The Finals: Cash, chaos and combat

Imagine playing a first person shooter video game but with live commentaries, sponsorship announcements and a stage where nearly everything can be demolished. The objective is to plunder cash boxes from other teams and extract the money all the while, two-three other teams are trying to do the same to you. 

That would be the basic premise of the recently released online multiplayer video game 'The Finals'. Released on 7 December 2023, the game made an astonishing achievement early on by garnering 200,000 active players during its first week of release. This was marked as a rare feat on the gaming platform 'Steam,' which even big AAA games have a hard time pulling off 

The Finals is a free-to-play high-stakes showdown where players trade death for cash. Teams battle it out for virtual money prizes. You can also spend real money to deck out your tracksuit-wearing character in stylish gear. 

The intense shootouts are thrilling, featuring smooth moves, well-crafted weapons, and an exciting destruction element. But if you take a closer look, you'll notice a vacancy in the eyes of the characters, revealing a deeper commentary not just on The Finals but on today's multiplayer shooters as a whole. 

The Finals stands out from other competitive shooters by throwing multiple squads of three into the mix, in 3v3v3 or 3v3v3v3 formats. This unique setup ensures a constant flow of energetic battles as each squad competes for the crucial cash prize. 

This chaotic scenario adds to the game's lively atmosphere. The shooter is not only action-packed but also visually striking, embracing a game-show-inspired style with a lively audience and enthusiastic announcers. 

There are currently two main game modes. In 'Quick Cash,' three teams duke it out for gaining control of a vault filled with money, which they then need to haul to a designated Cashout Station for deposit. Think of it like a mashup of Capture the Flag and King of the Hill, often leading to a chaotic showdown with all three squads clashing at one spot. The team that slots the vault into the Cashout Station triggers a timer – when it runs out, all the cash gets banked.

However, any rival team can snatch the deposit without resetting the countdown. This setup ensures a thrilling sense of constant action, ruling out the chance of a stalemate and keeping the pace fast and furious. Few moments beat the satisfaction of snagging the Cashout Point at the very last second and banking all the winnings for your team. The only thing that comes close is successfully fending off the hordes and guarding the point for an extended period as chaos unfolds around you. 

Enter 'Bank It,' the game's alternative mode, putting a greater emphasis on straight-up combat compared to Quick Cash. Vaults are still in play, offering a quick cash boost when cracked open, but here's the twist: every player begins each life with some money already in their virtual pockets. When you kick the bucket, your hard-earned cash spills onto the floor, free for anyone to grab – be it the money you started with or the loot you snatched from vaults and other players. 

The challenge is to stash the cash before you meet your virtual demise and lose it all. So, you've got to weigh the risks: do you keep chasing kills, or do you break away to secure your loot before it vanishes? 

You can win matches without ever having to raid a vault; you can opt to thrive by killing and looting from others. The introduction of a fourth team only heightens the chances of a massive firefight breaking out at any moment, adding to the more chaotic nature of Bank It. 

Both game modes borrow bits and pieces from other multiplayer shooters, creating a unique blend, but what truly distinguishes The Finals is its all-encompassing destruction. Nearly every wall is fair game for explosives. 

You can obliterate bridges, bring down entire buildings by targeting crucial walls, or blast open a roof to make a grand entrance from above. Nifty tools like Goo guns allow you to whip up temporary bridges or barricades to navigate around wrecked structures. Plus, grappling hooks and portable jump pads offer alternative ways to traverse The Finals' destructible landscapes. All this freedom gives players a plethora of options and lets their creativity run wild, especially when it comes to tackling objectives. 

While the array of weapons and gadgets available for each match is diverse, the process of earning in-game cash to unlock them is a slow journey that drains away the satisfaction you'd hope for in a progression system. It moves at a snail's pace, making it tough to try out various builds when a significant chunk of them is only accessible after countless hours of gameplay. 

The world of competitive shooters is packed, with hits and misses at every turn. The Finals shines in this bustling scene, thanks to its exhilarating destruction, speedy gunfights, and unique take on well-known objectives. The Finals is ridiculously enjoyable and has room to expand, so let's cross our fingers that it becomes one of the standout success stories.