The appeals of first-person shooting and real-time strategy seem at odds: in the former, you want a boots-on-the-ground experience of combat, while in the latter, the draw is to the bird’s eye view of the battlefield commander. Executive Assault 2 is offering both, and it’ll launch into early access on Steam this fall.
Executive Assault 2 is the follow-up to the first Executive Assault, created by a one-man development studio, Robert Hesketh. Now, Hesketh is moving the action from the planetary surface of the first game to interplanetary space, and the trailer he’s put together is undeniably impressive.
You can see the elements of the game seamlessly melding together: first, building a space station that houses a robotics construction facility, and then fighters and capital ships manoeuvring into place as a battle begins. Then, it’s straight into first-person mode, as either a robot marine or an interceptor pilot. In Direct Control mode, players can swap between any of the units under their command.
The scale on display is stunning, even between capital ships – in the final shot, a supermassive dreadnought looms overhead, ready to swallow up a cruiser where a frantic battle had been unfolding on board.
Here’s the trailer, so you can check it out for yourself.
In Tactical Mode, players will assume the role of a powerful CEO whose goal is to reduce the number of rival CEOs in the solar system by building armies of robots to assassinate the competition.
Executive Assault 2 will launch in Steam’s early access in October, and it should be exciting to watch the game come together. Hesketh’s first game, which you can find on Steam, has a ‘very positive’ rating based on more than 1,100 player reviews.
Be sure to check out our list of the best new PC games of 2018 for more great ideas on what to play next.