PREVIEW: Phantom class in ‘Huxley’

I don’t care what “Huxley” used to be like, or what promises the original developer made about the MMOFPS game that are no longer true. None of that matters now, because I got my hands on the long-delayed title at E3, and I can’t wait to play it again.

Before we could play, though, we suffered through a brief session of “Alliance of Valiant Arms.” If you want that preview, click here.

When it came time to actually play “Huxley,” MMO Life’s chief editor Brendon and I noticed something: each machine held one profile with one character. Mine was the stealth-based Phantom — a type of class I typically never play in MMOs, but did so on two separate occasions at E3. The other time was when I played the team-based shooter “Global Agenda.” Read about that here.

Before we began our deathmatch session, I had a small window of opportunity to customize my character. Like my session with “AVA,” I didn’t bother. Who knows how bad I can unintentionally gimp my character…

Immediately after the gameplay began I started familiarizing myself with the controls and class-specific abilities of “Huxley’s” Phantom class. I had stealth, an improved sniper shot, and the ability to create a statuesque clone of myself. The tools weren’t new to me, but the idea of using them in conjunction with fast-paced “Quake” or “Unreal” shooter gameplay was.

Sitting in stealth mode while picking off other players was easy; escaping their close-ranged weapons when they discovered my location wasn’t. Using stealth didn’t always work, as their rapid-fire machine guns would occasionally clip my character’s body, taking chunks of health away. Eventually I became more familiar with my enemies, as well as my own abilities, and escaping became easier, but it never felt overpowered.

The most memorable part of my time playing “Huxley” was when I discovered how to properly toy with enemies using the decoy ability. I’d convince my opponents it was actually me sniping from a particular location, then as soon as they caught on I’d place the clone in the usual spot then hide in stealth behind it. When an Enforcer or another class would sneak behind the clone to initiate a melee kill, I’d emerge from stealth with a melee kill of my own.

With only eight of us in the small arena, the action was fast, but not overwhelming. The speed felt just right, like a customizable class-based game of “Unreal Tournament III.” By no coincidence, that’s the engine the title’s built upon.

I only had five minutes of hands-on time with “Huxley,” but I enjoyed every second. I’d play more of the online shooter right now if I could, but alas, I do not have a key to the closed beta. Until then, be thankful my Phantom isn’t ruining your kill death ratio.