Ten dollar downloads on PSN often times get overlooked. After all, if they are selling something so inexpensively there has to be something wrong with it right? Surely it’s old, or busted. Maybe gameplay isn’t fun or innovative, or perhaps the graphics are reminiscent of yesteryear. Not always. Consider Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars for the PS3 to be the five dollar foot-long of downloadable content! Read on to learn more about a gem in a value bin!
Cellfactor is an arena based FPS set in a futuristic dystopia where there are three different types of warrior. There is the feminine “Bishop” type that uses nothing but telekinetic weaponry, a “Blackop” which uses weapons aided by telekinetics, and the heavy gunning “Guardian” which opts for technology over telekinesis. All three are very well balanced, with obvious benefits and disadvantages to each.
Cellfactor is pretty light on the story, and pretty heavy on the gameplay, which is very appealing to a player who wants to jump right in to the action! Action centers around four different multi-player modes. You can duke it out in a death match (either timed or stock), play a classic game of capture the flag, have a team death match, or play in “assault” mode. There are also 30 single player challenges ranging in difficulty to help you learn the mechanics and idiosyncrasies of gameplay. I found the first few challenges to be fairly easy, but later challenges taught me a few things I might not have picked up on right away had I dived right into multi-player online gameplay first.
There are 7 different environments in which to play. These range from very tight quarters to wide open with pitfalls a’ plenty. I favored playing with the Bishop character type because she can fly for a pretty good distance, which I found to be adventageous even in smaller maps. While there weren’t the pitfalls of giant chasms in all the maps, the flying ability made me harder to hit and helped me move faster. The balance of the Blackop was good, but being the most balanced there wasn’t one particular strength I was able to lean on to gain an advantage. The guardian type was really fun to play with because he has the ability to hold and fire any two weapons simultaneously, even a pistol and a sniper rifle! (Think sniper pistol if you can time your shots right!)
Speaking of weapons, there are lots of great weapons to use. You start each map with a stock “pistol”, quotations because the Bishop only uses telekinetic powers which emulate the weapons you can pick up, but same thing really. There are rifles, shotguns, bombs, and rocket launchers on each map. You can also use telekinesis with the proper character type (and use the level itself to smash up your opponent). One thing I’d liked to have seen was arena damage. You could tear an area up with telekinesis but you only left a few smashed barrels. I wish that I could have destroyed the walls, the floor, and the surrounding futuristic technology. It would have added a fun element to this title. You can also use a flash-bang type psychic ability to temporarily blind your foes, or hide using a front facing bullet-proof shield. Be careful with these psychokinetic powers, because they put a drain on your energy, and you’ll be left vulnerable to attack should you run out of energy and need to recharge (a process that takes only about 10-15 seconds).
Like any good action game, there are a few extras for those who put a little time into playing. You can customize your character with armor and color schemes which are unlocked through rewards given during gameplay. You’re also automatically upgraded with rewards as you progress, so even if you are a FPS pro, it’s worth playing though the single player challenges.
Multiplayer mode offers instant action for you and your friends, or you and some bots (a difficulty level of your choosing). You can also play on a LAN , or via the web in a Ranked or a Player match.
Not bad for ten bucks right? If this were a pricier game, I’d want for more single player action. I might also want more customizable options, and a few more playable characters. But the action is solid, and the gameplay is fun. For the price, I think that Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars is a pretty fun little title! I’d definitely recommend checking this one out, available for download via the PlayStation Network.