Game News Hellgate London Officially Announced

[Screaming_life]

For one thing, Hellgate's different than any other game out there and for once, there's some actual innovation involved.

What's that then?

 

[Sol Invictus]

Read the preview.

 

[PennyAnte]

I read the preview. I see nothing new except what I already said. The burden of proof is on you Ex, and you can't skate that easy.

Even the monsters are derivative. Examples:

Beasts - Mindless "destroyer" type monsters that will simply come after you with a hunger for your face. One such creature encountered in the demo was called a Ravager. This dog-like demon stalked the streets and attacked by jumping long distances.

Necros - Demons that use the deceased to their advantage. The Flesh Eaters found roaming the cities eating bodies reside in this group. While they look like zombies, they're actually corpses that have been inhabited by demons looking for a home like a hermit crab looks for a shell.

Sounds an awful lot like sand leapers, corpse spitters and minor variations thereof.

 

[Sol Invictus]

And they're undead. Yeah. But that's not what I was talking about when I mentioned innovation. On that ground you could argue that no game is innovative because the protagonist is either a human or a robot.

I was referring to the whole aspect of the game that allows basically a limitless number of players to play COOP at the same time, because the game randomly generates dungeons to allow for that kind of adventuring (think Roguelikes), or the whole dealie with combination weapons, weapon modifications, dual wielding and skills. There's going to be over 100 different weapons in the game, each of them with uniquely different functions instead of the usual 'Sword of +1 damage vs Sword of +2 damage'.

 

[PennyAnte]

On that ground you could argue that no game is innovative because the protagonist is either a human or a robot.

That is a ridiculous overdramatization of my position.

I was referring to the whole aspect of the game that allows basically a limitless number of players to play COOP at the same time, because the game randomly generates dungeons to allow for that kind of adventuring (think Roguelikes)...

Inifinite party size is still only theoretical. You and I both know better than to believe it will come through. No machine today can render hundreds of PCs and their weapon effects and a gazillion monsters simultaneously without committing suicide.

... the whole dealie with combination weapons, weapon modifications, dual wielding and skills. There's going to be over 100 different weapons in the game, each of them with uniquely different functions instead of the usual 'Sword of +1 damage vs Sword of +2 damage'.

I knew you would say that, and yet somehow hoped you wouldn't. All those mod clips you can add onto weapons are just runewords and jewels, Ex. More of the same. Just ways to add fractional special damage and effects to vanilla gear. And D2 also was known for having a jillion weapons. Barbs already could dual wield. DW is old as the sun. How could you be so blind? Where is your Savvy Shoppers' Sense (tm)?

And so what about skills? It might be more complex than D2, but I doubt it will be as rich or user-friendly as Guild Wars. We will have to wait and see on that aspect of the game.

You want to love this game too much. So did I, at first. But that's over now. I have been betrayed by Roper & Co. Join me in the Pit of Despair.

As far as I see it, Billy Roper owes the world an honorable Japanese-style suicide. He's done, his creative jiuces are spent.

(Besides, you are setting yourself up for more flip-flop snubs, and I want to protect you from that. )

 

[almondblight]

There's going to be over 100 different weapons in the game, each of them with uniquely different functions instead of the usual 'Sword of +1 damage vs Sword of +2 damage'.

So the preview writer claims. But he says he was only shown a few different weapons. The writer also seems like he's 14. Modding weapons in a game isn't new, and Diablo II had a lot of it. Duel weapons of different types isn't new, Heavy Metal FAKK 2 did it. It might be interesting, although the reviewer didn't make it seem like anything special. Perhaps because there's a lot of filler in there.

 

[Screaming_life]

I was referring to the whole aspect of the game that allows basically a limitless number of players to play COOP at the same time,

Well, if i believed that then it truely would be an innovation that defies the physical laws of games!

But regardless, i play RPG games, i don't have a limitless number of friends to play co-op with!

because the game randomly generates dungeons to allow for that kind of adventuring

*yawn* why is this a good thing? it's just a levelling up ploy that will have no connection to the main game. Or it's something for the feature list, "Unlimited Gameplay" WOOHA!
The best it can be is a design compensation to allow n00bs to have an Uber character that can beat the level their stuck on.

or the whole dealie with combination weapons, weapon modifications, dual wielding and skills. There's going to be over 100 different weapons in the game, each of them with uniquely different functions instead of the usual 'Sword of +1 damage vs Sword of +2 damage'.

oh come on! this just breeds obsession gaming... "Must find better weapon"
It only adds marginally to gameplay, it's hardly an innovation worth shouting about.

