Zadzooks: Helldivers review

Super Earth’s greatest soldiers take the fight to hostile alien planets in the co-operatively addictive Helldivers (Sony Computer Entertainment and Arrowhead Game Studios, rated Teen, $19.99).

Up to four players control a squad of elite warriors in the year 2084 as they roam the Milky Way Galaxy and carry out hundreds of missions to help protect the Federation.

Through a top-down perspective, the action involves a twin-stick shooting mechanic on the controller to run and gun over terrain as soldiers target and eliminate massive bugs, deadly cyborgs or the mysterious, thought-controlling, Illuminates.

The game plays like an expanded homage to the Paul Verhoeven’s movie “Starship Troopers.”

The tongue-in-cheek propaganda of faux newscasts beckoning humans to join the fight or the constant brainwashing messages by a government spreading “managed democracy” across the galaxy was just the start. Now add the insane, near humorous, carnage unleashed during battles and I was definitely chanting Johnny Rico’s mantra, “kill ’em all.”

The Helldivers, much like in the more massive game “Destiny,” kind of look like a mash up of Mandalorian bounty hunters from “Star Wars” or Clone Troopers wearing upgradeable helmets, armor and flowing capes.

Before diving into battles and to further my emersion into the mythology, I checked out the Helldivers’ encyclopedia, found on the command ship. From the encyclopedia, you can learn more about the war, Super Earth politics and details about the various species trying to wipe out humanity.

Each mission begins with a choice of planets and requires that soldiers use a Hellpod to drop in (think “Halo 3: ODST”). Once on the surface, with a definitive thud, they can escape the embedded pod. They then complete detailed objectives such as securing a post, activating and defending a launch pad, destroying bug nests or turning on oil extractors, all while under the barrage of enemy attacks.

Besides using a variety of weapons that can fire bullets, laser beams and lightening arcs, they can call in the full might of the military with equipment called Stratagems to help hold off assaults.

These helpers eventually range from ammo depots to jump packs (a jet boost to fly out of harm’s way), automatic gun turrets, a shield generator, artillery barrage, airstrikes, an SOS beacon (to call other Helldivers in), a carpet of anti-personnel mines, an armored personnel carrier and even an EXO-44 Walker exosuit.

Here’s the catch: Deploying a Stratagem requires typing a correct sequence on the directional pad, tossing a beacon and waiting for the package to drop from the sky and then deploy.

As you can imagine, while in the middle of firefight, it’s a stress-filled event every time that will often have teammates screaming at each other to help.

Also, fellow soldiers can accidentally shoot each other in the heat of combat. Keep that in mind, as the game will require another sequence on the controller to bring that fallen comrade back to the fight.

As expected, the game’s difficulty continues to ratchet up with every mission completion, so strategy, communication and tactical teamwork are paramount to success.

I found the best way to appreciate the game is with friends gathering in the same room. It avoids teaming up with online idiots (an all-too-frequent occurrence these days of multiplayer matches).

Now to be fair, online play offers the chance to report those idiots to relegate them to play with other idiots or, on the other side of the coin, praise eager and brave Helldivers, so they are rewarded with going on missions with like-minded veterans.

For a taste of the action, I first worked with a trusted younger genetic match (also known as my son) sitting by my side.

We fought together on the planet Hort. Wearing helmet headlights to see and with a two-fold objective, we dropped into a marshy, dingy terrain. We needed to find and place a black box in a secured location and deploy something called a Truth Transmitter.

By the way, the transmitter involved a four-part deployment process. Try tackling that with Borg-like enemies wielding ranged weapons, or flamethrowers firing away at you in the midst of typing in sequences.

The mission was eventually a success, and we signaled a drop ship to pick us up but not without a few issues.

My teammate forgot to duck and was killed by the gun turret shooting at the enemy, and I forgot how long it takes to load a heavy-duty machine gun and was burned to death. Also, due to some pathetic map reading on my part, we both got stuck slogging through a swamp while the cyborg circled us for the kill.

However, the frenetic, 15 minutes of action offered a welcomed amount of bonding, discussion and teamwork during the process as well as some high fives for our success.

Now, simply going it solo with my Helldiver, also an option, often leads to a sweaty palmed load of frustration. An early mission only required that I secure a few locations on a desert planet occupied by the Illuminates.

Walking through the sand (leaving footprints) and fighting off the occasional windstorm, I was killed early and often by an aggressive enemy and had to start over and over.

The one time I managed to survive and raise the Federation flag on multiple bases, a new surprise was in store. After I signaled a drop ship to pick me up (typing in a controller sequence under fire), I had to wait 90 seconds, tick tock.

Well, the drop ship started to land, but the pilot obviously did not see me. I had just fended off the latest advance of foes when the ship summarily dropped out of the sky and crushed me to death. Yes, I could have and should have moved. Talk about fried nerves.

Oh well, that’s life and death as a Helldiver; however, it took very little time to learn and adapt from my and my son’s mistakes.

With only about a dozen hours under my belt and some new online and offline friends to work with, “Helldivers,” the game, stands as one of the better, as well as affordable, shooters of the year. Suffice to report, this is a war worth fighting.

Note: PlayStation owners from across the real world all work together within the universal Helldivers campaign and influence the overall war and subsequent wars. Successes and failures all count toward rewards for all soldiers that makes replayability of the game potentially unending for those devoted to defending Super Earth.