BioWare doesn't have many misses under its belt, but when it does, it misses very hard. Anthem, BioWare's most infamous miss, released in 2019 to a unanimous wave of criticism. One of EA's big forays into the live-service industry, Anthem was a guinea pig for the publisher, and the game's lack of content, surprisingly dull story, and a slew of technical issues made it an instant failure. So, when gamers see another mech suit game and become immediately skeptical, that's more than understandable, but Exoprimal doesn't look like another Anthem, even though it shares some similarities.
Set to release at some point in 2023, Exoprimal is a brand new game from Capcom, pitting players against hordes of genetically-modified dinosaurs that fall out of rifts in the sky. To help them in their bizarre battle, Exoprimal gives players a suite of powerful exosuits to choose from, each with its own unique set of abilities and weapons, not too dissimilar from Anthem's Javelins. Exoprimal's Roadblock suit does share some pretty major similarities with Anthem's Colossus.
How Exoprimal's Roadblock Suit and Anthem's Colossus Compare
Like its name would suggest, Anthem's Colossus is by far the biggest Javelin in the entire game, and offers more firepower than the rest of the roster combined, albeit at the cost of speed. With a special proficiency for grenade launchers and autocannons, the Colossus is perfect for crowd control. The Colossus also has a shoulder-mounted mortar, a wrist-mounted launcher, and has the ability to surround itself with a wave of elemental damage, damaging all enemies caught in its radius.
The Colossus also has access to a powerful melee attack, where the Javelin smashes its hand into the ground to create a shockwave that damages all those around it. This melee smash is even more powerful from the air, making it the perfect way to start a fight. When it comes to Ultimate Abilities, the Colossus has one of the most devastating. Named "Siege Cannon," this ability launches three powerful explosive blasts out of the Colossus' back, decimating any enemies caught in its large area of effect. While using the Siege Cannon, the Colossus is also invulnerable.
Compared to the rest of the Javelins, the Colossus is by far the slowest, both in terms of combat and traversal. Even at full sprint, the Colossus can take quite a while to reach its objective, and the Colossus' flight speed in Anthem isn't much better. However, once the Colossus does reach its target, it's almost guaranteed to destroy it in just a few hits. The Colossus also has some of the best shields in Anthem, multiplying any chosen shields by quite a large amount. While the Colossus is sure to take some hits while it lumbers around the battlefield, it can tank them with ease.
Exoprimal's Roadblock exosuit shares a few key similarities with Anthem's Colossus. Much like the Colossus, Exoprimal's Roadblock suit is the largest in the game, with huge armor plates covering the suit's legs, head, and arms. While the Roadblock suit looks just as slow as the Colossus, it's much more team-oriented, with its abilities aiding the team in some major ways.
The Roadblock's Taunt ability in this new Capcom title temporarily puts all the attention on them, forcing enemy units to focus their fire on just the Roadblock. The Roadblock can then absorb these hits with its Ballistic Wall ability, which is essentially just a big shield. Any enemies trapped in front of the shield can then be blasted back with the Shield Blast ability. If any enemies get too close, then the Roadblock suit can deliver a devastating Haymaker close-quarters attack, which punches back any enemies in its way.
Exoprimal releases in 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
