Summary
The premise of Hood is great, but it fails to effectively deliver those great ideas. While the developers are actively working on fixing the game, I’m not sure the community will stick around long enough to see those changes implemented.
Developer – Sumo Digital
Publisher – Focus Home Interactive
Platforms – Playstation, Xbox, PC
When I was younger, I used to love renting the VHS tapes Robin Hood and Men In Tights. Even though they are completely different genres, they introduced me to Robin Hood and I enjoyed them both. I have always hoped for a decent Robin Hood game. I guess I’ll still be waiting as this game will require tweaks to be worth playing. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the community will stick around long enough to see those changes implemented.
The premise of Hood is great, but it fails to effectively deliver on any of the ideas. There are 4 unique characters each with their own ability set, but unfortunately the characters are unbalanced. The game has a stealth system, but the stealth just isn’t worth using. There is a customization system for each character but it is limited and provides little difference between them. The maps are fairly detailed, but there are just too few of them. In reality you can experience everything within the first hour and it provides little motivation to keep going.
The game is simple in concept. Two teams of 4 try to steal the treasure that is locked up somewhere on the map. To open the area where the treasure is located, you need the key that the Sheriff holds. Both teams try to haul the treasure away to an extraction point and steal the gold for themselves. The map is littered with AI controlled enemies that are hostile to both teams. If you are spotted, the area is alerted of your presence and goes on lockdown.
One issue is if you perform 90% of the tasks and enemies can do the final step and win. It just feels unfair and unbalanced. Once you take the treasure to an extraction point, your team has to lift the treasure away. This task is represented by a bar with several notches. If you get to the very last notch but the enemy finishes the last notch, they win. You could lead every single task of the game but still lose in the matter of a few seconds. You still get experience and gold for completing tasks, but the winner should be based on overall tasks completed.
Now to discuss the four characters to choose from. They are Robin, John, Marianne, and Tooke. Robin is your standard sniper archer who can kill from a great range with a single headshot. John is your heavy-duty melee attacker who excels at carrying the chest objective. Marianne is more of a stealthy thief character with faster attacks. Finally, Tooke is a medium-range character and provides some support. From the start you can tell who the crowd favors – you run into a lot of Mariannes and Johns.
Marianne is just so versatile with her speed and utilization of multi-angle assassinations that it’s not worth choosing Robin. Robin has very limited ammo and requires a headshot to take out an enemy with speed. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but because of the latency and matchmaking issues it’s much harder. John is the clear choice to have speed with extracting treasure and crushing characters in melee combat. His attacks are so strong and the ability to wrench faster and move faster carrying treasure are really important. Until they balance these characters the game will just be full of Johns.
The final point that I will talk about is the stealth mechanic of the game. I don’t know about everyone else’s experience with matches but stealth was mostly neglected. Towards the end of the game where it becomes basically one massive brawl. I thought it would be cool to play as Robin and pick off targets, but usually you just get in and get out as fast as possible.
While it seems like I hate Hood: Outlaws & Legends, I recognize it has a chance to be a decent game. It is built on a decent foundation, but has quite a few issues that need fixing first to really shine. The best news is that the developers are actively working on fixing the game. They have been providing steady updates since the launch. They have listened to a lot of what the community has suggested, but it will take time for everything. I just hope by the time they do, it isn’t too late!
