"Day of Infamy": A World War II Arsonist Simulator (Review)

Although it may seem as though the first-person shooter game model has been refined and narrowed down to a detailed and forever-set-in-stone tee, recent game releases have shown that doesn’t mean a new shooter title still can’t be interesting and unique from others. “Day of Infamy”, a mod based shooter title, created by New World Interactive, has recently come out of early access and into official release, has tried to offer up a more brutal take on the familiar World War II first-person shooter setting.

Standing out among shooter titles of late and aiming to be a spiritual successor to the popular mod for Half-Life 1, "Day of Defeat", "Day of Infamy" offers an intense and unforgiving approach to the standard first-person shooter format. Little room for error is given, and the heightened stakes of failing force you to either think carefully and quickly about your next move in order to succeed, or become cannon fodder for the opposition.

One problem a new player might face is the complete change in how the game works in comparison to other first person shooters, though this may be a welcome change for many. Every body or head-shot almost always results in an instant death, and every death can be a major blow to the affected team. When firing from the hip, you are not provided with the typical cross-hairs in the center of the screen as seen in most games, and instead have to more heavily rely on aiming down your sights.

Also, it’s recommended before each match that you check what the ammo capacity is for your primary weapon, because there is no counter at the bottom of the screen that tells you when it’s time to reload, and trying to pull the trigger when out of ammo does not force you to automatically reload as it normally does in other games. If you’re not careful, you will eventually run into the problematic scenario of frantically pointing your gun at an enemy at close range, only to hear a heart-stopping ‘click’ sound right before you make an unplanned date with the end of a bayonet.

This game focuses on minimalist HUD's, and if you’re unwilling to adapt to these changes, will cause you to have a minimalist lifespan. The end result, however, is intense firefights at both close and long range, with every player focused more on staying alive while completing their objective, rather than getting that logic-defying daredevil kill.

There are 10 classes to choose from, though some have little differences when compared to each other, considering the loadouts of each class can be changed by the player. The officer is considered the leader of the group, and is often equipped with a submachine gun and binoculars, capable of calling airstrikes from afar. The radioman basically serves as the officer’s sidekick, as it is impossible for an officer to make use of airstrikes without a radioman nearby. The rifleman is the most basic unit, and is the all-round class for those who just want to shoot somebody. The assault class excels at close combat, for he is usually equipped with a submachine gun and runs faster than the other classes. The support class is good for covering their squadmates in a variety of situations, usually using a combination of an automatic rifle, smoke grenades, and plenty of ammo. The engineer is usually armed with a bolt action rifle and explosive charges, and is good for carrying out missions that require certain objects to be destroyed. The demolitions man is very similar to the engineer, except he is instead armed with a rocket launcher. The machine-gunner is good for offering covering fire, though is very little help if accuracy is required. The sniper is, well, the sniper of the team. He uses a scoped rifle to pick off enemies at close range. All of these classes have customizable loadouts, which can make the differences between them go from very little to almost nonexistent.

One notable feature of the game is the voice acting. While each team may have the same voice actor for every player, the dialogue can often be engaging. A humorous torrent of curses ensues if a particularly jumpy soldier almost shoots his commander, mistaking him for the enemy. If running away from machinegun fire, your character may involuntarily emit a squeal of terror as a bullet zips within inches of their head. The dialogue is often used as a cue for certain events as well, such as the familiar scream of pain that seasoned players know all too well comes from the victim of a flamethrower, and is often considered the sign that close quarters combat may not be in their advantage at that time.

Granted, there are plenty of downsides to this game. With a complete lack of any single-player story mode or campaign, the only options you can choose to play are online competitive matches, with two teams of players pitted against each other, a cooperative mode, with a team of players set up against a team of AI players, and an offline “practice” mode, ideal for new players to learn the basics of the game while fighting AI players that can have an adjustable difficulty. At present there are only six maps and 10 game modes, so the scenery changes fairly little in your playthrough of the game.

All in all, the game offers a solid and exciting experience in multiplayer matches, and for the price of $20, is definitely worth the buy.

At a Glance:
Title: Day of Infamy
Price: $20
Available on: Steam
Link to Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/447820/Day_of_Infamy/