Splash Damage release new FPS Dirty Bomb into Open Beta

A new, potential eSports title has gone into open beta, made by the studio behind Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Splash Damage.

Currently available in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil - with the studio working furiously to add more countries to that list - the game has been billed as a throwback to the FPS games of the nineties.

The opening cinematic encourages you to run and gun in a fast-paced, team-based game, designed to challenge even the most seasoned shooter veteran, even going as far as to not include controller support or aim assist. The team are hoping that the game can be made to feel welcome in the eSports community and after taking a look at how it plays, it's hard not to see why.

In the press release, CEO of Splash Damage, Paul Wedgewood stated...

“This marks a huge achievement in our studio’s history. Dirty Bomb is our first fully owned IP on PC, and that has allowed us to make exactly the game we wanted, as a studio, we are dedicated to creating the most entertaining, competitive and collaborative experiences. Dirty Bomb is a showcase of this and of our partnership and collaboration with Nexon. With more than two years of testing by thousands of our fans through closed Alpha and Beta, Dirty Bomb is a game of firsts for us and the industry."

The game has learned lessons from previously successful shooters and implemented them, in some cases, to greater effect. There are currently twelve unique mercenaries to be chosen from, and with a regular rotation of trial choices, the game seems to value the variety that goes into each match. Due to that, you'll rarely come across the same flow of battle as your last. There are currently two game modes - Objective, where you must either succeed on one of the five maps' objectives or cause the other team to fail, and Stopwatch - where each side has a chance to set the best time for the objective. A third mode, Execution, is also on it's way, pitting teams to be the first to six out of ten wins with the same principle as the first two modes. Execution is designed for more rounds, but quicker matches, similar, in part, to Call of Duty's Search and Defuse.

Different loadouts are available by either levelling up and earning coins or cases. These are earned by doing the daily missions, or paying for ones you want with real money. Each loadout card for your merc comes with primary, secondary and melee options, as well as three augments which function as perks. These perks include 'No fall damage', as well as 'increase enemy noise'; you can even prevent mounted turrets from overheating too quickly.

The mercenaries come with different stats and classes, with subtleties on how each different merc performs. These focus on health, speed, defusion time and unique skills that affect the flow of battle.

You can play the Dirty Bomb Open Beta right now by either downloading it from Steam or grabbing it directly from the website. There's no reason why you shouldn't take part and you absolutely, totally should. We'll be watching this one closely in the coming months.