Due Process – Preview (PAX East 2018)
One of the games that we had the chance to check out was the previously unannounced tactical shooter from Annapurna Interactive called Due Process. Cut from the same cloth as Rainbow Six Siege, Due Process will have you and your squad planning out how to attack or defend an area and then, for better or worse, executing said plan.
The game is broken up into six rounds where your team will attack and defend three times each. When attacking, you will start out each round in the back of a truck very reminiscent of a S.W.A.T. truck. Here you will decide what weapons and supplies you will be taking with you each round as you attack the building. Your supplies are limited so you must decide based on the layout of the compound you’re attacking each round what you’ll actually take with you. Using a door charge at the wrong time could cause you to have none available later when you need it more. How you attack is entirely up to you. Before the round starts you will look at a map and plan your strategy accordingly. You can bust down doors and walls, cut the power, or just go in guns blazing. Though… we wouldn’t recommend the last option.
On defense you are tasked with deciding how you feel the enemy will try and breech your stronghold and plan for their attack. Miscalculating how they eventually will prey on your location will bring you and your team to a quick and untimely death.
The maps in Due Process are procedurally generated. Developer Giant Enemy Crab decided to go in this direction in order to keep players from benefiting from “map knowledge” giving them an unfair advantage over new or less tenured players.
One of the standout ideas implemented in the game comes during the planning stages. Teams can not only talk about their strategy they can also write directly on the map as if it were a playbook. Being able to do this helps the team to visualize what everyone’s job will be when the truck opens allowing the attackers to put their plan into action while the defenders hope and pray they prepared accordingly.
In a crowded FPS genre, new IP’s will need some way to stand out in a Call of Duty/Rainbow Six dominated world. In the early stages of the game it appears as though Due Process is up for the challenge. Currently only announced for PC and with no release date ready to talk about, information on Due Process appears to be scarce. It looks as though right now the only way to get any time with the game will be on the convention circuit this year. Make sure to keep this one on your radar.
