Smooth and responsive, the controls should be immediately familiar to shooter fans. Jumping, melee attacks, sprinting and more are standard fare. In fact, about the only unique feature here is that the left bumper activates your character’s signature ability. Grenade tossing feels too imprecise, however — particularly an issue when equipping some of the game’s innumerable modifiers.

Beyond the basics, however, lies a deeper, timing-based layer to give the fights some meat. Blocks and counters, referred to as holds, become an essential part of combat once you start mixing it up with capable human opponents or crank up the difficulty. It’s no easy task considering you not only have to time your counter precisely but also ascertain where the blow is being aimed (high, middle, low) for your efforts to be successful.