Preview Hellgate exclusive preview at GameSpy

Tags: Flagship Studios; Hellgate: London

<a href=http://www.gamespy.com>GameSpy</a> has posted a 4-page ubar exclusive <a href=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/hellgate-london/613487p1.html?fromint=1>preview</a> of <b>Hellgate London</b>, a game that will be a good example of why Diablo gameplay wouldn't work in first person mode.
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<blockquote>All talking aside, it was time to fire this sucker up (no pun intended) and experience the carnage firsthand. The first thing we noticed once we sat down with the game is that the controls are intuitive to anyone who's played first-person games on the PC: running, strafing, jumping, firing... it all felt natural. And the game engine had a great framerate, even at this relatively early stage in development, despite the hordes of creatures on the screen or the massive explosions we were dishing out.
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The only playable character class at this point is the Templar, an armored modern-day knight descended from the Knights Templar of old. Templar characters are built for close-quarters combat. They have lots of abilities for moving quickly and jumping in or out of a fight. Their main source of power is something called "vengeance," which builds up as you take physical damage at close quarters. You could expend vengeance doing special moves.
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I quickly discovered that my favorite weapons were a pair of explosive handguns that quickly shot fireballs in a wide spread. I tucked one in each hand and before long was able to outfit them with fuel that increased their damage. I set up my left mouse button to fire both at once. In Hellgate you don't have to worry about running out of ammo, so I could run rampant through the city ushering forth a stream of fiery death.</blockquote>
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Sounds boring. Then again, most of you are crazy about Guild Wars, so yay! AWESOME!!! I CANT WAIT TO PLAY THIS GAEM!!!
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Guild Wars > Diablo/Hell series.

I've alreayd played more of GW than I have of Diablo.

It wins.

 

Damn, brings back good old Nethack memories.

 

Hey VD, you should really give GW a chance. It deserves at least a shot.
That said can't wait to see more of this Roper's new project.

 

I'm actually pretty hyped about Hellgate London. UBER ROGUELIKE, anyone?

 

I just want "Demise with guns".

 

I just want women with user manuals.

 

I wanna rock

*wails on guitar*

 

i dont want to work,

i just want to bang on the drum all day

 

Well, the best part is that all the straffing and jumping you do probably won't matter if they use a to-hit system like they're claiming. It might make the dufus that played the demo feel better about his Counter Strike skills, but that's about it in a to-hit system.

 

yeh no shit, just hold down the "fire" button and run around

OOH ITS FUCKING INNOVATION

 

Nobody's calling it innovation. Let's just say there's a new TV show, it's about lawyers. Whether it sucks or if it's good doesn't really matter. Someone insults it for being 'INNOVATIVE OMG', even though it never claimed to be anything but a lawyer show. Huh.

Yeah, that straw man argument really flies.

 

NEW GAMES NEED TO INNOVATE

that is the point of making something "new" - get it?

Is Hellgate a sequel?? Is it trying to copy the game mechanics of something else or is it trying to introduce new mechanics??

are you trying to tell me they ARENT trying to be innovative?? They just randomly came up with the idea for a first person RPG with auto-lock targeting and randomly created levels, massive loot, upgradeable weapons, etc?

yeh - you're a fucking genius

 

"NEW GAMES NEED TO INNOVATE"

No they don't. Only a moron thinks that. New games (or old games) just need to be good and fun. If they 'innovate' that's ok. Innovation, for the most part, is overrated espicially for games in the 21st century.

Idiot.

 

Looks and sounds like a lot of fun. I wonder if they'll manage to not make the randomn areas look and feel too samey or spliced together. The action sounds alot like the way vampire played, stats under the hood and some nice fps action to see.

This game has me intrigued.

 

Shit, Volourn finally got something right. I hate it when that happens.

 

I'd like old space captain here to name a single first person roguelike that's been developed in the past 10 years that had a proper budget, besides. There's certainly been spatterings of the various features contained in Hellgate London, but never a compilation of them. Sure, we've had similar character development in Diablo 2 (patch 1.10 synergies), upgradeable weapons and mods in Deus Ex, auto-targetting in Freelancer, and randomly generated levels in the countless roguelikes, and of course multiplayer coop in Guild Wars, but when was the last time somebody took all of these little things and put them altogether in one neat, awesome little package?

Oh, and for the record, new games don't need to innovate. They just need to be fun, and being fun is a great way for a game to feel 'fresh' rather than a kind of 'innovative experience' that feels 'stale' after a couple of hours when the 'innovation' wears off. Take Black & White for example, one of the most 'innovative' games in years, that grew stale after an hour of play.

There are, however, exceptions. I've high hopes for Will Wright's Spore. If only because he isn't Peter Molyneux.