ItsJakey
2024
Fight, die, enter a code, and die again. Super Earth and its elite defense force, the Helldivers return and this time with a new camera angel and myriads of bugs and automatons for players to mow down and be mowed down by.
“Helldivers 2” brings players to distant, dangerous worlds and asks them to do one, simple thing: spread “managed democracy”. After a quick tutorial familiarizing players with their weaponry, stratagems, and of course the salute emote, junior Helldivers are quickly thrust against one of the two familiar foes that players of the original will know well: the Terminids and the Automatons. Dropping into an open map area, players are tasked with completing one (or several) of the objectives spread across the map. These tasks can vary from finding codes and initiating and ICBM launch to destroying bug nests and bot manufacturing sites. Against the never-ending hordes of acid spewing bugs and rocket-toting robots, the Helldiver weapon of choice is not their trusty assault rifle but is their stratagems. These stratagems are specialized tools, weapons, and defenses that players can call in at any time, as long as they can keep their nerve when entering in the various command codes reminiscent of the classic Konami code. These various stratagems bring a level of customization to the often repetitive missions.
Speaking of customization, players are rewarded with four primary forms of currency within “Helldivers 2”: requisition slips, medals, super credits, and samples. The first two are awarded upon mission completion and act as the primary vectors for players to gain new weapons, armor, and stratagems. Samples are only found during mission and only count when players collect them and successfully extract once they have completed their main mission objective. Extraction is completely optional (as not all Helldivers are destined to survive enemy contact) but it does provide some bonus XP and any samples players collected. The last of the four currencies, Super Credits, is the premium currency that can be purchased through an in-game store or found when out scavenging on missions. This premium currency gives players access to rotating market of armors that can be purchased with said credits. These super credits can also be spent to unlock the premium “Warbond”, the paid version of the standard progression system that has special weapons, armor, and other bonuses. Promisingly, Super Credits are fairly common and players can find that they have enough to purchase the premium warbond within a regular amount of playtime.
Within “Helldivers 2” overwhelming violence is something wholly welcome: a tongue-in-cheek, satirical comedy. Bolstering players with patriotic propaganda and a little (semi-threatening) motivation, “Helldivers 2” brings to mind the same style of dark comedy as 80’s classic Starship Troopers. In other words, Arrowheads Studios leaned in to the absurd violence and crazy ideas that are needed for this type of galactic struggle to be enjoyable. With a healthy array of explosives, drop-pods, and constant friendly fire, players are encouraged to play fast-and-loose and enjoy their time as they live, fight, and die for Super Earth.
“Helldivers 2” brings players to distant, dangerous worlds and asks them to do one, simple thing: spread “managed democracy”. After a quick tutorial familiarizing players with their weaponry, stratagems, and of course the salute emote, junior Helldivers are quickly thrust against one of the two familiar foes that players of the original will know well: the Terminids and the Automatons. Dropping into an open map area, players are tasked with completing one (or several) of the objectives spread across the map. These tasks can vary from finding codes and initiating and ICBM launch to destroying bug nests and bot manufacturing sites. Against the never-ending hordes of acid spewing bugs and rocket-toting robots, the Helldiver weapon of choice is not their trusty assault rifle but is their stratagems. These stratagems are specialized tools, weapons, and defenses that players can call in at any time, as long as they can keep their nerve when entering in the various command codes reminiscent of the classic Konami code. These various stratagems bring a level of customization to the often repetitive missions.
Speaking of customization, players are rewarded with four primary forms of currency within “Helldivers 2”: requisition slips, medals, super credits, and samples. The first two are awarded upon mission completion and act as the primary vectors for players to gain new weapons, armor, and stratagems. Samples are only found during mission and only count when players collect them and successfully extract once they have completed their main mission objective. Extraction is completely optional (as not all Helldivers are destined to survive enemy contact) but it does provide some bonus XP and any samples players collected. The last of the four currencies, Super Credits, is the premium currency that can be purchased through an in-game store or found when out scavenging on missions. This premium currency gives players access to rotating market of armors that can be purchased with said credits. These super credits can also be spent to unlock the premium “Warbond”, the paid version of the standard progression system that has special weapons, armor, and other bonuses. Promisingly, Super Credits are fairly common and players can find that they have enough to purchase the premium warbond within a regular amount of playtime.
Within “Helldivers 2” overwhelming violence is something wholly welcome: a tongue-in-cheek, satirical comedy. Bolstering players with patriotic propaganda and a little (semi-threatening) motivation, “Helldivers 2” brings to mind the same style of dark comedy as 80’s classic Starship Troopers. In other words, Arrowheads Studios leaned in to the absurd violence and crazy ideas that are needed for this type of galactic struggle to be enjoyable. With a healthy array of explosives, drop-pods, and constant friendly fire, players are encouraged to play fast-and-loose and enjoy their time as they live, fight, and die for Super Earth.