Insurgency: Sandstorm

Insurgency: Sandstorm is a unique Xbox shooter, and an absolute blast to play when you really get to grips with its core mechanics. While the shooting on offer here perhaps most resembles something like Rainbow Six: Siege or PUBG on console, Sandstorm carves out its own niche by offering authentic gunplay across a wide array of game modes, including plenty of co-op action for those who prefer some PvE gameplay. Its unforgiving shooting mechanics won't be for everyone, but Insurgency: Sandstorm rewards those who really learn how to play it, resulting in one of the most satisfying first-person s...

Insurgency: Sandstorm was a game that kind of hit me out of nowhere. I knew it was coming at the end of this year and I had intentions of checking it out, but once I finally sat down with it and had a few rounds with friends, time just slipped away. I’m probably still in the honeymoon period with the game, but I’m still getting a chuckle out of the Soldier of Fortune-esque dismemberment and the constant stream of tense firefights. I feel that this could take off in a major way if it finds its audience and would not be surprised to see Sandstorm grow in popularity if the development team can fi...

Insurgency: Sandstorm isn’t the prettiest shooter of 2018, but the places where it excels are the places that matter most. Its gunplay is superb, its arsenal is exemplary, and the maps and modes are serviceable enough to facilitate its memorably frantic and immersive FPS combat.

Eclipsing blockbuster military shooters on a fraction of the budget.

Insurgency Sandstorm offers a more hardcore experience for players who want it but is still accessible enough for newcomers to the franchise.

With our reinforcements depleted and the enemy firmly entrenched in its defensive positions, the outcome of this battle looks bleak. Rather than desperately charging headlong into the fire zone like lambs to the slaughter, before we respawn our commander urges the squad to hang back as he coordinates one last-ditch attempt to capture the objective. After flanking the control point with his observer to find a good vantage point, he orders gunship support to pick off exposed snipers and drive the remaining enemies indoors. The rest of us pop smoke grenades to cover our movement before infiltrati...

Some nagging issues prevent Insurgency: Sandstorm from earning a pristine Medal of Honor, but it's an easy shoe-in for a Silver Star

Thing is, the dirt's getting kind of old. I know I'm never going to play enough for the good times to outnumber the bad. Certainly not compared to dedicated players, who already dominate the servers. Ultimately, I've only got so much patience for games where the victor is nearly always whoever doesn't get spotted first. There's a reason I haven't played Plunkbat in months. If you're into your realism though (or just good noises) Insurgency: Sandstorm is worth a shout.

A very good game that needs some amount of balancing and polishing to really shine.

Insurgency: Sandstorm needs a bit more polish to be the outstanding sequel it should be but if you overlook the issues you'll find a fairly enjoyable multiplayer title.

A solid shooter that offers the series’ best intense, tactical thrills, but can’t help but feel behind the times in both theme and looks.

We tell you, it’s a good game! It’s not average! It might have some problems here and there, but you have to admit it is a “Good” game.