X05 Impressions - Part 1
-- October 5, 2005 by: Maarten Goldstein
Dead Rising
I have to start with what I thought was the most fun game on display at X05, Dead Rising. In the demo of Capcom's third person zombie action game, you take control of Frank, a photojournalist who is trying to find out more about what has infected all these people. You find yourself in a shopping mall full of the undead, and you're supposed to find a woman who has information about the infection. Along the way you meet other characters (who are standing on top of food stalls), to whom you can speak and even accept side quests from. But really, it's all about the satisfaction of mowing down zombie after zombie.
The combat is quite simple. You start off equipped with a bat, which you can swing with the press of the X button. Just swing around and zombies will fall down. But really, it can get a lot more fun than that. Walk into a nearby hardware store and you might just find yourself a chainsaw. Unfortunately, no dismemberment here (plenty of blood though), but it's still great to just swing around drilling the chainsaw into the zombies. Cash register, trash bin. Pick em up, start throwing them. I also found myself equipped with a shotgun, and later a gun which I stole from a zombie cop. I also saw someone else play who found a scythe. You can also get close to a zombie and press X and A (jump) at the same time. 
Most of the time this seemed to result in Frank picking up the zombie over his head and then being able to throw it at the other zombies, but I also took a zombie by its feet once and started swinging it around before letting go. One time I even grabbed a zombie around the neck and dropped it to the floor wrestling style. Really good stuff here.
Every once in a while you might be fighting some zombies in front of you while others attack from behind, which means you get bitten. Pressing any button releases you from their grip, but you'll be dead after a few bites. You can however recharge by food or drinks found at random places. If you do die, you'll start over, but you'll lose time available for solving the mission.
It's very easy to pick up, visually the game is looking impressive, and there is a wide variety of weapons to take down zombies... I don't see what more you could want from a game.
Mass Effect
Announced at the start of the show, Mass Effect is BioWare's latest ambitious RPG project. Set in the 23rd century, humankind has finally discovered that there is a much larger galactic community out there then they could have ever imagined. Problem is, it turns out humans are inferior and are now struggling for their place in the universe. The setup for the game is the Core Conflict, humanity's struggle against highly advanced AI driven creatures. The player in the game is the commander of a spaceship, and in Mass Effect you will directly help shape humankind's destiny.
Mass Effect will be the first game of a trilogy, which should play out during the lifespan of the Xbox 360. Trilogy doesn't mean of the Lord of the Rings movie kind though, there will be resolve at the end of each chapter; it's just that there is much more to do. BioWare also plans to have downloadable content for each game, which help fill out certain story elements since they plan on having such a massive universe with all kinds of exotic planets to visit. BioWare CEO Greg Zeschuk cited early 80s sci-fi movies as an influence on the game, so expect lively, exciting worlds, not the kind of clean, static environments we see in so many modern movies.
Also, with this game being a trilogy you will be able to import the character you build up during the first game to the other games so you can continue with this personage you probably will have invested a lot of time in. As for character creation, expect the usual choice of face types, hair style and color, eye color and so on. You can also equip yourself with different clothing, weapons, armor, upgradeable as you gather XP points.
On the planets that you visit you control a three-man squad. You can either give orders, or let the AI do its job. During combat you don't just rely on your weapons and armor, as in the 23rd century humans have started using Biotics; these implants give certain superhuman powers to its user. Also, combat will be real-time. But being a commander of a spaceship, isn't there space combat as well? It seems BioWare really wants to do this, but they have so much to do already, it doesn't sound like this will happen--at least not in the first game.
BioWare also said to expect conversation innovations from the game through a whole new type of interface; unfortunately, the company wasn't ready to divulge details just yet, but it sounded like conversations would be a lot more natural and fluid.
It's early, but BioWare storytelling without any restrictions from a licensed property, a sci-fi setting, and Unreal Engine 3 graphics have me excited.
The Outfit
Relic is mostly known for its strategy games, but for the Xbox 360 the company is working on a full out action title called The Outfit. Set during World War 2, The Outfit puts you in control of one of three main characters, who control a squad taking on the Germans. It's not about historical accuracy or military advisors or anything like that in this game; instead, Relic is focusing on total destruction.
