Running with Rifles

Running With Rifles
File:Running with rifles logo.jpg Logo for Running with Rifles
Developer(s)	Modulaatio Games
Distributor(s)	Valve Corporation (Steam) Desura (Desura)
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
Release date(s)	April 2, 2015
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Running with Rifles (stylized as RUNNING WITH RIFLES) is a top down, open world, tactical shooter game published and developed by Modulaatio Games. There are currently servers based in Europe and USA but according to the developer, "as long as the lag stays below 200ms the online game sessions seem very playable". The maps can be up to 1 kilometer large. The game was developed by Pasi Kainiemi in Tampere, Finland and Jack Mayol in Stuttgart, Germany . Running with Rifles has a cartoony art style and has been designed to run fine even on older computers.

Gameplay

Running with Rifles is a top down shooter where you take the role of a soldier during a war in multiple different maps for either the Greenbelts, the Greycollars, or the Brownpants. The game allows the player to play however they want, the war will rage on without the player being there. This allows for looting of enemies, flanking and sabotaging the enemies. As well as multiplayer, Running with Rifles also has a single-player campaign where there are a lot of levels. This game requires skills in more than one area as the player will need to flank, communicate, attack and defend simultaneously, sometimes. There are upgrades available as well, most being for protection. There are also vehicles located around the map. Although a commander designates attack orders for your faction, the open world mechanic gives the player the ability to run around and capture any point on the map at any time, disregarding the commander's orders will not incur a penalty.

In Running with Rifles, the open world aspect allows multiple different playstyles and allows for lots of different opportunities and ways to attack. The player can slowly rank up until they have an entire fleet at their disposal. The game is described as a simple to jump into and play type of game and only takes a few hours to get used to the basic mechanics of the game and has been likened to Cannon Fodder. The single-player has the same structural play as the multi-player version so therefore the player can learn to play either one and then play the other one without issues.

Game modes

There are currently (as of update 1.01), 8 different gamemodes consisting of Team Elimination, Teddy Hunt, Classic, Deathmatch, Minimodes, Invasion, Quick Match and Dominance. As the name suggests, in Team Elimination, the objective is to kill everyone on the other team to win, and nobody can respawn until one team kills the other, unlike other gamemodes. This is one of the newer game modes so there are bugs and can only be run via dedicated servers. Teddy Hunt is similar to Capture the Flag in the sense that you need to collect items to win. In Teddy Hunt special crates are scattered around the map and when broken, a teddy bear will be left remaining. To make your team get a point, these bears must be sold to the shop (armory) otherwise they're useless. The other team needs to try and stop you from doing this whilst trying to do it themselves. The crates will be protected by AI. Classic is similar to Quick Match but with a few minor differences; such as you can only capture 1 base, map rotation and a timer is in play. Deathmatch is a PvP game mode where every kill the player gets is added to their score. The player with the most points by the end of the round wins. Minimodes is similar to an all in one. In Minimodes there are lots of sub-stages that involve all the other gamemodes. For the match to work, there must be a minimum of 2 players at all times. In Invasion, the player is put onto the same faction as everyone else. (Greenbelts) This is a co-op gamemode where you must work together to capture all of the AI's bases in a singleplayer map. There are official servers that host this gamemode, unlike "Quick Match". In Invasion, all XP and RP gains are reasonably slower than the other game modes. Quick Match is the game mode that's meant to be the shortest in length. In Quick Match, all stock weapons are unlocked automatically depending on rank, the players rank can be set to anything and the player can join any faction they want before the game begins. There are no rules to what you cannot capture, so all capture points are capture-able immediately. Dominance is similar to both Classic and Quick Match combined. Dominance tries to focus more on the strategic side thus the player has to be more consistent and there is slower progression.

Maps

There are 11 maps as of update 1.01, they are; Moorland Trenches, Keepsake Bay, Old Fort Creek, Fridge Valley, Bootleg Islands, Rattlesnake Crescent, Power Junction, Vigil Island, Black Gold Estuary, Copehill Down, Frozen Canyon. There is 1 PvP map, [The] Islet of Eflen. This allows for diverse exploration and lots of different areas to visit.

Development

Modulaatio started as a one-man independent development studio ran by Pasi Kainiemi. He started developing Running with Rifles early 2011. The game left pre-alpha on July 18, 2011. The game was then updated ~2 times during alpha before continuing into beta on September 14, 2011 where it spent most of its life. In 2011 he made the game available for pre-order. Early 2012 Jack Mayol joined the team and they decided together to push the game far beyond what was originally planned.
The first Linux port was made publicly available and the game was put on Steam Greenlight, where it was later accepted and put onto the Steam Store. Two new King of The Hill maps were added and a single-player Invasion mode was added/enhanced during 2013. In 2014 the game was released onto Steam's Early Access platform and the first Mac (OS X) port is made available. In 2015, on April 2, the game left Steam's Early Access/left beta and was officially released.

Reception

Running with Rifles has a 78/100 rating on the review aggregator site Metacritic, based off 4 reviews. GameSkinny writer, "Jonathan Green" gave the game an 8/10. Mod Vive writer, "Logan Launer" said Running with Rifles is the best if you're looking for a smooth running game, but if you want shiny effects, you're better off playing Call of Duty. Kotaku writer, "Kirk Hamilton" said the game is similar to both Battlefield and Hotline Miami.

External links

• Official website
• Official wiki