RIGS Mechanized Combat League

Fulfilling the dreams of gamers everywhere, RIGS: Mechanized Combat League is a 2016 VR game for the Playstation 4 that puts the player in control of a giant, over-sized mech that shoots lasers, bullets and everything else explosive. Making use of the Dualshock controller, RIGS is a VR game by the developers of the Killzone series that was received positively due to its lack of motion sickness and slick gameplay.

RIG-diculous Fun

Players can expect lots of battles and skirmishes as each one of the players in any given 3 versus 3 matches shoot and blast their way to victory. There’s three online modes to play with: Team Takedown, which is your standard team deathmatch; Power Slam, which players race to earn the most points by jumping through a central ring; Endzone, which follows similar rules to American Football.

Fans of Titanfall and Hawken will love the fun, action heavy nature of RIGS. While some mech games focus on heavy sci-fi, RIGS strikes a balance between fun and realism, making it one of the most exciting mech games available on the current generation of consoles.

The mechs (or RIGS) are bright, colourful and most-importantly huge robot machinery that the player controls in order to fight against other players. There are 4 types of RIGS to play with too, each with their own unique playstyle to keep gameplay exciting during matches. Some RIGS are smaller, allowing for easier evasion tactics, while some can hover in the air for a bird’s eye view of the match below.

There are also many different types of RIG classes, which add extra complexity to how matches will play out. For example, the vampire class allows players to regain health after each kill, and nuke, which releases an explosion when the player dies.

The visuals of the game generally are also very impressive. Players who dislike the grim look of other mech games will be pleasantly surprised with RIGS: Mechanized Combat League’s bright aesthetic that makes liberal use of colour and stylish design. The visual style also helps to bolster the game’s sports theme, making the competitive nature of RIGS really shine through for some great online play.

The bombastic nature of each match is also paired with commentary by some of the game’s narrator characters. While fun at first, reviews and players alike found this aspect of the game to be a little bit grating a few hours in.

The Feeling of Immersion

RIGS does an excellent job at putting players at the helm of a large, battle-ready robot. The user interface on the RIGS gives enough immersion with the PS VR first-person view, whilst still letting players see clearly. The mechs also feel weighty yet mobile, and players will enjoy zooming across the map on different levels as they fight to win each match they enter.

PROS

• Brilliant graphics and stylized, yet realistic art style
• Fun, short matches filled with exciting gameplay
• Controls are intuitive and don’t leave players feeling motion sickness

CONS

• Needs Playstation VR in order to work
• Annoying game commentary in every match
• Multiplayer sessions are not very populated