Viceroy's Site Review - "The Ridge"

Viceroy’s Site Reviewy-UK

“The Ridge” - RIFT Airsoft and Combat-UK

This weekend two members of FTZ, myself and Wildecard travelled to pay at the first trial day of a possible new site run jointly by RIFT Airsoft and Combat-UK called “The Ridge”
I should mention before the main part of the review that due to Zeus sending some kind of monsoon after lunch only half the day was playable.

The Site

The site is an old quarry which was then and still is used for off-road driving. It features two main areas. One half is relatively flat and contains a large open space as well as a lot of bush with small tracks going in between the tree, bushes and long grass. The other half of the site is filled with very steep (cliffs in some places) hills and valleys with relatively large (one car wide) tracks going in between trees and bush.

Due to weather we were only able to play the former half of the site but despite it seemingly being the more boring half it was probably one of, if not the, best arenas I’ve played airsoft in. Unlike most woodland site where you can see other players for miles ahead and you only real protection is the odd man-made barricade this was filled with very dense bush which sometime meant your field of view was no more than a couple of meters. This allowed for some very interesting a varied gameplay ranging from very stealthy “bush-whacking” and ambushes to full on rushes on enemy positions and the arena offered brilliant flanking opportunities. It wasn’t simply one line of players pushing against another but a very interesting battle where good tactics and teamwork were crucial.

I would not say this is a casual site as it will test you physically but one good thing is that because the site is relatively small you don’t get tired walking half a mile to the game zone and there’s no massive treks to and from the respawn points

The Games and Gameplay

Due to only being half a day being playable we were actually only able to play one type of game. It was a nice extension to the normal capture the flag game with each side possessing two of the enemy teams “flag” (ammo tins) while there was a neutral flag in the middle of the site, on top of a 9ft APC, also with an ammo tin for each side to capture and capturing the enemy’s HQ and holding it until the end of the game would also win the game. The games ran for an hour each. This multi-objective style game meant it played far more interestingly than a normal CTF type game as it gave people a wide variety of things to do and also due to the length it allowed the tide of the game to change with avenues opening and closing.

One thing I really like about the site and its gameplay is that every weapon class really comes out to play and that the day is not automatically won by the person with the most tuned gun. There are brilliant sniping opportunities and areas where LMGs can pose a large threat while someone with a pistol or SMG can appear out of the bush from anywhere. Engagement distances ranged from long sniping distances right up to several feet.

The Marshals and Staff

As always with RIFT the marshalling was excellent. This was also helped by excellent gameplay by the players with only one non-hit taking incident being reported. The briefing at the beginning was quite long but this is to be expected with a new site and trail day so no complaints there. There was a good number of marshals on site and if there had been an issue it would not have been hard to find one. It could have been better in terms of turning games and lunch around, and while I understand this is largely due to the players but a bit more encouragement wouldn’t have gone a miss. The parking at the start of the day was done well given the lack of space available and very importantly all the staff were warm and welcoming.

Facilities

There’s no permanent safe zone at the site due to its other uses so kit and everything was done out of the car. However, this was made clear when booking in so players could prepare in advance and bring tables etc. The toilet facilities were a single porter loo which was very clean and well maintain. A burger van provided an affordable and tasty lunch and there was a small on site shop by Combat-UK which could have possibly bought a better selection of kit. There was also limited battery charging facilities but this was also made clear beforehand so no surprises there. Overall given the lack of permanent facilities it was very well done.

The Bottom Line

Overall RIFT’s new site is absolutely brilliant with a wealth of opportunity. Weather was an issue on this day but I doubt any outdoor site would have been able to run with a downpour like that so hopefully it doesn’t deter RIFT from running events at the site again. The site itself its possibly the best I’ve played at and combined with the excellent service by RIFT it results in an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding game of airsoft despite it only really being a half day!

Any questions please feel free to contact us over Facebook or contact Tony at RIFT Airsoft

Viceroy

ZuluFour@FireTeamZulu

FTZ: https://www.facebook.com/fireteamzuluairsoft?ref_type=bookmark

RIFT: http://riftairsoft.com/content.php