For a while there, I thought Natural Selection 2 was destined to become vaporware like so many sophomore efforts by mod developers (see: Tactical Intervention).
Judging by the impressive trailer above and massive beta update, Natural Selection 2 is making good progress toward retail. In the process, the game’s beta — available to those who have pre-ordered — keeps getting better and better.
This recent update bring a wealth of fixes, improvements, and, most notably, new content. Build 194 finally brings in the marines’ jetpack accessory, the ability for alien players to evolve into gorilla form (Onos), and a new map, Mineshaft. For a full list of changes and additions, visit the game’s website.
For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s the sequel to the ambitious 2002 Half-Life mod that blurred the line between FPS and RTS long before titles like Nuclear Dawn and Savage. In production for five years now, Natural Selection 2‘s development has been worrying fans but the visuals and gameplay on display above have renewed this fan’s faith.
The above trailer has me so excited for this game that I went ahead and pre-ordered. I’ll be posting my impressions soon. Feel free to say hi if you see me in a game, but you better hurry because the number of pre-orders (and thus beta keys) are limited.
[Source: TIGSource]
