Shacknews has been playing The Finals since its open beta almost a year ago. We've enjoyed its unique contributions to the world of competitive shooters, most notably its oddball game show aesthetic. For Season 2 of The Finals, Embark Studios continues to add new ways to enjoy the game, but is also going in a slightly more traditional direction with a new 5v5 game mode called Power Shift. It takes cues from other shooters and tasks teams with escorting a payload to the opposing side's goal. We recently had a chance to play some Power Shift and while it shares some commonalities with other payload modes, we couldn't help but notice that Embark took some steps to make this idea its own.

Power Shift places a giant moving platform in the center of a given map. The idea is to seize control of the platform so that it moves in the direction of the opposing team's goal. The platform will move automatically and, normally, a payload such as this one would slowly go down a clearly defined path. The Finals doesn't do that so much. Instead, the platform goes wherever it goes, taking advantage of The Finals' penchant for destruction.

Many of our Power Shift sessions took place along the Monaco 2014 map. With rich architecture inspired by the independent nation, players can climb rooftops and find different paths to the platform. Once the platform starts moving, however, it will plow straight through any building in its path. There's a blue guidance rail indicating where the platform will go, but if there are structures in its path, it will simply demolish them in a matter of seconds. Teams aboard the platform can take advantage of the mayhem and use the falling debris to get out of the path of faraway snipers or attempt to fight close-range with any opponents trying to wrestle away control.

Power Shift favors teams that are slightly more versatile with The Finals' various classes and builds, something made more possible with this specific mode's option to switch between Light, Medium, and Heavy between deaths. Gadgets like Gas Grenades and Explosive Mines can act as traps for anybody boarding the platform. Heavy classes can utilize close-ranger weaponry like the Flamethrower to defend the objective. During our short time in this mode, we took advantage of the Medium build, swapping the default Healing Beam for the Guardian Turret, which would open fire as soon as an opponent landed on the platform. Respawn strategy should also be used differently since a teammate can clear out the platform, resurrect any fallen allies still on the platform, and quickly assert their dominance.

Cash is still the name of the game, even in a more traditional mode like Power Shift. The farther teams can escort the platform, the more cash they'll earn. If a round ends without the platform reaching a goal, the team with the most cash wins.

This won't be all that's coming to Season 2 of The Finals. All three classes will get new weapons and gadgets, mostly focused on hacking parts of the map. Gadgets like the Gateway and Dematerializer proved helpful in Quick Cash sessions, allowing teams to reach vaults faster or move them to a different floor. Medium classes will also be happy with the Data Reshaper, which proved to be popular during our preview session for its ability to change certain pieces of matter entirely, like turning mines into random objects.

The Finals: Season 2, which will introduce Power Shift, the neon-colored SYS$HORIZON map, the new weaponry and gadgets, and new quality-of-life improvements, will arrive this Thursday, March 14. To learn more about what's coming, head over to The Finals website. For those looking to get into the game for the first time, be sure to read up on our ongoing coverage of The Finals here at Shacknews.

This preview is based on a private digital session played via Steam.