Anthem Storm Best

There are four character classes in ANTHEM. You've got your rather standard Ranger, your tanky Colossus, your agile Interceptor, and your unmatched, Godlike Storm. There's a surprising amount of variety between them, but there's currently one glaring issue: every other class seems woefully boring when compared to the Storm.

Everything about the Storm screams style -- it's the only Javelin with a cape, for a start. Its game plan largely revolves around hovering in the air for minutes at a time -- something that the other suits can't do for long at all -- and raining elemental hell down on your enemies. Combos, particle effects, huge explosions that take up the entire screen. When it comes to the most enjoyable gameplay in ANTHEM, the Storm has no competition -- it's not even close.

Look, let's break it down:

Javelin Special Abilities

Ranger

  • Arm Missile - Fire a single rocket or a dart or something equally boring out of your arm launcher. Boom. Done. Next.
  • Grenade - Throw a grenade. Wow, this is apparently a special move now?
  • Super: Missile Barrage - Fire off a load of homing missiles. It looks kinda cool and it can be effective, but I still can't get over the grenade thing.

Colossus

  • Shield - The Colossus doesn't have a shield around it, so it brings an actual shield into battle. You use it to block incoming fire and smack smaller enemies out of the way. Don't you just love having to pick up health packs, though?
  • Shoulder Cannon - Blow stuff up or zap things with your shoulder-mounted cannon. Does what it says on the box.
  • Super: Really Big Cannon - Bring out a massive gun capable of firing small nukes. I'll admit it's pretty fun, but it's still just big dumb gun for big dumb suit, innit?

Interceptor

  • Shuriken- Cool concept ruined by a crappy throwing animation. The Interceptor casually tosses a small bladed implement at an enemy and nothing has any impact to it whatsoever. Possibly the single most unsatisfying thing any Javelin can do.
  • Some Other Shuriken - A slightly more impactful throwing attack, or something. Look, I'm still trying to process how bad the first shuriken ability is, okay?
  • Super: Whirling Twirling Super Slasher - The Interceptor goes mental and decides that physically attacking a gigantic space bug with the tiny blades on its arms is a good idea. It looks flashy, I guess.

Storm

  • Fire, Ice, Lightning, You Don't Even Need a Gun - Burn your enemies to a crisp, freeze them solid, or absolutely smash them with a bolt of lightning. All of it looks incredible, all of it combos, and all of it is the only way to properly play ANTHEM.
  • More of the Same Because Why Wouldn't You - Even more fire, ice, and lightning. You've got so much of this stuff that you don't even need help. Just zip into the air and go nuts. Watch entire armies get combo'd into oblivion and beyond. You can even hear your PS4's fans kick into overdrive from all the visual effects -- that's how you know it's good.
  • Super: Ultimate Elemental Death - Pick and choose exactly where you want three gigantic elemental discharges to land before they all combo off one another and cause your game to crash. Easily the most obvious show of ultimate power in the entirety of ANTHEM.
Anthem Storm

If you're somehow still not convinced, just imagine a scenario where you're down on the ground, stuck being a Javelin that can't hover for more than ten seconds. You're having to find cover and keep an eye on your angles at all times. But as you continue to struggle, you catch a glimpse of something majestic -- otherworldly, even. Right there, hovering above you and saving your sorry ass from certain death is the Storm, just destroying everyone and everything in its sights.

It can see the whole battlefield unfold before it, because again, it can sit in the air for more than ten seconds. It even gets a near impenetrable bubble shield when it hovers. The enemies catch on, however. While you're relieved that you're not being pinned back by lowly grunts anymore because your special abilities barely hit one target, never mind a whole group, the Storm's now soaking up a ton of fire.

But it doesn't matter, because the Storm literally teleports out of danger with its dodge. It hits the ground for what feels like a split second while its shield recharges and it's almost immediately back in the air, shredding anything that catches its eye. "Thank God for the Storm," you think to yourself, as you accept your uselessness, sit behind your cover, and wait for it all to be over.

So yeah, BioWare needs to get its sh*t together. The Storm is far and away the most fun you can have in ANTHEM, and anyone that says differently is in denial. I'm not saying the developer should go and give every other Javelin the ability to be a God among suits, but come on, at least give them a little bit of pizzazz. The next time you're wasting your life away as a Ranger or a Colossus or an Interceptor, and you're tossing out your piddly little grenades or throwing stars, just remember that you could be blasting your foes to bits with the elements themselves. Same button, same cooldown, but infinitely better looking, and way, way more fun.

Do you agree with Ramsey's assessment? You better, otherwise you're getting banned in the comments section below.