Laserforce Explained, Part 2a: Game Modes
At its core, Laserforce is a live-action game in which players compete for the highest score in each session, either for themselves or for their team. A multitude of game modes are offered, and each one has its own unique set of objectives. Shooting at an opponent with your blaster between one and three times (the exact number being dependent on your skill level) will earn you points. In some of these modes, players will be eliminated if they are either hit enough times or receive a direct hit from a special weapon. However, they all have one thing in common: the first player (or team) to fulfill the victory condition(s) will always win. To be honest, though, most of the modes apart from the standard individual and team-based deathmatches are seldom used outside of Party Nights and other special offers, but it's nice to know that they are still on offer as of now.
Individual and Team games are the simplest of all. In the former, whoever scores the most points before the timer runs out will win. Also, in a team game, the winning team is the one which scores the most points, but it may not necessarily have the highest-scoring individual player. The latter mode supports up to seven teams, and goes by the name of Partners if more than two teams are present. Additional points can be scored by hitting a glowing target three consecutive times, although this can happen only once per player (and in team games, only on targets not of the same color as that player's team). Moreover, once per game, players can control a mechanical prop called a Warbot by shooting at it several times with their blaster; whenever this occurs, the Warbot will score points on their behalf for the next minute. Finally, at higher skill levels, players can hit their own teammates, and in addition to being stunned (i.e. unable to fire) will lose some points in the process. There is even a Masters version of the Individual game type, intended mainly for tournaments, in which all players are at the same skill level (standard level 6), but Warbots and Invulnerability (details of which will be shown in an upcoming post) are not used.
Uber (referred to as "Supercharge" on the official site) versions of both individual and team game modes are available. The main difference is that the pace of the game is much faster than it normally is - for example, players are stunned for half as long as they normally would when they are hit - while an Uber Team game is limited to exactly two teams (red and blue instead of the usual red and green). Moreover, each special ability costs the same number of points regardless of how often it was previously used, whereas in other modes, it usually becomes more difficult to obtain after each use (and even then, they can only be used against players whose level is at least equal to that of whoever activated them).
Shadows mode (again, available as an individual or team-based game type) is different from the other modes on offer in that it emphasizes stealth and strategy. In this mode, players' equipment will only be fully lit if they are being targeted using a missile or whenever they are attacking a fixed target. All players can switch from "shot mode" (in which they can fire normal shots or high-powered missiles, and their equipment is dimly lit) to "missile mode" (which only allows for the use of faster-firing missiles, and causes a player's equipment to go dark) or vice versa at will during the game. In addition, it always takes a single direct hit for a player to be stunned, and a missile will stun the victim for longer than a normal shot would. There is even an Extreme version of this mode, in which all players are in missile mode for the whole game; as such, it's even more challenging than the regular Shadows mode. In fact, every Shadows game I have played so far was of the Extreme variation, which is unsurprising considering its greater popularity.
Gladiator and Highlander are even more challenging in that, unlike most other modes, it is possible for a player (or a team) to be eliminated from the game while it is still in progress, and as such, the game will end immediately if all but one player or team is eliminated before the time limit is reached. This occurs when all lives have been expended through being hit by enemy fire (in Gladiator) or when they are hit by a missile (in Highlander). The main difference between these modes is in the rule set: although Warbots are not used in either of these modes, Gladiator forgoes special abilities altogether, and in that mode, players start with between 15 and 30 lives depending on their current skill level (the higher the level, the fewer lives they will start with) and gain lives by zapping opponents and static targets. On the other hand, Highlander starts out slowly, but becomes faster-paced over time, making it feel even more intense in the last few minutes; moreover, eliminating another player with a missile will cause the attacking player to collect the full score and special points that their victim had accumulated prior to elimination. Finally, activating a shield in a Highlander game will provide protection from incoming missiles until either 10 seconds have elapsed or the player using it is reactivated, although the cost for triggering this ability increases from 5 special points to 30 special points over the course of a mission. While I have never played any Gladiator matches yet, I have been quite successful in Highlander, scoring lots of points before either being eliminated or running out of time.
