Hard West 2 is a turn-based tactical game, X-COM type, set in the American western where we will have to fight occult forces. This also brings an adventure dimension, allowing you to move freely in the environment between combat phases.
The game starts with a really comprehensive tutorial that guides the player step by step. During this chapter, we find ourselves on a train and we must defeat many enemies in order to reach the locomotive. Once this is reached, we meet the big bad (Mammon) who is in charge of what turns out to be a ghost train! This one is equipped with legs, like a millipede, and advances at a frantic pace...
On the program, three levels of difficulty: easy, difficult and nightmarish.
The tactical part takes up the fairly classic gameplay of the genre. That is to say that we have action points (AP) to spend for our actions. Each has a relatively high cost, especially since it is necessary for everything: moving, inflicting damage, using a consumable, activating a special skill. And our characters only have three APs! Depending on the distance, consumables or type of weapons, it is easy to spend them very quickly.
This is where the "Bravade" mode comes into play, a novelty of this opus. This unique mechanism allows you to recover all of your AP by killing an enemy (or a friend for that matter, even if it is advisable to avoid). With a little skill, it is possible to chain eliminations in an almost infinite way, especially since nothing prevents, between each reset of PA, to play other characters to facilitate transitions. When things combine well, the bravadoes are linked, making it possible to counterbalance the balance of forces (which is often to our disadvantage). In addition, it gives a welcome heroic side!
Another interesting feature is luck. This passive skill activates automatically when a character is hit or misses an action. This compensates for the annoying bad luck of tactical games where the character manages to put a bullet in the foot while the enemy is in front of him.
The adventure part, on the other hand, offers a global view of the environment. Even if the story necessarily has a guiding line, it's an opportunity to spend your gold at the merchants or to visit the doctor in order to restore your team (for a fee, of course). Secondary quests allow you to acquire consumables, weapons and bonus objects (jewelry) in order to improve the skills of one of the team members. Because the equipment is of course essential. During the missions, main objectives must be achieved, but also secondary objectives, which unlock a bonus in terms of money or equipment. Weapons come in four categories: handguns, long-barreled shotguns, sawed-off shotguns, and melee weapons. During the adventure, it will sometimes, even often, be necessary to possess certain objects. Some can be purchased from the merchant, others will be rewards offered during tactical missions.
We will also collect cards that will offer bonus effects. Only five cards can be activated, so choose which ones to equip carefully. It's up to each player to find the right combination to maximize the skills of each member of the team according to their way of playing. Knowing that the bonus provided is proportional to the value of his hand, according to the rules of poker.
Tactical missions are limited to four characters. Here too, you have to think carefully about who will be part of your team, with once again a choice, each one being able to have two weapons, two consumables and a jewel. As the adventure progresses, new acolytes will be recruited, who come to join the main character, Gin Carter, an outlaw. Each of our characters has a special skill that will unlock as the adventure progresses. Finally, the dialogues will increase the loyalty of your acolytes, which may prove necessary on certain quests.
Conclusion
To talk about my feelings about the game, it is really beautiful. Compared to the first opus, a big effort has been made to improve the graphic rendering and make the whole thing very pleasant, while keeping the characteristic touch. At first glance, a player of the first will be able to recognize the II. The soundtrack is adapted, it blends into the decor, so to speak, with a rhythm that adapts well to frantic combat. Finally, on the gameplay side, I haven't encountered any bugs, even though the game has only just been released. Only one downside that may put some of you off: like the first game, it's not easy, even in easy mode! But if, like me, you are regular customers of tactical games, go for it! For me, it's a "I buy with my eyes closed"!
