Fortnite – Gameplay & Screenshots Released

 

New gameplay footage and screenshots have been released for the Free to Play, cooperative, sandbox, survival third-person shooter Fortnite, made by Gears of War developer Epic Games. First revealed way back in December 2011, the game sees you exploring the procedurally generated world, gathering resources, and crafting weapons and defences in order to hold off the hostile monsters that appear during a strange phenomenon known as ‘The Storm’. Your group of heroes have lost their homeland to this “mysterious darkness”, and intend to reclaim and rebuild it. The developers intimate that there will be “extravagant forts”, “insane weapons” and much to loot as you push back ‘The Storm’ and try to save the world.

The majority of your surroundings can be destroyed for resources and used to create structures and craft weapons. There isn’t a huge amount of detailed information about the gameplay currently, but the various articles and videos suggest that the core objective is to protect a beacon that is placed prior to the enemies spawning.

The gameplay video illustrates the base building and combat elements, and it certainly looks creative and vibrant as the players place walls and stairs, creating reasonably complex looking structures around the colourful, eccentric environments. Laying down traps and holding off the waves of monsters gives off a decidedly ‘Orcs Must Die’ vibe, although Fortnite’s combat looks like it could have a deal more complexity – ranging from shooting with more ‘conventional’ weapons and lobbing the occasional grenade, to slicing and dicing with luminous swords (and scythes, apparently).

While the game is Free to Play, lead designer Darren Sugg assured Eurogamer that the game would not be ‘pay to win’:

“If you don’t have any money and want to earn the stuff by playing, you can do that. If you don’t have a lot of time but have some money, there’s ways to acquire things in that way.”

Of course, the credibility of this statement will remain unsure until the game’s release. Other suggested features include multiple campaigns, as well as PVP gameplay.

Fortnite is currently being developed exclusively for the PC, although there is a possibility of the game being made available for other platforms in the future. The game was billed for a 2014 release, however a press release indicates that an official release could be later:

“some players will be let into the game this year, with even more players in 2015.”

You can sign up to be in the Alpha at Fortnite.com.