16.55PM
The queue for these conferences have always been huge and today is no exception. People have been queuing at least an hour and a half before the conference is due to start.
Luckily our press passes save the day and we are once again in our usual seats on the front row.
17.00PM
The room is heaving but before Tim Willits takes the stage, a rep from NVIDIA comes onto stage to present us with some groovy 3D effects.
Now for some weird reason, my eyes hate 3D, give me a headache and want to make me hurl, but it appears that my specs have decided that they don't want to sync anyway so unfortunately I can't tell you whether or not this 3D presentation is as mind blowing as we are being led to believe.
We are shown some clips from Battlefield, Just Cause 2, Batman Arkham Asylum, Super Sonic Sled (what?!), Tomb Raider Underworld and Metro 2033 which have all been given the 3D treatment.
We've already experienced some 3D gaming first hand here at the Expo with MotorStorm Apocalypse and Killzone 3, which Stu was highly impressed with.
This 3D is more about depth perception as opposed to things coming out of the screen at you which seems ideal for modern gaming.
Next up are some pictures of landscapes and popular landmarks that have been treated with the same effect.
Following this is a clip of some guy dressed like Jarvis Cocker who throws around some massive rolls of bubble wrap and a basketball game that is presented as being streamed from a YouTube-esque website.
At the end of the presentation the audience appear to be quite impressed with what they have seen.
17.15
Lights go down again.
We are being told we aren't allowed to film or take pictures. Bloggers ftw!
Tim Willits is joined by Senior Producer, Jason Kim.
Rage is the first new idSoftware IP in 10 years!
Tim talks about Wolfenstein (small clap), Doom (big clap) and Quake.
The progression of new technology is what pushed idSoftware into wanting to create something outside of the 'corridor shooter' but are still determined to keep to their roots.
'idTech5' is what is allowing new textures in Rage, giving it its unique look and style, stepping away from the same tired old environments. This tech is cross platform.
Rage takes place in the distant future after an asteroid takes out the earth.
The Eden Project (ughhh) put Arcs in the ground which are life supporting pods that were meant to emerge once the dust from the asteroid collision has settled but you are the only survivor fighting against 'The Authority'.
The demo starts in the wasteland about an hour into the game. Supplies are running low and it's your job to get more.
The environment looks very Fallout-esque but is well textured and the running is quite smooth.
You have your standard FPS set up with iron sights ability for precise aiming.
Vehicle driving switches to 3rd person.
'The Caprino' heavily armed with machine guns, rocket launchers and a massive ram at the front which enables you to bounce enemies cleanly off of your vehicle.
The vehicle is pretty quick and handles really well which allows you to turn easily and throw in a couple of drifts for extra awesome.
The town of 'Wellspring' becomes your home base or HQ and is the start of most of your missions, races, etc.
First loading screen: 1min tops
We are led into a bar and told that it's beneficial to the player to 'listen in' on what the NPC's have to say to learn more about missions and backstory.
Mini-games are prominent and allow you to earn extra cash. The one we are shown is called 'Tombstones' and is played with dice and little hologram characters.
There is an outfitters for your personal upgrades and a separate area for you to upgrade your vehicles for races.
We are shown an example of the 'listening in' benefits when we pick up a story about a mutant invasion.
An alarm sounds in the Wellspring office and we are led to go and help out. The mission is to kill the bandits and retrieve the toxin they plan to use to poison the water.
Our character, of course, is their 'only hope'.
Second loading screen: 1min tops
Jason Kim takes over.
Each new area gives you something new to play with, whether its a weapon or a piece of equipment.
Our character is given an electro bolt shooter, ideal for taking out enemies in a watery sewer.
A wounded NPC lets us know that there are bandits around the corner and they are taken out with an electro bolt, frying ala Bioshock. One hit kill in water.
Engineering items are obtained through schematics (*cough*Fallout 3*cough*), one of these we are shown is an RC car that explodes on the players command.
Another is the 'lockgrinder' which allows you to enter secure doors containing loot.
A personal turret is another which can selected via the d-pad for quick deployment. In the demo it is quickly knocked over by an enemy before it does any serious damage.
Jason proceeds through the level displaying some of the different weapons available, in this case, a machine gun, a shotgun and a magnum.
There is also a Xena/Dark Sector boomerang shuriken that can be thrown and even decapitate an enemy.
These bandits are fairly acrobatic but most can be taken down with a few rounds or a quick shotgun blast to the head.
17.40PM
We are shown a second group of enemies who take a bit more of a 'hack n slash' approach and run at you blindly with a variety of swords and clubs.
Another bit of tech is deployed which is a spider turret/sentry bot that runs along firing with its mounted machine gun and is used in this demo to flank an enemy.
Jason heads lower down into the level and after a few more bandits has an armoured 4x4 driven at him, with a mounted machine gun.
17.44PM
'The Dead City' is an old destroyed downtown area filled with mutants where no-one has ever returned.
Our character has been sent in to find out what 'The Authority' have been doing there.
We are back to an external area and are attacked by mutants which look a bit like skeleton/zombie pirates.
Same kind of combat style as the previous enemies but appear to go down a lot easier.
A monstrous mutant comes out armed with a grenade launcher and immediately opens fire, however his accuracy is appalling and he is taken down easily with 2 rocket launcher rounds.
However, an even bigger mutant comes stamping around the corner, Jurassic Park style, and roars as the demo fades out and the 'Rage' logo appears.
Available Sept 13th 2011 USA, Sept 15th/16th 2011 Europe
17.48PM
Q&A
'Is that the biggest thing (mutant at end of demo) we encounter?'
One of the biggest.
'Melee weapons?'
Each weapon has melee capability, but no dedicated melee weapons (bar fists).
'Game tied to Doom or Quake?'
Quake, Doom, Fallout 3 easter eggs will be in the game but no direct links.
'Online co-op/MP'
Yes, there will be MP. Working on it right now. Want to make it unique so won't talk about it until next year but should be 'very different than anything we have done in the past'.
'Open world free roam game?'
Open but directed. Story arc/missions but side missions and odd jobs available throughout.
'Will Rage run in 1080p on the PS3?'
No.
'Will vehicles and weapons deteriorate?'
Yes you will need to repair vehicles. No encumbrance.
'Will you have to drive and walk a lot, like in Fallout 3?'
You will ALWAYS have a vehicle available to you. The wasteland isn't huge.
'Will it be multidisc/DLC?'
Xbox 360 - 2 discs. No switching, just finish one then start the other.
PS3 - 1 disc.
'Morality system?'
Not really. Townspeople will comment on whether or not you did a good or bad job.
'What genre is this?'
FPS Action Shooter
'How long did it take to develop mega texturing?'
Started post Doom 3.
'DLC?'
Definitely want to do DLC.
In conclusion, Rage is ideal for fans of Fallout 3/post-apocalyptic shooters but don't want to deal with all the vast travelling, weapon deterioration or encumbrance.
It looks and sounds great and hopefully it lives up to all the well deserved hype.
I know I'm definitely going to be picking it up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment