Find us on

PAX West 2016 Day Two Recap

PAX West 2016 Day Two Recap

Smash+Grab (United Front Games)

Sometimes it’s just fun to be evil. Most games bill you as a hero where you’re out to save the day and all the innocent people, but instead I was shown Smash+Grab, where the goal is to lead your gang to riches and infamy via online combat! Built in the Unity engine, I found myself immediately engaged in this rough-and-tumble world where the strongest survive and the weak get trampled.

PAX West 2016 Recap: Smash+Grab

This isn't an LA Riot, it's Smash+Grab!

Smash+Grab is a team-based looting experience. You have three gangs: The Rooks, The Dappers, and The Doomriders. It’s like a MOBA in that you have a host of different character archetypes [Ranged, Heavies, Melee, Support]. Each gang has their own versions of these archetypes and unique style of gameplay.

There are a variety of game modes that we saw, but the one we played was a loot grab. You are trying to loot this part of town, breaking into shops and stealing weapons or cash. Your goal is to get to 50k over the course of three rounds, and with each passing round the shops have cooler stuff to steal. You play as one of the named gang members, and you also have a Lieutenant and some thugs under them [which have their own archetypes to compliment your style of play]. You play 3vs3 leaving quite a few people on the screen outside of the main cast to deal with.

It’s a very smash-face, aggressive kind of gameplay where you murder the other team as brutally as possible to resume looting. You can see other players on the minimap and see where the stores are located, so there is quite a bit of strategy behind the fairly simple concept. You can upgrade your weapons as you play or get new ones, and you can equip the henchman. There’s also a tree of upgrades you can take for your characters and lots of cool outfits and customized gear for each character. It has personality and it has a very gritty feel when you’re getting down and dirty. I’m hoping for some manner of open world content which is what I’m mostly interested in. I don’t normally play sandbox style games, but I think this one would be just right for me. If they choose not to go that route, the multiplayer will surely be varied and entertaining. There was just something engaging and thrilling about being that rotten. Keep an eye on it: there are no heroes, just opportunists.

Check out our Smash & Grab impressions at the link below!

Smash and Grab – PAX West 2016 Demo and Impressions

Everything else at Pax Day Two that we saw were super secret! We’ll spill the beans when it’s time, but beyond that, this is the most exciting stuff we covered today. There’s so much more on the way for Day Three though, so stay tuned!

Continue on to Cosplay Round-Up Teaser (Day Two)

Pages: Eternal | Elder Scrolls Online | Final Fantasy XV | Smash+Grab | Cosplay Round-up Teaser (Day Two)

Next Article