GC 2007 - Day 3: Codemasters, Ubisoft and Jagged Alliance 3
Rise of the ArgonautsThe dark horse in Codemasters lineup is definitely Rise of the Argonauts. If I would be forming an opinion based on the first 60 seconds of the presentation, I would probably go "meh, a console-style arcade adventure/fighting game...", but there is far more to Rise of the Argonauts than first meets the eye. Developed by Liquid Entertainment, Rise of the Argonauts is actually a RPG with some strong ideas about how to actually push the genre forward and have a more visual and cinematic game. The art style reminds me a bit of Blizzard's work, except with far more detail in both the surroundings and in characters. While the game is developed as a multiplatform title for PC and consoles, it's a PC game demonstrated on a PC.
The story is loosely based on Jason and the Argonauts, with characters and locations based on the familiar epic. You control Jason together with couple of his shipmates that you can pick before leaving the ship. You can give orders to the companions in combat, but they are otherwise AI-controlled. While the game is officially pigeonholed as a RPG, even that is really not quite what it is. A fair assessment might be to say it combines Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect-style group RPG adventure with more action-packed but highly realistic combat. If you have a shield, it actually blocks blows all the time - the collision detection is extremely detailed, and when fighting human-sized opponents, the damage is realistic; if you get a swing in high and the blow lands, heads will roll. Don't let the cartoony look fool you, there is plenty of blood and dismembered body parts here and the developers admitted to watching 300 more than a few times for inspiration.
In fact, my reaction to the combat demo with multiple opponents was basically that these guys should take this incredible battle system and somehow get it to FunCom's Age of Conan. I mean while Age of Conan tries something similar for the MMO combat, Rise of the Argonauts is doing it so much better that it was truly impressive. Sure, MMOs and single player games are different beasts and the problems in implementing actual hit-based combat for MMO settings are vastly different, but the comparison can't be avoided. Rise of the Argonauts also does away with the HUD and clumsy inventory screens, exp bars and such immersion-breaking detail. I mean some of that stuff exists and you can dig it up, but it's not normally visible while playing, and it's not needed. If Jason picks up a new weapon, that will show on his character - either as he wields it, or carrying it on his back. Any overflow items are automatically posted to the waiting ship, which does have a bit more traditional inventory of items. Loot is also enemy-specific - if you kill a guy with a sword and a shield, you can loot those items, and there won't be +10 magic swords or bags of gold lootable off boars or bunnies. Enemies leave behind only items they visibly carry and use. Experience system also does away with '+500 exp' and 'ding!' stuff. Instead you have a set of skill trees, and you can dedicate your deeds to specific gods, gaining favour towards the deity in question, which in turn allows you to advance the skill tree linked to that god. Skills and attributes gained also show visibly - as you get stronger, your blows actually push opponents further back, or disorient them more easily instead of just adding some +damage to some number that shows in a combat log.
Enemies have no numeric hit points - small, humanoid sized ones can be killed in one blow, and the combat is more about breaking trough parries and blocks, while larger monsters visibly show the damage they take on their skin as you add cuts and bruises. Combat also includes context-sensitive special moves, many tied to certain opponents you fight and the characters you use, and there are tons of these moves giving many battles a true cinematic feel. The game world also has many instances of cause and effect showing - the example used was a fight with a huge boar at the end of one of the islands where you are supposed to save some rank-and-file crew members of yours. The more you manage to rescue, the more archers you have supporting you from the surrounding rocks as you chop up the ugly boar with your party. Rise of the Argonauts is currently scheduled for summer 2008 on the PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3. In summary, 300 meets Mass Effect and KoTOR, on the PC, with truly impressive arcade combat system and shiny visuals. I'm sold. Give. Now.
Turning Point: Fall of LibertyCodemasters was also demoing Turning Point: Fall of Liberty on the PC. It's a WW2 first person shooter set in 1951. Yep, that's right. Alternate history, Churchill died in an accident and the history diverged, Normandy never happened, the Nazis pwned all of Europe and in 1951 they launch a surprise invasion of the US - and the hero is part of the resistance. Sounds like good fun twist on the common WW2 FPS shooter, but sadly we didn't have time to see the demo ourselves. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is also a 2008 release.
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