For quite some time now, I’ve been immersed in Insurgency: Sandstorm, but what hasn’t changed is the fact that the AI opponents never make me confident about my abilities.
Either these soldiers are incredibly naive, often finding themselves trapped in narrow spaces like corners and doorways, or they’re master tacticians with remarkable accuracy, capable of executing silent, lightning-fast attacks that seem almost instantaneous. It seems there’s no middle ground.
2018 saw the launch of a sequel to the 2014 game, taking the elements that made the original intense and immersive to a new level. Unlike some games focused on arcade-style mechanics or excessive rewards for killing multiple enemies, this one prioritized realism, tension, and challenging gunplay. If you’re not careful in your play, death is inevitable. It’s as straightforward as that.
Rather than the conventional First-Person Shooter format, Sandstorm presents a scenario where players are divided into teams of either security forces or insurgents, engaged in intense battles over strategic targets. A single bullet can prove fatal in just one or two instances, sound becomes crucial, and sustained fire effectively hampers the enemy’s progress.
These bots weren’t created merely to be predictable and easily defeated, but rather, they are reminiscent of skilled first-person shooter players from past lives who have been reborn as artificial intelligence. In the beginning, they were already formidable opponents, but following recent upgrades, they transformed into something extraordinary—nearly supernatural in their capacity to humble even the most experienced gamers.
For a brief instant, I observe a robot struggling clumsily without hitting anything at close quarters. In the next split second, a shot from afar strikes me through fog while I’m lying low and concealed. Occasionally, these bots display the agility of seasoned first-person shooter experts, swiftly locking onto targets as if equipped with aim assist technology.
Different individuals exhibit peculiar and unconventional movements. Some leap about erratically, zigzag, or rush headlong into danger, giving the impression that an eccentric inventor may have been involved in their programming. After a series of upgrades, these unusual behaviors became even more conspicuous, causing some players (myself among them) to notice them leaping around aimlessly, as if rehearsing a hidden parkour routine.
In Insurgency: Sandstorm, bots function as UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) because they don’t require UAV support—they are essentially the eyes in the sky. This heightened level of awareness is particularly pronounced in Outpost gameplay, where it feels like the bots have a detailed map of my movements. Unlike Checkpoint mode, where bots move around randomly, those in Outpost appear to know exactly where I am at all times.
As soon as they step onto the battlefield, they can sense my location, making eliminating me their top priority. It seems like they’ve been honed to hunt me down, and so far, I haven’t discovered a reliable strategy to outsmart them (yet)). I rely on my standard tactics, like taking high ground, cautious peeks, and preemptively firing corners, but it merely delays the unavoidable.
However, what makes them particularly challenging is their erratic nature. One moment I’m in control, leading the game, and the next, I find myself knocked down by a bot that seems to have a grudge against me. Their strategies are so unconventional that it leaves me doubting whether they’re coordinating with each other. I’ve been surprised, outsmarted, and pushed into situations where I can only endure the outcome. If I didn’t know better, I would think they were human players.
Could it be a problem with the skill level? Perhaps. Yet, if a robot reacts quicker to my position than I can comprehend the threat, I find myself quite irritated under the circumstances.
We can’t forget about John Wick’s Middle Eastern relative, often known as “Abu-Jafar Wick“. While his nickname might not sound familiar, if you’ve been in the loop for a while, you’ve certainly crossed paths with him. He’s the bot that goes against all reasoning, the one who manages to execute feats that seem impossible.
Perhaps he’s the one who swiftly eliminates you while you’re airborne from a rooftop or shoots through walls to eliminate you from a distance of 200 meters with a handgun. Alternatively, he could be the AI that annihilates your entire team in just a few seconds. Every player experiences their own “Abu-Jafar Wick” moment, and mine has left me doubting my gaming abilities.
fundamentally speaking, the AI bots in Insurgency: Sandstorm are both awe-inspiring and maddening at the same time. For me, they embody a complex emotion that is somewhere between admiration and frustration.
And if an Insurgency: Sandstorm bot has never humbled you, have you really played the game?
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2025-03-12 08:13