Timewarp mostly follows normal rules (minus the Warbots) with the exception that each player has a fuse attached to them, and higher-level players not only start out with shorter fuses, but can't extend them as much as lower-level players. However, regardless of rank, any player whose fuse runs out completely will be eliminated. To delay (or even avoid) this untimely end, players can rewind their fuse at the rate of 1 second per special point by holding down the trigger while they are active; however, if a player does this while they are deactivated, they will pause their timer (using up 1 special point every 2 seconds) until they either expend all their special points or are reactivated. In addition, a player can fast-forward an opponent's timer by obtaining the equivalent of a missile lock on them, subtracting 4 seconds from the victim for every second the missile lock lasts until it is broken or the victim runs out of time. Finally, if a player has more than 15 special points, holding down the trigger while up will cause a time-warp, for each second of which their timer is rewound by 2 seconds, whereas their opponents' timers are fast-forwarded by 1 second, until the player who activated it either uses up all their special points or is deactivated.
In addition to these game modes, many others are offered, but I have already described enough of them to realize that this post should be split into two parts. The remaining modes will be described in the next post.
Uber (referred to as "Supercharge" on the official site) versions of both individual and team game modes are available. The main difference is that the pace of the game is much faster than it normally is - for example, players are stunned for half as long as they normally would when they are hit - while an Uber Team game is limited to exactly two teams (red and blue instead of the usual red and green). Moreover, each special ability costs the same number of points regardless of how often it was previously used, whereas in other modes, it usually becomes more difficult to obtain after each use (and even then, they can only be used against players whose level is at least equal to that of whoever activated them).
Shadows mode (again, available as an individual or team-based game type) is different from the other modes on offer in that it emphasizes stealth and strategy. In this mode, players' equipment will only be fully lit if they are being targeted using a missile or whenever they are attacking a fixed target. All players can switch from "shot mode" (in which they can fire normal shots or high-powered missiles, and their equipment is dimly lit) to "missile mode" (which only allows for the use of faster-firing missiles, and causes a player's equipment to go dark) or vice versa at will during the game. In addition, it always takes a single direct hit for a player to be stunned, and a missile will stun the victim for longer than a normal shot would. There is even an Extreme version of this mode, in which all players are in missile mode for the whole game; as such, it's even more challenging than the regular Shadows mode. In fact, every Shadows game I have played so far was of the Extreme variation, which is unsurprising considering its greater popularity.
Gladiator and Highlander are even more challenging in that, unlike most other modes, it is possible for a player (or a team) to be eliminated from the game while it is still in progress, and as such, the game will end immediately if all but one player or team is eliminated before the time limit is reached. This occurs when all lives have been expended through being hit by enemy fire (in Gladiator) or when they are hit by a missile (in Highlander). The main difference between these modes is in the rule set: although Warbots are not used in either of these modes, Gladiator forgoes special abilities altogether, and in that mode, players start with between 15 and 30 lives depending on their current skill level (the higher the level, the fewer lives they will start with) and gain lives by zapping opponents and static targets. On the other hand, Highlander starts out slowly, but becomes faster-paced over time, making it feel even more intense in the last few minutes; moreover, eliminating another player with a missile will cause the attacking player to collect the full score and special points that their victim had accumulated prior to elimination. Finally, activating a shield in a Highlander game will provide protection from incoming missiles until either 10 seconds have elapsed or the player using it is reactivated, although the cost for triggering this ability increases from 5 special points to 30 special points over the course of a mission. While I have never played any Gladiator matches yet, I have been quite successful in Highlander, scoring lots of points before either being eliminated or running out of time.
Timewarp mostly follows normal rules (minus the Warbots) with the exception that each player has a fuse attached to them, and higher-level players not only start out with shorter fuses, but can't extend them as much as lower-level players. However, regardless of rank, any player whose fuse runs out completely will be eliminated. To delay (or even avoid) this untimely end, players can rewind their fuse at the rate of 1 second per special point by holding down the trigger while they are active; however, if a player does this while they are deactivated, they will pause their timer (using up 1 special point every 2 seconds) until they either expend all their special points or are reactivated. In addition, a player can fast-forward an opponent's timer by obtaining the equivalent of a missile lock on them, subtracting 4 seconds from the victim for every second the missile lock lasts until it is broken or the victim runs out of time. Finally, if a player has more than 15 special points, holding down the trigger while up will cause a time-warp, for each second of which their timer is rewound by 2 seconds, whereas their opponents' timers are fast-forwarded by 1 second, until the player who activated it either uses up all their special points or is deactivated.
In addition to these game modes, many others are offered, but I have already described enough of them to realize that this post should be split into two parts. The remaining modes will be described in the next post.
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