Anthem Hands-On Beta Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

4. Combat Is VERY Repetitive, Doesn't Utilise Flight Mechanics & You Overheat In Seconds

Speaking of crippling the experience, the majority of your time is spent holding both the triggers, occasionally unleashing a special or two with an additional button. The constant whir of your controller's motors becomes as monotonous as what's on screen, as though graphics are gorgeous and pyrotechnic explosions fire off in all directions, you can't get around the fact that all you're doing is aiming at a target, and firing.

It's baffling, because the game has a brilliant flight/manoeuvre system ready to go, yet aside from optionally using it to retreat or attack from above, no enemies or bosses require flight to take down.

Yes it's a beta, and hopefully there'll be something where teams have to coordinate attacks or you're pursued through the skies, dodging laser beams to return fire at the right time... but why not put this up front, in the one thing everyone is going to try?

Speaking of flight, you bizarrely "overheat" in what must be 10 seconds. I imagine it's so you gradually unlock "+5% flight" bonuses for tens of hours of game time, but why limit the one unique idea the design team have implemented?

You can fly through waterfalls or dive down to reset the meter, but this doesn't help during combat, and even when going from A to B you end up landing over and over, just to refill and take off again.

Let Anthem's flight be its main gameplay hook, and at least we'd have something that differentiates meaningfully from the competition.