Breach and Clear Deadline is a more ambitious, PC-take on the original version of the game found on mobile devices. Developed by Gun. and Mighty Rabbit, Breach and Clear takes you into an isometric world of tactical combat. While the original was focused on defeating terrorism, Deadline is focused on surviving the zombie apocalypse.
Playing Deadline at PAX South, I really liked how it felt like 2 games wrapped into one world with the freedom to play either or a hybrid of the two. The game has two modes: a “tactical” mode that stops time and allows you to issue orders to your troops and then play it out as fast or slow as you want and a “live” mode that gives you a run-and-gun style putting you directly into the action. As the game was being explained to me, I watched a guy before me playing this hybrid style. He’d issue orders to his teammates and then take control and start blowing off undead heads. Once I went hands-on, it was 100% tactical; issue orders and then watch the carnage unfold…slowly…carefully, aka my play style.
From the tactical mode, there are plenty of commands and the soldiers seemingly responded well and when they didn’t have orders, did all right. I would like to see how my soldiers’ AI respond and react if I’m negligent in my commands and whether I can pre-program tactics ahead of time. The zombie AI is, well, what you would expect, but there are more enemies in the game than the shambling body types. The zombie upheaval is due to a virus that burrows deep down in the brain and then mutates; leading to larger and smarter enemies down the road. There are also other humans in the game that are surviving on their own, who will attack you for your guns and gear and have to fight the zombies on their own. It’s an interesting twist and while I didn’t see it in this playthrough, I’m interested in seeing where it goes.
Breach and Clear Deadline is coming out on PC, Mac and Linux and is currently in Early Access on Steam. They told me that during early access, it’ll be at a lower price point to encourage the early access community to join up and that the developers are extremely interested in the community’s input, so it seems like a good time to join if a tactical strategy, live-action shooter, survival game is your thing.