GC 2007 - Day 2: Call of Duty 4, something new and cool
TechlandThe Poland-based developers were very gracious to see us (especially after a mix-up with the dates) and were more than happy to guide us through the two projects currently in development. Techland are best known for their modest DX10 hit Call of Juarez and from what we saw today, it would seem that they've kept on doing the "right" things and fixed the "wrong" ones. WarhoundAt face value, this looks like very standard fare: it's a first person shooter about an ex-Delta Force member, now turned mercenary, who takes on various contracts around the world. The good thing - nay, great thing - is the amount of replayability to be found, even at this very early stage in the development.
With over 30 contracts to choose from, in whatever order you like, and a skill tree that you can invest your hard-earned cash in, Warhound offers lots of ways of skinning a cat. Better still is the way that levels are started: there is no fixed starting point. You get to pick the day and time, and the drop-off location is only limited by terrain and your available funds. Each level is pretty big and strongly randomised, so key objectives might always be in the same place with each attempt. Object physics has progressed to include foliage, and not just for visual reasons: enemies trying to sneak up on you through vegetation will cause it to move about.
Another unique feature is the first person cover system. The player can sneak up behind a wall and upon peeking around the corner, time "slow mos" down, allowing you to pop a cap in some poor chap's posterior. A multiplayer mode is still being looked at, so it may well be single player only on release. Currently planned for next year, the publishing details have also yet to be finalised.
Dead IslandAh, the living dead - the finest partners for any enjoyable hack 'em up! If Warhound sounds simple on first glance, this one is even more basic: you and your wife are on a plane, which subsequently crashes. You wake up on a lush tropical, luxury island; your wife is nowhere to be seen but hordes of stumbling zombies make it immediately that brains are on the menu tonight. Yours, to be precise.
Despite the location, this a proper mature gore-fest: zombie models have 3 layers to them, so weapon impacts can rip away skin to expose flesh or bones. Since you're not the Terminator, you won't have many guns to hand, so it's a case of grab what you can and batter the crap out of anything that moves. And yes, it's as fun as it sounds! Luckily, you're not the only living person on the island but it soon becomes clear than there are various factions, not all of which are as friendly as they may seem. Complete missions for them and wee hints about where you are, why there are zombies around, and how you can get your wife back!
Dead Island is a single player, survival horror title that's sure to do well - if nothing more for than the chance to grab a chair and bash the undead to pieces with. Both this and Warhound will be using Techland's latest engine, which supports DX9 and DX10, and they'll be available on the PC and Xbox 360 sometime in 2008.
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