When comparing Natural Selection 2 vs Artemis, the Slant community recommends Artemis for most people. In the question“What are the best team-based games on Steam?” Artemis is ranked 19th while Natural Selection 2 is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose Artemis is:
A team of players will have to cooperate in order to play and succeed in this game, making it highly interactive. Each player will need to interact with the rest of their team throughout in order to succeed, making for a very social and party centric game.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Linux support
Natural Selection 2 has full Linux support.
Pro Integrates RTS elements on top of a shooter
The game has two completely different factions - the humans and an alien race called Kharaa. One player in each team can become a Commander, who then issues orders, RTS-style.
Pro The 2 sides have vastly different strategy and playstyles
Pro In-depth choice of equipment
There is a wide range of weapons for each side that allows for plenty of choice for the player.
Pro Teamwork is essential
To really advance and do well in the game teamwork is essential.
Pro Kharaa can evolve into 5, highly distinct classes
There are 5 different classes that the Kharaa can evolve into.
Pro Developed to be heavily modifiable
By utilizing LUA files the game is highly moddable.
Pro Community driven development
From the very beginning NS2 has had a very passionate community - they've contributed maps, designs and even core features (such as the Spectator Mode). And since build 265, the game's development has been handed off completely to a 14-man community development team (with oversight from UWE).
Pro Dynamic environments
During play levels will change and react, making for dynamic levels and environments.
Pro The focus on social interaction and teamwork creates a highly interactive game
A team of players will have to cooperate in order to play and succeed in this game, making it highly interactive. Each player will need to interact with the rest of their team throughout in order to succeed, making for a very social and party centric game.
Pro Fulfills every fun Hollywood space battle trope you can think of
Artemis is designed around many popular sci-fi tropes, providing an enjoyable sense of fan-service for those who are interested in sci-fi pop culture and movie media.
Pro Creative scripting system where anyone can write a scenario makes for endless gameplay
Users can create their own mission scripts, which they can then share on the developers' forums so that other players can make use of them. This way there is a never ending amount of new gameplay.
Pro A choice of 6 distinctive roles, that allow for a variety of play styles, which keeps the gameplay fresh and interesting
Crew on the bridge consists of a captain and 5 stations.
- Engineering - in charge of energy distribution and the DamCon.
- Science - in charge of scanning and information distribution.
- Weapons - in charge of military equipment.
- Comms - in charge of monitoring communications between enemies and friendly ships.
- Helm - in charge of piloting the ship.
Being that there are a few different roles to choose from it will take many play-throughs to experience them all, which gives good variety to the player, especially when considering that the experience even with the same role can play out differently with a group of different players.
Pro The player vs. player gameplay completely changes up the strategy of the game, making it much more competitive
Version 1.1+ allows for PvP, making Artemis very interactive in a different way from the co-op. This way those that want to be competitive have an outlet of gameplay.
Pro Node Played it
Cons
Con Learning curve
The learning curve for Natural Selection 2 feels unapproachable at times.
Con Really long loading
10 minute loading times to join matches is way too long to wait.
Con Difficult to play online
Artemis is built with LAN play as its focus, making online multiplayer a bit of a pain as the user has to port forward. However you can use a service such as Tungle and connect to the dedicated Artemis network, which makes the process much easier