Helldivers is like an indie version of Destiny

Helldivers is a new indie game available for PlayStation consoles. It feels like a scaled down version of Destiny.  In Destiny, you are a Guardian that is masked and visits many planets to eradicate all of the enemies. You can also team-up with many people to help you aid in missions too.  Helldivers is very similar in that way. You play a masked hero that is either male or female visiting many planets and shooting lots of enemies along the way. The game also allows you to team-up with up to three other friends to tackle missions. Unlike Destiny though, you can play co-op offline.  Helldivers is a top-down shooter that is aimed for hardcore gamers. It may look like a simple indie shooter, but the game requires a lot of skill and strategy in order for you to be successful in the missions. It's not a very easy game to play.  At first, I was playing Helldivers by myself. Even though the first missions were "Very Easy" and "Easy", I still died a lot of times. This is because the enemies surround you a lot and ammo is scarce. You also have to reload countless times too. There are no checkpoints duing the missions either so if you die, you have to restart the whole mission all over again.  Multiplayer co-op is essential if you want to get the most enjoyment out of Helldivers. It's possible to play the game by yourself, but it's very difficult playing solo. Playing with friends makes the game far easier as they can help you shoot all of the relentless enemies while you may be hacking a computer or calling in for evacuation.  The one thing that makes Helldivers very unique is the use of its "Stratagems". Stratagems are special skills you can call in if you need extra help. You need to punch in codes using the d-pad in order to get Stratagems. Statagems could be calling in for more ammo, getting reinforcements or obtaining more powerful weapons.  Using Stratagems will help you a lot in completing the missions in Helldivers. Each time you do a mission, you have to call to be evacuated. The ship that takes you back home always takes 90 seconds to come pick you up. You have to wait in one positiion for it to come, however this allows time for the enemy to surround you. Waiting for evacuation is arguably the hardest part of the entire game.  Another hard thing about Helldivers is that there is "friendly fire". I was using a shotgun that spreads out a lot of bullets. I kept killing my partner because he would always stand in the line of fire. Bombs are also deadly in Helldivers too. You have to get out of the way of bombs or else they can kill your entire team in one sweep.  The enemies that you face are mostly bugs and they can be a pain to kill off. It's vital you upgrade your weapons as you will lose a lot of ammo quickly if you are stuck with only weak guns. There is a melee attack available for you to use, but it's usless as some of the enemies are immune to it. Some enemies can also kill you with just one attack.  Visually, Helldivers looks okay but some of the levels and enemies look alike too much. It would have been better if they had more unique designs for the planets and enemies in this game. Also, the levels are kind of too small for my taste. The planets are just usualy a small square that you run around in.  Overall, Helldivers is an enjoyable experience for players that love hard and challenging games. It's best if you play the game with a group of friends as doing everything by yourself is too overwhelming. If you liked Destiny, you'll love this game as the look and gameplay is quite similar. The game is available now for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita.  Verdict: 8.5/10