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Battle Come Down: Dirty Bomb Open Beta Launched

Postcard from Whitechapel

As promised, Splash Damage's class-based FPS Dirty Bomb [official site] launched its open beta test last night. All and sundry and can now run, wall-jump, and shooty-shoot around the streets of Merrye Olde Londone in objective-driven action for free. Nab it from Steam.

Dirty Bomb is A Splash Damage Game. Y'know: two teams, classes with different weapons and special abilities, opposing objectives, capturing points, escorting semi-autonomous vehicles, and now it seems a touch of free-running has stuck as part of their ever-evolving formula. It's run as free-to-play by publishers Nexon with a limited, rotating selection of free characters open to all while others can be unlocked permanently by spending real cash money or virtual cash grinded for by playing.

More maps and more characters are planned for future updates.

Out of curiosity, I popped into the map supposedly set in Whitechapel - an area a few minutes' walk from my flat - and now think I understand how New York folks feel when they see their city in everything ever. That's sorta Christ Church Spitalfields, sure, and railway tunnels and arches certainly are plentiful around here but... it's a little eerie and I want to say "No no no, it's all wrong!" I name this phenomenon The Uncanny Stepney. I suppose city planners don't really think much about map flow, polycounts, navigation landmarks, firing lines, and vis-blocking.

Watch on YouTube

[Disclosure: I'm pally with a few Splash Damage folks.]

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