Blogmas!
December 2nd Game Review: Rust
Rust is a survival video game in development by Facepunch Studios for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux.
Rust pits players against each other in a harsh, open world environment with the sole goal being to survive. Animals, such as wolves and bears, represent a threat to new players, but the primary danger comes from other players. The player vs player combat is accomplished with bows, melee weapons and craftable guns. Bullets and other projectiles travel via a ballistic trajectory. There are multiple different types of bullets for each gun.
At the very early stage of development, Rust was just a clone of the very popular ARMA 2 mod, DayZ. The CEO of Facepunch Studios said about the game that “Rust started off as a DayZ clone. But then we decided that we are sick of fighting zombies. And can’t compete with the Arma island in terms of landmarks and towns”.
Following its alpha launch, regular updates were released daily adding new content to enjoy like new mechanics such as animals, armour and new guns etc. The main changes to the game occurred when the whole way to play the game changed not to long ago. The developers decided to change the whole thing up by adding a level system so the players couldn’t just craft items when they have the resources they would have to put time into the game and level up to unlock the items before crafting it. Shortly after this “level system” a new system was put into place called the component system which made the players have to find components in barrels and crates scattered around the giant randomly generated map. The final system that was put in place was the blueprint system. The blueprint system required players to find/make blueprints to “learn” how to make certain items. There were different levels of rarity in the forms of the blueprints which include: common, uncommon, rare and very rare.
Within the first few weeks of Rust’s alpha release it sold over 150,000 copies and compared to the very popular game Gary’s Mod which sold only 34,000 copies in the same amount of time that is quite a good turnout for two weeks into the alpha stage. The game also allows players to create skins that can be sold on the Steam Workshop and used in-game. The fact that Rust has this much connection with the audience is a major boost on their sales of the game and their popularity amongst the gaming community.
Rust has received mixed reviews through its alpha release, with many referring the unfinished state of the game (which I, as a player of Rust, strongly disagree with). In particular a writer for the magazine PC Gamer said “Rust was a great use of Early Access and even though, it’s far from finished, it’s ready to be played.” It was claimed to be “riddled with bugs” which, in Rust’s defence, is exactly what is to be expected in a game that is in the Alpha stage.
Matthew's Blog 