Day 3 of PAX, although shorter than the other days (it ended at 6:00 PM instead of 3:00 AM), was just as busy as the previous two. Included in our coverage of day 3 are hands-on impressions with huge upcoming releases like Mass Effect 2, information on exclusive in-game demos of highly touted future titles like Brink, Bioshock 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Lastly, developer information/interviews on titles like Shank and Dawn of War II: Last Stand.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: with two live demonstrations scheduled, the first on Saturday, the second on Sunday, anticipation to see Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) was incredibly high. We were fortunate enough to see the Sunday showing, as it included a world-exclusive announcement not seen on Saturday. Before showing in-game footage of the game’s new character classes, the three heads of Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic development team announced that Bioware’s classic, and the game that started it all, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will be available for PC owners through Direct2Drive. A packed, 5,000 person-strong audience was elated to hear that they were all getting a complimentary copy of the game.
Once the demo got underway we got a good impression of SWTOR’s art style: characters had a mild, cartooney look while the environments were nicely detailed and had a lot of color. Although not having as high a polygon rate as other non-MMO titles, the models in SWTOR looked very good with very impressive environments. This was most noticeable as the demo took us outside into a courtyard near a Hutt palace on Tatooine. We saw the differences in combat styles as the bounty hunter and Sith warrior classes made their way across the screen. The former is a ranged class with an excellent rate of fire and some effective close range attacks to boot, while the latter combines potent melee attacks with powerful Force attacks.
The exclusive announcement came in the form of a new character class: the Republic Trooper, a forerunner to the Imperial Stormtrooper, the Republic Trooper looked amazing in its heavy armour and imposing weaponry. Part of an elite combat unit, the Republic Trooper possesses many ranged attacks, including everything from rapid-fire to missile attacks.
When it comes to gameplay, it’s important to note that the entire dialogue in SWTOR is done with voice acting not text….that’s a lot of voice dialogue. Dialogue trees include Bioware’s patented conversation options, which lead to morality choices that will impact whether your character will develop into an evil or good persona (or something in between). With Bioware at the helm, and a commitment to a story-driven, immersive gameplay, we can’t help but make this one of our most highly anticipated games of 2010.
Dawn of War II: the fine folks from Relic Entertainment were at PAX to showcase a new game mode in their popular RTS title for PC: Dawn of War II, called Last Stand. It’s an arcade-style, cooperative game mode that pits 3 players against wave after wave of oncoming enemies, requiring teamwork and solid strategy to be successful. People from the audience got a chance to participate in this new game mode and had a great time, best of all this new game mode, which will be available mid-October, is free!
We had a chance to sit down with the two associate producers on Relic’s Dawn of War II development team: Daniel Molina and Otto Ottosson and ask them about the company and their games.
G (Game Usagi): What does PAX mean to Relic?
R (Relic): It’s the biggest con(vention) we’ve been to, it’s close to our office in Vancouver and because it’s a convention for fans and gamers it’s a great way to get in touch with the people who actually play and buy our games.
G: How do you stay in touch with the fans and what they want?
R: We check the forums daily, listen to player feedback, talk to the people who buy our games and conduct (usability) tests.
G: Tell us about this new game mode you introduced today at PAX.
R: It’s called “Last Stand” and pits three players in an arena setting against waves of enemies. We had ideas and plans for a number of different game modes and after much debating, meetings and play testing found this was the best and most requested one. It’s due for an October release, will be FREE and was played in front of a PAX audience, which really liked it.
G: What’s next for your team?
R:We’re always working on improving Dawn of Warr II, we already have plans to introduce new gameplay balancing changes and maps in the near future.
G: What kind of other projects is Relic working on?
R:At E3 we announced Space Marine: a third person action RPG set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, designed especially for consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3).
G: What about new intellectual properties by Relic?
R:We certainly have aspirations to do new IPs, but that requires more development resources, which are currently assigned to existing projects.
G:Any plans to release Homeworld 3?
R: It’s not likely, but the staff at Relic have a soft spot for the game and would like to do a project like that.
G: Anything you’d like to announce or say to the fans?