 

[Slaytanic]

Diablo in London, hmm.
Didn't Lioheart come pretty close to that ?

 

[Fez]

MDK 2 allowed you to do duel wielding of different weapons, and thanks to the unique physical advantage of one of the heroes, you could wield four different weapons at the same time if you wanted. Quadruple wielding - now there's innovation!

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Didn't Anachronox allowed something like twenty five million weapon combinations or somesuch?

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Anyway, I'll just keep watching Rex hype this until release then trash after it. It makes for some heart-warming moments.

 

[Spazmo]

So basically Hellgate has got:

• Co-op gameplay
• Randomly generated areas
• A great variety of items thanks to a loot randomizer

Hmm... nope. Never played a game with anything like that before.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Didn't Anachronox allowed something like twenty five million weapon combinations or somesuch?

Meh, not really. Once you got the Hecatomb, it was all you needed.

 

[Volourn]

"MDK 2 allowed you to do duel wielding of different weapons, and thanks to the unique physical advantage of one of the heroes, you could wield four different weapons at the same time if you wanted. Quadruple wielding - now there's innovation!"

Did you just accuse BIO of innovating? The Codex will kill you now.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Diablo in London, hmm.
Didn't Lioheart come pretty close to that ?

Lionheart had a modern day setting!

 

[Sol Invictus]

Curiously... why can't Hellgate London be a good game? We can all agree that Diablo 2 was a good game, but what did it offer that its predecessor Diablo, or Nox, or a bunch of roguelikes with skill trees in them didn't already have? Funny how Hellgate London seems to be held to a higher standard than all the other relatively budgetesque games we cover, yet everyone here talks about them like they're the 'best games EVAR' - e.g. Kult, Restricted Area, Space Wolves, etc.

 

[Volourn]

"We can all agree that Diablo 2 was a good game"

No. If D2 was so good I'd have played it. Guess what? It's so bad EVEN I didn't bother with it.

R00fles!

 

[Screaming_life]

Curiously... why can't Hellgate London be a good game? We can all agree that Diablo 2 was a good game, but what did it offer that its predecessor Diablo, or Nox, or a bunch of roguelikes with skill trees in them didn't already have? Funny how Hellgate London seems to be held to a higher standard than all the other relatively budgetesque games we cover, yet everyone here talks about them like they're the 'best games EVAR' - e.g. Kult, Restricted Area, Space Wolves, etc.

It may well be a good game but from what i've seen/read it certainly doesn't deserve quotes such as:

"HELLGATE: LONDON will be one of the most anticipated PC games ever."

Or for that matter, claims of great innovation.

Everything needs to be knocked down a peg or two!

And anyway, why the hell would i look forward to a 3D diablo? i'm just not interested

 

[Fez]

Hey, I liked MDK 2 Volourn, I don't mind saying it. I know people who don't like PC games much or action games who still liked it. It was good, it'd be silly to curse the game because Bio was involved with it.

 

[Sol Invictus]

OMG WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN DIABLO 3 GO DIE PLZ KTHX.

Get a grip fellas. We can't all be catering to shit like The Fall now can we?

Between all the Bioware haters and the "OMG I HATE EVERY GAME THAT ISNT FALLOUT WTFOMGBBQ", I don't know which is more ridiculous.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Actually Hellgate doesn't seem too be too bad, but the innovation seems to be only from a technical standpoint (a firstperson roguelike as opposed to a topdown or isometric roguelike). I can derive satisfaction and even some fun outta roguelikes, but when someone says innovation, it mostly turns into 'same old thing done in slightly different way that turns it into a curiosity rather than actual innovation'.

 

[Volourn]

"Hey, I liked MDK 2 Volourn, I don't mind saying it. I know people who don't like PC games much or action games who still liked it. It was good, it'd be silly to curse the game because Bio was involved with it."

Bah. MDK2 is overrated. Any game I haven't bothered to play has to be bad. It's a rule.

 

[Sol Invictus]

You didn't play Total Annihilation either. Are we supposed to agree that TA was a bad game based on that very premise?

 

[Fez]

By Volourn's rules, yes. I think he made that clear.

You should give MDK 2 a shot if you can Volourn, you can probably find it for five dollars somewhere. The action and puzzle elements worked well together. It still looks OK too.

 

[Volourn]

"You didn't play Total Annihilation either. Are we supposed to agree that TA was a bad game based on that very premise?"

Um. If we are going by my premise; than duh; yes, that means it is a bad game. Duh.


"You should give MDK 2 a shot if you can Volourn, you can probably find it for five dollars somewhere. The action and puzzle elements worked well together. It still looks OK too."

No. I'll stick to the REAL BIO games.