Xiaomi – FAU-G Team Deathmatch Earns Its ‘Early Access’ Title

In the run up to the FAU-G TDM or team deathmatch mode release date of June 27, IGN India has spent some quality team with a pre-release build of the game using a Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G. Since this was prior to FAU-G TDM going live on the Google Play Store for Android, we weren’t able to check how matchmaking or netcode would work in a live environment as those features were unavailable before launch. However, we were able to play FAU-G TDM with bots and get an idea of how the core gameplay in this made-in-India shooter works.

Before we get into that though, it’s important to note that FAU-G TDM runs well on our Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G. There are options to cap the frame rate to 30, 60, or uncap it altogether, as well as multiple graphics settings—low, medium, high, and ultra, and a frame rate counter. With the default graphics settings at Medium we were able to play through all of FAU-G TDM at around 45 to 55fps. High saw us hit around 30fps, while Ultra was borderline unplayable.

As for the game itself, FAU-G TDM puts you in a team of five with the objective of gunning down an opposing squad in a map known as Bazaar, which is reminiscent of markets in and around Udaipur and Jaipur. There are several weapons such as shotguns and assault rifles as well as grenades of the stun, smoke, and kill variety. There’s no story whatsoever that ties it to the single-player mode or any cut-scenes. In fact, it feels completely disjointed from it though Ncore tells us that will change in the future.

Playing through FAU-G TDM is oddly reminiscent of early versions of Counter-Strike like 1.6 except its predominantly played in third-person with the option to use a first-person perspective as well. The visual direction leans heavily into that kind of aesthetic complete with similar looking character models and weapon types. Where it differs is, you don’t buy guns as you spawn. Instead you choose a load out from the six on offer.

Each load out consists of a type of main weapon, a sidearm, and a grenade. The way load outs present themselves make you think you can also choose the avatar (or operator as its also known) but that’s not the case right now. All players have access to the same character model and they’re distinguished by the blue or red highlight that tells you if they’re friend or foe.

Gameplay is basic as it gets as well. Our build of FAU-G TDM decided wins depending on which team got to 40 kills first in a 10 minute limit. If neither team got to 40 kills, the team with the highest kills win. The gunplay isn’t as polished as say, Call of Duty: Mobile or Maskgun. Targeting an enemy isn’t as snappy and death comes easily at first.

This is because the bots are pretty adept at spotting you from a distance and are able to pull off headshots from afar even with mid-range guns like assault rifles. However they’re also prone to gather together looking at walls or simply not pay attention to gunfire in their direction, making it easy to chalk up a host of kills.

Speaking of which, the weapon balance in FAU-G TDM is far from perfect. Frag grenades almost always guarantee a kill regardless of how close or far they’re lobbed at a target, shotguns can kill an opponent halfway across the map with a single shot, and assault rifles tend to be more accurate than sniper rifles.

Despite all these concerns, FAU-G’s core gameplay is solid. Firing its predictable assortment of guns is satisfying while pulling off a headshot is just as good as it is in any other shooter. The Bazaar map itself feels like a relatable riff on Counter-Strike’s Dust what with oodles of corners and nooks for camping and it’ll be interesting to see how it holds up with actual human opponents.

Granted FAU-G TDM lacks the flair of other, more established games made by teams with more experience, but there’s something about its pared down, almost spartan loop of picking a weapon, shooting a foe, dying, and doing it all over again that seems to endure inspite our litany of concerns.

Hopefully, Ncore is able to build FAU-G TDM to be as robust as other multiplayer mobile shooters available for download right now with an assortment of features, modifiers, weapons, operators, perks, and the like. It definitely earns its early access/beta moniker but perhaps there’s enough of a reason for Ncore to transform its barebones attempt into something more meaningful.

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