R: We’re always working on improving the game (DoW II) and are working on releasing more maps, more balance changes and additional content. We care, we listen to our audience, and we are here for our fans.
Shank: according to many people, the surprise hit of PAX was a game called Shank, created by indy developer Klei Entertainment, Shank is a 2D, side-scrolling beat ’em up with a very distinctive, hand-drawn art style, not unlike what we’ve seen from developer Behemoth with games like Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers. Shank brims with attitude; nowhere is this more apparent than with the game’s titular character who dispatches enemies with dual pistols, shotguns, knives and even a chainsaw, all in a single attack sequence. Game Usagi had a chance, during PAX, to chat with Klei’s media representative: Carolyn Carnes about the game.
When asked why the demo level of Shank, which was playable at PAX, used a Dreamcast controller, with the console hidden under a cardboard box, Carnes told us Klei has not committed Shank to a console or platform yet, but Klei staff hinted that the Xbox 360 was a very likely home for the game. She also told us that Klei had not picked up a publisher for Shank and was poised to publish the games themselves. When asked if Klei would be open to publisher support if approached, Carnes said that this would be up to Klei management, most likely Jamie Cheng: Klei’s CEO. It’s our guess that after such a good response from the public and media at PAX, it’s very likely companies will now show an interest in publishing Shank. Carnes told us that the playable demo included a single level from the game, and that they currently couldn’t disclose how far along Shank was in the development process or when it’s slated for release. We predict Shank to make a big impact on Xbox Live Arcade (or Playstation Network if it should turn out that way) and become one of the top downloadable titles of the year.
Brink: Bethesda has been busy picking up more than top tier RPGs as shown by Splash Damage’s new FPS: Brink. Paul Wedgewood: the company’s CEO was at PAX to showcase an in-game demo of two environments in the game. Brink is set in a future where global warming has flooded most of the planet and society has taken refuge on a floating city called “the Arc”. Within its confines a conflict rages between the security forces of the Arc and a group called “the Resistance”, who battle against the oppression and poverty they face as the elite live in comfort and safety in the Arc’s secured zones.
First seen at E3, Wedgewood took control of a custom created character as he showcased the game’s play mechanicsin an empty air port terminal. The focus was on a new gameplay feature called the “smart button” which allows more freedom of movement than normally seen in FPS games. By looking at a certain space or item in front of you, while moving, your character will automatically take the appropriate action. For example, look straight ahead while running towards a guard rail, press the smart button (A) and your character will automatically jump over it. Further to this, run towards a security gate with horizontal infra red beams, look towards the ground, press the smart button and your character will automatically slide underneath the beams. Repeat the same action while looking up and your character will instead jump up and climb over the gate.
The demo then took us to a level called “Container City”, it was here where Wedgewood’s character joined a security task force as it was assaulting a Resistance stronghold. Another break from the traditional FPS-formula was the way objectives were assigned. Instead of following a pre-set objective at the start of a level, players can constantly check the objectives list, which changes based on gameplay developments, and choose an objective that best suits their tastes. Different objectives offer different experience amounts, making the choices more interesting, but that’s not where the player’s options end. Throughout the levels check points are set up, which allow you to change character classes on the fly. We saw Wedgewood change from an operative (a stealth-based class) to an engineer, who was able to set up a turret on top of a container, overlooking an open area where a firefight took place.
The freedom, ease of movement, being able to choose objectives on the fly and changing character classes on the fly really innovates the FPS genre. As if that wasn’t enough the graphics in Brink are stunning: the characters have a cartooney art style, somewhat reminiscent of characters in Time Splitters, the textures and level detail however were incredibly realistic, the visuals were exceptionally sharp and everything ran very smoothly. Although the game is still early in development, we can’t wait for it to hit in 2010, keep your eyes on this one.