During the 12 mission campaign (playable solo or in co-op mode, via splitscreen or Xbox Live) in which you try to track down a rogue German soldier who's killing civilians, you'll make your way on foot, by tank, jeep, destroying everything in your way. Each of the three main characters is different equipment wise; Tommy Mac has a machine gun and a flamethrower (shown to me as being used on some unsuspecting friendlies), JP Tyler has a sniper rifle, while a character called Deuce Williams has a bazooka and sticky bombs.
But as I said, total destruction. That telephone pole in your way? Just drive through it. Those German sandbags? Whatever. That house looking at you funny? Blow it up. Also, see a train that you like? Hijack it. Germans left a car; take it. They'll do the same to your abandoned vehicles. As you kill more Germans and capture flags, you get more points to spend on equipment that can help you achieve your goals. You can call in the aforementioned tanks and jeeps, or artillery, airstrikes, better weapons for your squad, or even squad members. Everything is just parachuted in without any wait. The game also features save anywhere so you can just drop in and out of the game whenever you like.
Besides the singleplayer/coop campaign, The Outfit also features an eight player multiplayer mode. This mode plays out just like the singleplayer game; you battle it out using any kind of reinforcements you can get your hands on. Seeing how everything is dropped into the battlefield via planes, if you have the firepower you can take out the plane trying to supply your buddy. And then drop some bombs on his ass, that Nazi lover.
The level shown to me was of the open French countryside kind, but you'll also find yourself in urban environments, coastal regions, that sort of stuff. Each of these levels should be pretty massive, so the 12 missions in the game should take a while to complete. All in all, The Outfit looked promising and I look forward to seeing more.
Project Gotham Racing 3
Attendees of X05 were finally able to go hands-on with Project Gotham Racing 3, Bizarre's highly anticipated racing game. And I thought about this for a while, but I have to admit I came away a bit disappointed.
Why disappointed? The game just didn't look as visually impressive as I was expecting. Those smooth, jaggie-free cars that we've all seen in the screenshots? Sure didn't see them in action. Maybe AA was off temporarily for this build, I don't know, but it was surprising to see such rough lines. The build also had a problem with textures on buildings which didn't always go to full detail as you got close to them. Trees? Sprite leaves on a 3D trunk.
However, all of that didn't take away from the fact that the game is a lot of fun to play. Admittedly, the game does seem easier than Project Gotham Racing 2. I wouldn't really classify it as being more arcade-like, but I had few problems handling any of the cars I tried. Overall the cars just feel lighter is how I would put it I guess. That doesn't mean you have an easier time sliding through
corners though, it's just more difficult to lose total control. Unless you are trying to plow into someone... not that I would do that during multiplayer... no, that's not how I roll... *cough*
The Kudos system is still in place in PGR3. You get points for drifting, driving on two wheels, doing a 360, and sticking to the racing line. It is now also possible to get Kudos even if you hit the side of the track after doing something like a drift, it's just that you lose the multiplier you might have received for your action(s), and thus your point total is much lower than it would be. Kudos also increase depending on how well you do certain things. If you take a corner really fast and don't crash into anything, you might get a "gutsy" or "brisk" drift instead of a regular one with less Kudos points.
Damage-wise the game didn't seem that much different from PGR2. A mangled bumper here, a loose trunk there, that seemed about the extent of it.
Since I bagged on the graphics for a bit I guess I should say that some elements did look good, the tracks for starters. I played various Tokyo, London and New York tracks and all were very detailed. With most racing games, you look past a building in the foreground and the buildings in the background are part of the sky bitmap. Not here, everything you see is in 3D and really immerses you, especially with the easily recognizable landmarks. Car models look phenomenal, but then they are using some 80,000 polygons each. You also get a good sense of speed in the game through the use of motion blur, which seems most noticeable in the cockpit view. As for the cockpit view itself, it is great. Every car has its own unique cockpit, when you look around you can see what's happening behind you in the rear- or sideview mirrors, there's dirt on the windshield (as well as a reflection of trees, etc), and you can really hear the car's engine roar. Drive out of a tunnel and you'll notice the game's use of HDR lighting as you are briefly blinded while your eyes re-adjust to the light.
To be honest though I expect the visual problems I encountered to be fixed by launch, and because the game is still a lot of fun to play, either offline or against friends, I expect most PGR fans to be very happy with this game.
