Multiplayer Modes
Now that the multiplayer component for Ghost has been revealed, it’s time to take a closer look at the unique game modes that Swingin’ Ape has introduced to the game. Ghost will boast the usual collection of multiplayer modes, such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and King of the Hill. However, even these game modes will have a unique twist to them, to make them fit the theme of StarCraft and to inspire more strategic play. In addition to traditional game types and StarCraft-flavored variants, Ghost will also introduce an entirely new game mode that fits perfectly in the setting – Capture the Base.
Capture the Flag
In Capture the Base mode, two teams of players square off on opposite sides of a simple map. Floating in the middle of this map is an empty Terran factory. Terran buildings can be captured and taken in the StarCraft strategy game, and in Ghost, they make for a perfect competitive multiplayer environment.
The goal of Capture the Base is to fly into the Terran factory and gain control of it in order to fly it back to your start point. The team that holds the base for a set amount of time wins the scenario. Of course, doing so is much easier said than done. First, you need to get into the floating factory, which you can only do by flying into it with a Grizzly fighter-bomber. Once inside, you’ll need to locate the central control room and maneuver the base back to your side. But while you’re doing this, the other team could be fighting a pitched battle within the factory trying to wrest control of it from you. And even if you should manage to bring it back to your base, the other team could always storm the factory and steal it back from you.
The initial Capture the Base map for play at the Electronic Entertainment Expo features several of the StarCraft vehicles. There are two Grizzlies – one for each side – which can be used to fly into the floating base and utilized for air support as well. Also available for use on each side is a Siege Tank, Stinger two-person jeep, and Vulture. Using these vehicles, players can hunt down members of the other team and protect the base once it’s captured.
Victory won’t automatically go to the team that first captures the base. Instead, one team must hold the base for a set number of minutes, which gives the other team a chance to take it back. However, the number of minutes you must hold the base need not be cumulative. That means teams can keep stealing it from each other in pitched battles that rage across the sky as the base is tugged back and forth between both sides of the map. Once a team accumulates the total necessary minutes – whether that’s at one time or over several instances – that team is declared the winner, and another exciting game of Capture the Base can commence once again.
