the teams do not swap after the first round ends. Once the ball reaches the goal or it becomes intercepted by the defenders, the match is over.
• Handball – This mode is less restricted than Endzone, with multiple tackles and changes of possession without the match ending. Both teams must get the ball to their end zone, so in many ways this could be considered the most comparable to a real game of football.
• Handball Easy – A variation of Handball in which most of the restrictive rules have been removed (ball throw limit etc…)

Future plans for Frozen Endzone include variable stats for individual players, allowing you to build up a more in-depth team of strengths and weaknesses. There will also be an expansion to the single player experience that will consist of a story mode, a single player “roguelike” season mode, and a long-form season mode. Multiplayer will also see additions in the future with the promise of more modes and the ability to create multiplayer leagues with your friends. The visuals are also set to receive more work with new animations, more stadiums and team armours, and a whole host of customization options for players to add a personal touch to their robot squads.

Today marks the launch of Frozen Endzone’s beta, and those looking to grab a copy can do so via the official website. The first tier, sitting at $25 (which is about £15 or €18.50) nets two keys for the beta, with optional Steam keys and access to the full version on release. Higher tiers come with a number of luxury extras including the game’s soundtrack, in-game cosmetic items, and animations for your team. Every purchase also comes with a 30% off voucher for Speedball 2 HD on Steam if you feel like going on a future sports binge.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.