Mr. Redundant
Newbie
- Joined
- May 20, 2003
- Messages
- 4,446
- Reaction score
- 0
I got to play two demos of upcoming xbox games yesterday, and honestly both were pretty damn good... especially considering they were for a console. (Im a PC lover)
one was "PSI-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy" (which totally blew me away with it's use of the Havok engine, and manipulation with your mind... totally cool)
the other was "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay", and besides the fact its based on a less than stellar movie starring Vin Diesel, and of course its on the xbox... well I didnt expect much, but my Bro made me try it.
the graphics are pretty damn good, using dynamic light and shadows (ala doom3) Bumpmapping, normal mapping etc its got good visuals going for it, the models werent shiny at all (common problem with newer games coming out) the textures were pretty varied and nice, and FPS was a constant 30fps (like halo) yeah it sounds low, but in execution its fine.
the gameplay was something along the lines of Farcry crossed with Splinter Cell, see Riddick can see in the dark and can shoot out lights (very cool) to make it entirely pitch black. With the dynamic lighting system its cool to see as shadows change and how lighting from other sources looks when you shoot a different light out. you have a stealth mode and you can sneak up behind guys and snap their necks in First person (pretty cool)
The Ai was pretty standard from what I played, run of the mill "throw a grenade, stand there and shoot, roll sometimes, cuss at the player" AI then again the demo was kinda restrictive so who knows what the final will be like.. however it still was fun gunning them down.
one interesting thing the Ai did do is turn on their gun-mounted flashlights when they couldnt see into a dark corner.. (not always at you.. just if they hear something or think they see something)
The combat was pretty standard fare, the guns were pretty average, if even a tad inaccurate (you get to try 3) there was a shotgun (kinda weak even at close range, was dissapointed), a pistol (didnt use it much, seemed nice enough though) and an assault rifle (pretty skittish accuracy even when crouched/not moving.. very random fire pattern).
and you could also fight in first person, your fists come up, and you can block/kick/punch/combo/uppercut/headbut/etc I thought it was going to be corny... but actually it was well done, its easy to block, dodge and attack and fun
The animations were fluid and well done too, when you reach up and grab something to pull yourself up.. it looks good, oh and Vin Diesel actually looks like Vin Diesel (which is a plus), the model is very accurate.
Ragdolls were apparent in the game, and the characters were weighted properly, and looked fluid, and physics were applied to some objects like grates and things, but nothing over the top with physics was involved (at least not like PSI-OPS, or HL2)
conclusion: what I garnered from the demo was that it's might be the first game to actually be better than the movie it's based on.
I would say its a definite rental, and maybe a purchase depending on the MP aspect of the full game. its definitely a game to keep your eye on if you own an Xbox and are waiting for some decent games.
---------------------------------------------------------
one was "PSI-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy" (which totally blew me away with it's use of the Havok engine, and manipulation with your mind... totally cool)
the other was "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay", and besides the fact its based on a less than stellar movie starring Vin Diesel, and of course its on the xbox... well I didnt expect much, but my Bro made me try it.
the graphics are pretty damn good, using dynamic light and shadows (ala doom3) Bumpmapping, normal mapping etc its got good visuals going for it, the models werent shiny at all (common problem with newer games coming out) the textures were pretty varied and nice, and FPS was a constant 30fps (like halo) yeah it sounds low, but in execution its fine.
the gameplay was something along the lines of Farcry crossed with Splinter Cell, see Riddick can see in the dark and can shoot out lights (very cool) to make it entirely pitch black. With the dynamic lighting system its cool to see as shadows change and how lighting from other sources looks when you shoot a different light out. you have a stealth mode and you can sneak up behind guys and snap their necks in First person (pretty cool)
The Ai was pretty standard from what I played, run of the mill "throw a grenade, stand there and shoot, roll sometimes, cuss at the player" AI then again the demo was kinda restrictive so who knows what the final will be like.. however it still was fun gunning them down.
one interesting thing the Ai did do is turn on their gun-mounted flashlights when they couldnt see into a dark corner.. (not always at you.. just if they hear something or think they see something)
The combat was pretty standard fare, the guns were pretty average, if even a tad inaccurate (you get to try 3) there was a shotgun (kinda weak even at close range, was dissapointed), a pistol (didnt use it much, seemed nice enough though) and an assault rifle (pretty skittish accuracy even when crouched/not moving.. very random fire pattern).
and you could also fight in first person, your fists come up, and you can block/kick/punch/combo/uppercut/headbut/etc I thought it was going to be corny... but actually it was well done, its easy to block, dodge and attack and fun
The animations were fluid and well done too, when you reach up and grab something to pull yourself up.. it looks good, oh and Vin Diesel actually looks like Vin Diesel (which is a plus), the model is very accurate.
Ragdolls were apparent in the game, and the characters were weighted properly, and looked fluid, and physics were applied to some objects like grates and things, but nothing over the top with physics was involved (at least not like PSI-OPS, or HL2)
conclusion: what I garnered from the demo was that it's might be the first game to actually be better than the movie it's based on.
I would say its a definite rental, and maybe a purchase depending on the MP aspect of the full game. its definitely a game to keep your eye on if you own an Xbox and are waiting for some decent games.
---------------------------------------------------------
