Insurgency: Sandstorm
Insurgency: Sandstorm is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game developed by New World Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is a sequel to the 2014 video game "Insurgency". Set in an unnamed fictional Middle Eastern region, the game depicts a conflict between two factions: "Security", loosely based on various world militaries (specifically NATO forces, United States SOCOM, Iraqi Armed Forces, Afghan Armed Forces, Syrian Armed Forces, Kurdish YPG and YPJ, and private military companies), and "Insurgents", loosely based on various paramilitary groups (specifically ISIL, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and implied Russian mercenaries). "Insurgency : Sandstorm" was officially announced in February 2016, for Microsoft Windows. It was released on December 12, 2018, for Windows, with a delayed release for console, macOS and Linux builds of the game. In December 2019, it was announced that the Linux and macOS builds of the game were cancelled. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions went through various delays and were released on September 29, 2021. These versions are also playable on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, with updates scheduled to release sometime in 2022 to take advantage of the next-gen hardware. "Insurgency: Sandstorm" received critical  acclaim for its realistic gameplay, level design, sound design, atmosphere, graphics, and fluid animations, but was criticized for its technical issues and optimization, with some lamenting the cancellation of the planned story campaign. Gameplay. Similar to "Insurgency" and "Day of Infamy", "Insurgency: Sandstorm" features a minimal HUD, lacking a health bar, ammunition count, or minimap. The "Insurgency" series has "slow", tactical, realistic gameplay, with moments of intensity. Weapons are accurate and extremely deadly, placing an emphasis on teamwork. Like its predecessors, most game modes in "Sandstorm" do not feature instant respawns; instead, dead players must spectate and wait for their  team to complete an objective in order to respawn. Improvements from "Insurgency" include updated visuals, fire support, character customization, cosmetics, a player progression system, larger maps, and drivable technicals. Players are separated into two teams: Security and Insurgents. Security primarily uses modernized weaponry originating from NATO countries, such as the M4 carbine, G36K, L85A2, and MP7, while Insurgents use a mix of older and cheaper weaponry, ranging from Eastern Bloc weapons like the AK-74, TOZ-194, and PKM to outdated World War II-era weapons like the Welrod and the M1 Garand. Players can choose from eight classes with varying  armaments: Rifleman, Breacher, Advisor, Demolitions, Marksman, Gunner, Observer, and Commander. Players have limited supply points to spend on weapons and equipment. Players can modify their weapons with attachments, such as weapon sights, laser sights, bipods, muzzle attachments, suppressors, and foregrips, with additional attachments available for specific weapons and classes, such as underbarrel explosive grenade launchers for Demolitions. Gas masks, night-vision goggles, rocket launchers, plastic explosives, and various types of grenades are available as equipment. Players may also change their armor and carrier, which affects their survivability and available ammunition and equipment respectively, though both impact weight and movement speed . Returning from "Day of Infamy" is the fire support system, which may be requested by a Commander if a friendly Observer is within 10 meters of them. Security can call for close air support, such as an A-10 strafe or for an AH-64 Apache or UH-60 Black Hawk to circle the area and attack visible enemies, though both of these helicopters can be shot down by enemy rocket launchers or anti-materiel rifles. Insurgents can call for an improvised drone strike, rocket artillery, an IED drone that seeks enemies and explodes when in range of one, or a chemical gas  strike that kills anyone in its radius without a gas mask on. Both teams also have access to both explosive and smoke artillery; Security fires fewer rounds with greater precision, while Insurgents fire more rounds with less precision. "Sandstorm" also includes "Limited Time Playlists", temporary casual modes that are often based on existing modes with significant gameplay-changing modifications, such as "Running in the 90s" (weapon sights are disabled and firearms point forward at all times, making gameplay similar to older shooters such as "Counter-Strike" and "Unreal Tournament"), "Team Deathmatch" (both teams fight to gain a certain amount of  kills with wider loadouts and instant respawns), "Hot Potato" (live fragmentation grenades are dropped upon death), and "Task Force 666" (Frenzy on night maps only; players regain health by killing enemies). These modes are also available for custom servers. Development. "Insurgency: Sandstorm" was first announced on