The first person shooter market is completely oversaturated in my opinion. We have games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Valorant, Overwatch 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rainbow Six Siege and more coming out as time goes by. There are so many first person shooter games, I can’t keep up anymore. I’m just stuck with Modern Warfare II.
But that doesn’t mean that they’re all the same. Call of Duty feels different from Battlefield, Halo, Siege, and Valorant. These games all play differently, and that’s good. Because why would anyone play Valorant or Overwatch 2 if they play exactly the same? Each game has their own unique take on what makes them great, and that is why this highly underrated FPS game is deserves to be on top.
Insurgency Sandstorm is a sequel to the to the very much underrated Insurgency, which came out in 2014. Insurgency Sandstorm came out, however, four years later in December of 2018. Sandstorm’s main change from its last entry is that the game now runs on Unreal Engine, unlike the first game which was still using the Source Engine.
The game has a large following (not on the scope of Call of Duty or Battlefield) that can rival that of other games like Team Fortress 2 or Back 4 Blood. But is the game really that good? Because to those who are not playing, it looks like another Call of Duty or a much more updated version of Counter-Strike.
The game’s main selling point is its realism. Not in the sense of “incredible graphics” but more on gameplay. When playing games like Call of Duty or Battlefield, a player can tank up to 4 to 5 shots from an assault rifle before dropping dead. Using a shotgun or a sniper rifle can score some one hit kills, maybe two hits.
With Insurgency Sandstorm, every weapon is capable of killing within the first two shots. If you get hit once, you are practically a dead man walking. Which is what is like if you get shot once in real life. You are not a Call of Duty operator with armored plating or a Halo Spartan with shields, you are a normal soldier carrying a gun, walking into a war.
The game makes it a point not to run in and dolphin dive on everything or slide cancel. You have to be tactical and rely on your senses, being careful not to rush into a room lest you get shot when walking in. It’s not on the level of Rainbow Six Siege, but it does require some thinking before making any moves.
The game is still getting support, and is looking to release PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions later this year. It’s a great game to play, and it is definitely something you should try once. However, if you still don’t like it, then you can just jump back into Halo with the boys.
