Hard Reset
My time with the Polish developer Flying Wild Hog’s new PC-only shooter, “Hard Reset,” was defined by confusion. I have never been one to skip through cut scenes in video games, even in games with the lamest of stories, but “Hard Reset” tempted me like no game ever has. The story is told in sparsely animated comic book panels between levels, and features some of the worst dialogue and voice acting I have heard since the original “Resident Evil.” The plot has something to do with a war between humans and robots, but despite my best efforts, I could make no sense of it. I even re-watched some of the terrible cut scenes thinking that I must have missed something, but they made no more sense the second time around.
The confusion produced by the gameplay is more forgiveable, as it comes from the sheer insanity of the action. There are often so many enemies and so many explosions on the screen at once that attempting to comprehend what is in front of you becomes impossible. Holding down the trigger and praying you hit a robot is your only hope. Taking cover is not an option — the game doesn’t even have a crouch button. Constant motion is the only way to avoid damage, but trying to navigate the narrow corridors of the game while blasting away at enemies and dodging rockets can prove frustrating. The gameplay style is similar to the “Serious Sam” series, but the wide open environments of “Serious Sam” allowed the player to focus on the enemies. Half of the challenge of “Hard Reset” comes from avoiding getting stuck in a corner during a fire-fight. The enemy robots are primarily of the charge-straight-at-you-and-smack-you variety, so when backed into a corner you are quickly surrounded and beaten. The feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to escape in a video game is always frustrating, but it is especially so in “Hard Reset.” Many of the enemies explode upon death, making escape after being surrounded unlikely.
Taking damage from an unknown source is another irritating feeling in a video game, one that is nearly constant in “Hard Reset.” The copious amount of enemies on screen of course contributes to this, but the environment also plays a huge part. The game world features more explosive barrels per square foot than any game I've ever played. The barrels obviously help with dispensing enemies, but will harm you if you accidentally shoot one from close proximity. In the game’s hectic action it can be difficult to quickly distinguish the glowing red barrels from the glowing red enemies, so this happens constantly.
Contributing to the need of constant motion is the game’s health and ammo system. The typical recharging health system of modern shooters is dropped in favor of ’90s-style health pickups. Enemies always drop health or ammo upon death, and incoming damage and outgoing bullets are so frequent that running through the fields of downed robots is vital to survival. There are only two guns in the game — one shoots bullets and the other shoots electricity, but each one can morph into five distinct guns. Essentially what this means is that there are 10 guns but only two different ammo types, a welcome simplification.
Less than four hours after I began “Hard Reset” it was over. I enjoyed most of my time with it, but even with its short length it was beginning to wear thin by the end. At the discounted asking price of $30, “Hard Reset” warrants a mild recommendation for those with nostalgia for the shooters of a generation ago, but those who started playing shooters during the “Call of Duty” and “Halo” era will likely find it frustrating and shallow.