February 23, 2016, on New World Interactive's website. The game was confirmed to be on Unreal Engine 4 instead of Source like "Insurgency" and "Day of Infamy". The fire support system from "Day of Infamy" was confirmed to return. Drivable vehicles were also confirmed, a first for the series. Lead designer Michael Tsarouhas  aimed to "find a balance" between military simulator games such as "ArmA" and "Squad", and action games such as "Call of Duty", to provide both action and realism in gameplay. Early in development, "Sandstorm" had a planned single-player and cooperative story campaign, described as focusing on "a squad of characters as they face increasingly challenging chapters, from the invasion of Iraq in 2003 through the insurrection period and leading to the present day." A trailer for the campaign was shown at E3 2017. The campaign was later canceled in January 2018, with lead designer Michael Tsarouhas explaining in an  announcement that it was canceled due to "high production requirements and our commitment to deliver to our fans in 2018", noting that the initial plan to set the game in an actual world conflict was restricting and "admittedly, sensitive", and that the conflict depicted in-game was fictionalized, but drew inspiration from real conflicts. The announcement also stated that the campaign would be "considered again at a later date". Release. "Insurgency: Sandstorm" was released for Windows on December 12, 2018, through Steam. Linux and macOS releases were planned, but they were both cancelled in December 2019. While PlayStation 4 and  Xbox One releases of "Sandstorm" were announced, they have gone through various delays. They were initially planned to be released around the same time as the Windows release, but their release was repeatedly delayed due to development issues. Since the initial release of "Sandstorm" on Windows, the console releases of the game have been delayed to 2019, early 2020, and August 2020. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases, as well as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S releases, were released on September 29, 2021. Since its release, the game has had several updates adding new maps, game  modes, cosmetic items, weapons, and equipment, including returning content from "Insurgency" and "Day of Infamy". Since the release of update 1.7 ""Operation: Nightfall"" in June 2020, major content updates have been called "Operations", similar to "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege". ""Operation: Nightfall"" also included paid cosmetic items and weapon skins as downloadable content, a first for the "Insurgency" series. Update 1.9, ""Operation: Cold Blood"", was developed from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and was released in December 2020. Update 1.10, ""Operation: Exodus"", released on May 18, 2021. The game is currently on update 1.11, ""Operation: Warlord"", released on November  16, 2021. Reception. "Insurgency: Sandstorm" received acclaim from critics for its realistic gameplay and atmospheric sound design. "VG247" rated "Sandstorm" as "one of the best multiplayer games of the year". "Sandstorm" received an 88/100 from "IGN", writing "[it] nails the balance between realism and fun", though it criticized unclear map boundaries. "PCGamer" rated the game 85/100, calling it "terrifying", and further expressing "I’ll never forget the screaming". It received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. "Sandstorm"'s optimization received some criticism, with "Worth Playing" writing "In the heat of an intense battle, your processor will also put  out some heat." A more critical review came from "PCGamesN", who felt the game was "behind the times in both theme and looks" with "nameless locations with nameless conflicts", lamenting the removal of the planned story campaign, which would have featured "two Iraqi women crossing a war-torn land"—"It’s a shame to miss out on a potentially refreshing perspective." Controversies. Update 1.9, ""Operation: Cold Blood"", included a major overhaul of the co-op mode weapon availability which, prior to the change, allowed each faction to use the opposing faction's weapons; the update removed this, standardizing the weapon loadouts  with the Versus modes. The community response to this change was very negative, leading New World Interactive to undo the change and release an apology on Steam. Update 1.9.1, the ""Lunar New Year Updat"e", included two Chinese rifles (QBZ-97 and QTS-11), but was also meant to include two Chinese-themed DLC cosmetics for Security and Insurgents, the latter being a bright red changshan. The planned cosmetics were harshly criticized by the community, as they were deemed to be too unrealistic and clashed with the established artstyle, with many negatively comparing their appearances to character skins in "Fortnite". Following the backlash , New World Interactive stated they would not release the cosmetics; update 1.9.1 released on February 2, 2021, without them.