Space Siege Multiplayer Preview

GameSpot brings us a closer look at Space Siege’s multiplayer component, which apparently won’t allow us to play through the official campaign cooperatively.

Multiplayer isn’t a separate campaign, really, but rather a series of battles that act more like a challenge mode. You begin by creating a character in a large cargo hold inside the Tachibana, distributing your skill points, selecting cybernetic implants, and upgrading your weaponry. Although Seth Walker starts out with nothing more than a machine gun and a can-do attitude in the single-player mode, you have full access to upgrades in multiplayer. Gas Powered Games likens it to starting out in World of Warcraft as a level 70 character.

Of course, many of the most potent combat and engineering upgrades are tethered to cybernetic implants, the crux of the single-player game. It all starts with a simple cybernetic eye, and then it’s a slippery slope to the point where you transform your character into mechanical war machine with cybernetic legs, arms, torso, and even a brain. In the single-player game, the people will react to your deformed appearance if you choose to sacrifice your own humanity to save the human race; you’ll even hear screams as you install your implants. Staying completely human does have a few rewards, such as 50 percent damage reduction as a discipline bonus. But in the challenge mode that is multiplayer, cybernetic implants certainly make the game easier.

That’s really disappointing.