Citizen Conflict

Overview

Citizen Conflict is a third-person shooter that boasts impressive graphics and a captivating atmosphere, showing potential to become a standout in its genre. Regrettably, these strengths are overshadowed when most aspects appear to be lifted from another creative project. The game's attempt at competitive shooting falls flat due to self-imposed limitations resulting from a lack of originality and fluid gunplay, which are outclassed by many browser games. The game's scarce customization options, questionable hit registration, unbalanced characters, and game-breaking glitches make the experience more frustrating than enjoyable.

Gameplay

Upon launching the game, you're greeted with a screen allowing you to select your class of heroes, each equipped with unique skills, ranging from shields to invisibility, shock grenades, and a dash function for enhanced movement. The menu design appears remarkably similar to that of The Finals, sharing both its crimson color scheme and typography. This could potentially be a coincidence, so let's move on to the game's in-map graphics.

The game's aesthetics are undoubtedly beautiful, with each map presenting an immersive atmosphere. Beginning with the Air Field map, it resembles a military base complete with a central building and two distinct spawn points. The middle hangar is littered with different vehicles and aircrafts, while the ground alternates between sand, concrete, and metal ledges. However, the map's allure is marred by glitches involving dysfunctional ladders and erratic jump pads.

The newly added Poseidon map, eerily familiar to a previously played one, features a central glass box location designated as the D spawn. This map is usually set at night, a feature that surprisingly doesn't compromise visibility for most players. However, during my gameplay, this map exhibited glitches. An additional frustration was the platforms overlooking the central glass box, which you couldn't shoot through, forcing you to relocate to recapture the flag. Gradually, the map's layout and nighttime color palette seemed to mirror those of The Finals map Seoul. While there were slight differences like Poseidon's lifeless indoor pool, the resemblance was uncanny.

Drifting away from graphics, the gameplay doesn't match the high standard set by the visuals, significantly lacking in fluid gunplay and mobility. The movement feels rather clumsy, and the precision in strafing is compromised by exaggerated movements. Coupled with sporadically malfunctioning dash functions and a myriad of weapon balancing issues—some so severe they resulted in weapon bans during tournaments—the gameplay leaves much to be desired. Problems such as weak gun impact, poor hit registration, and constant flashbang spam from a specific character create an experience of relentless equipment spam and missed shots.

Most of the spam originated from the shockwave character named Thunder. Since there's no limit to how many players can select a single character, most teams end up choosing Thunder, resulting in an overwhelming amount of flashbang spam. This typically leads to blindingly white screens, followed by inevitable defeat. Moreover, a glitch that allows characters to use equipment while down contributes to unjust deaths.

The rest of the characters are relatively underpowered in comparison. Tunkas offers a dash for outmaneuvering enemies, but it's ineffective when you're blinded. Sakura's invisibility only serves well at a distance, proving inadequate for close combat. Min Hae's shield seems useful, but its glitch that allows enemies to shoot over it dampens its efficiency. Coupled with intermittent gun glitches, the gameplay experience was exasperating and far from enjoyable, particularly when losses are attributable to a broken in-game item.

The gameplay continues to be marred by the game's restrictive settings, which don't allow for certain modifications to be made. It imposes a universal sensitivity and, most critically, doesn't offer the option to disable motion blur—an option I personally prioritize in shooter games. However, there is a redeeming feature: the primary mode that was tested, reminiscent of Domination.

In this mode, teams battle over five different capture points to reach the maximum set score of 1500. Unlike other domination-style games I've encountered, kills also contribute to the team's score—a pleasant addition to the game. Having five flag points makes the game feel more chaotic than it would with three, but this could be mitigated by increasing the team size by one or two players across both maps. This innovative twist on a classic game mode is a refreshing feature that adds a unique aspect to the gameplay. However, due to the game's flawed mechanics, this novelty feels fleeting.

Review

In conclusion, Citizen Conflict is a game that aimed to be an outstanding shooter, bringing a fresh approach to a time-tested game mode. However, it falls short in crucial areas such as hit registration and weapon balancing, currently offering no significant redeeming features.

Fortunately, the version tested was an alpha, not the final version, and the game has already received several updates aiming to enhance the in-game experience. If the developers can properly address the gameplay issues, Citizen Conflict has the potential to be an exceptional game. As it stands, though, with all the glitches and subpar gameplay mechanics compared to browser games, it failed to pique my interest during the periods I played it.