Hey there, Johan from Arrowhead here. I’m excited to give you an update on how Helldivers is coming along since our announcement at Gamescom in August. For those of you who haven’t seen much of the game – Helldivers is a top-down, twin stick shooter set in a dystopian world, coming to PS4, PS3 and PS Vita this year. As a part of an elite fighting force “The Helldivers,” you battle for humanity against 3 formidable alien races, protecting the inhabitants of Super Earth from the ugly realities of intergalactic warfare. But how did this ugly war begin? Hmm…

Intergalactic campaign

Helldivers is all about team work, the entire community wages a intergalactic war played out over 4-6 weeks (we are still tweaking the exact time frame), every victory and every defeat impacts the war which can be either won or lost, depending on the efforts of you – the community.

Whether you’re cooperating with your 2-4 person squad or fighting steadfastly alone, you choose the mission that matches your capabilities. Rise through the ranks and earn new weapons and perks or save entire planets for that most valuable asset: the Stratagems.

Say Hello to the Cyborg

Up to this point, we showed you one of the enemy races in the game, the Bugs. In addition to the Bugs, Super Earth is also at war with the socio-feudal Cyborg Nation, a race of bionically augmented separatists that once were part of the Super Earth federation, but now have declared their sovereignty. The Cyborg’s heavy armor and projectile weaponry presents the Helldivers with a very different tactical challenge, where the “fire & maneuver” doctrine is of essence.

Cold as Ice

At Gamescom, we showed you the desert environment, and today, we’re unveiling the second environment – ice. Not only do you need to band together to fight the alien races, you need to stay on your toes to tackle the dynamic environments that dictate your fighting techniques. Beware, if you wander from the solid rock to the deep powder, your squad will need to trudge through the snow, slowing you down and rendering retreat impossible.

Strategize with Strategems

Probably the most essential part of the game (aside from your comrades) are strategems. Each player selects their load-out prior to the mission, containing up to four support strategems of their choosing. Called in by the player, stratagems are key to deciding the outcome of battle, a few of my current favorites are automated the defense turrets, napalm, heavy artillery for busting tanks and jump packs. One thing with Helldivers that never seems to get old is the bickering and strategic talks when selecting the stratagem composition with your team.

Yes, There’s Mechs!

To tackle some of the unforgiving environments and challenging foes, Helldivers have a fleet of advanced vehicles – the most frequently deployed is a mechanical armored biped that wreaks absolute havoc. The standard mech is equipped with a Gatling gun and a grenade launcher pod.

Remember, all of the weapons in Helldivers are very powerful to counter the tough alien races that mankind faces, as such almost all weapons can tear a man in half. In the heat of battle, nobody is safe.

Watch out for Helldivers, available for PS3, PS Vita and running in beautiful 1080p and 60 fps on PS4, later this year.