Bioshock 2: 2K games had an enclosed demo area in which a narrated expose of some of Bioshock 2’s new gameplay features was displayed. Some exciting new changes await Bioshock fans, these include the revelation that we’ll now play as a Big Daddy (!), but not just any Big Daddy, one who is able to use placmids and has free will. Imagine the brute force of a Big Daddy, along with the destructive potential of placmids and you have an underwater party of epic proportions. Speaking of being underwater, Bioshock 2 can now take us outside of the confines of Rapture and into the ocean surrounding the city, providing additional variety in the game’s environments. The Little Sisters are back, and the relationship with the player’s Big Daddy and these valuable little girls has taken an interesting new turn: Little Sisters can be harvested just like in the first game, but now if you spare them they become your ally, climbing on your hulking shoulders and leading you to valuable “ADAM”. The demo also showed us a frightening new enemy: the Big Sister, a hybrid between a Big Daddy and a Little Sister. Visually, Bioshock 2 uses the same engine as the first, but with further polished effects, making the water effects look even more stunning. The much hyped, new multiplayer mode (the original Bioshock didn’t have any multiplayer), first unveiled at E3, also offers new gameplay variety, promising a lot to look forward to with this highly anticipated sequel.
Mass Effect 2: Oh Bioware, is there anything you can’t do? You give us some of the best role playing games in the world, revolutionize a dying franchise (Star Wars games weren’t exactly lighting most people’s fuse) and have yet to disappoint us gamers. So it’s no surprise that the sequel to 2007’s Mass Effect is looking bigger and better many months before its 2010 release. We had some hands-on time with Mass Effect 2 and were happy to once again gain control of Commander Shepard as he was heading for a futuristic-looking city in pursuit of a dangerous assassin. The controls felt very familiar but gave us more flexibility when seeking cover and offered a satisfying melee attack. The weapon menu provided us with more weapon classes, including a nicely destructive missile launcher. It’s hard to imagine but the game looks even better than the first, it ran very smoothly, had great lighting effects and beautiful, high gloss textures. Story details and information on the game’s development progress are being kept under wraps by Bioware, but the taste we did get of Mass Effect 2 during PAX made us very excited for the finished product. We had a chance to speak with Bioware’s QA lead for the Mass Effect 2 project, please find the interview below:
G (Game Usagi): What does PAX mean to BioWare?
B (BioWare) : This is a chance for us to talk with the consumers and listen to the interesting things they have to say like the new things they’d like to see in our games, improvements they’d like us to make.
G: What can you tell us about the level here on display at PAX?
B: This is a fairly small section of the level called “Thane acquisition”, we are looking for an assassin called “Thane”, he is one of the most feared and respected assassins in the galaxy, this can happen at various stages in the game, with the way Mass Effect 2 is set up you have a lot of options for when you go about certain things. I can’t nail down anything specific because it’s all up to you (the player).
G: How close to completion are you with Mass Effect 2?
B: How far along are we? I can’t tell you, I can tell you the game is very, very close to being completed, we are making final adjustments to the game, to make it play like no other game’s played before.
G: So for people who liked the first Mass Effect but aren’t yet convinced that Mass Effect 2 will be worth it, what would you tell them about the changes you’ve made to the sequel?
B: We’ve changed Mass Effect 2 in several ways to accommodate both shooter and RPG players. For players who like RPGs: we’ve made the combat a little bit easier, allowing them to experience the story line and on the opposite side we have the shooter aspect: we’re able to more easily adjust shooting controls so we don’t have to pause the game nearly as often and the game flows very quickly, allowing you the play very aggressively and enjoy the game either way.
G: The first Mass Effect, especially on Xbox 360, had its fair share of technical issues, how have these been addressed in Mass Effect 2?
B: I can tell you that all the problems we had with the first Mass Effect we basically looked at as soon as we started development and fixed them all: the popping in of facial features and load times were our foremost concerns and they have all been cured, our frame rate has been locked in at 30 fps, which plays very smoothly, we’ve eliminated elevators and loading sequences are a lot faster, the controls are streamlined for faster play, we’ve looked at all these things, they’re concerns we take very seriously.
G: The first Mass Effect already pushed graphical boundaries as we knew them, what kind of improvements have you made to the graphics in Mass Effect 2?
B: Well if you watch the facial features for instance, one of my personal favorites, they’re unlike anything else, it’s like talking to actual alien races that you’ve never seen before. You can see expressions in faces that really have movement, you’re able to take things from the story that otherwise could be completely lost, it’s really amazing stuff.