Looking back I can not believe we spent hours upon hours "playing" a game that was nothing more than:
"You walk down the rough stone path, the sky blocked out by the overhanging branches. You reach a point where the road forks to the left and the right. Which direction would you like to go?"
At this point you would type in "L" for left or "R" for right. Rinse and repeat. Of course we knew everything that was going to happen since we wrote it, but man did you play and play until we wore out the tape the game was stored on.
Games sure have come a long way since then haven't they? I dove head first into the world of the MMORPG with the introduction of Everquest. Many a night was spent raiding away with my guild (yes, I was a guild leader for a while). There were many a weekend that I don't think I even showered, or went outside due to "important raid stuff". I never got to the point where I lost my job, or my friends over it like some people did. I played up to the point where World of Warcraft came out. I tried it, played about 5 months, decided I did not like it and went back to EQ. I then tried playing some Everquest II in the hopes it would bring back some of that old EQ magic, but it didn't. I decided at this point it was going to be EQ and that was that. It wasn't until about a year after release that I got back into WoW. A very close friend of mine called me up and talked me into giving WoW a try again. Thanks to Larry EQ got cancelled and it has been WoW ever since.
I tried several other games over the last couple of years that I enjoyed, but never really got into like I did with EQ or WoW. There was Oblivion, City of Heroes, Doom 3, F.E.A.R, and I even dusted off and played some Starcraft again. It wasn't until I saw the trailer for a new game coming out that I got excited about games again. I am talking about:
This could very well be the next game that I dive into and play for a substantial amount of time. The game is being developed by Flagship Studios, which is a good sign right there. This company was founded by some of the core people involved with the development of Diablo. Check out the website at...Hellgate:London for all kinds of great information about the game like classes, game play, and a very nice selection of screenshots.
The concept behind the game sounds interesting. London in the year 2038, decimated by legions of demons with mankind struggling to survive. The game references several real world events in it's story line. The Knights Templar play a role in the game as the keepers of knowledge on how to defeat the demons. It also mentions that the crusades was actually an undertaking to defeat them. Ordinary weapons will not work against the demons. It is a fusion of modern technology and magic that enables mankind to fight back. There is also the enclusion of the Freemasons who have built a vast underground tunnel network that is used as the base of operations because it was built to be resistant to the demons.
Gameplay looks like a nice mix between a first person shooter and a traditional RPG. The game looks to be played from a first person shooter perspective, but characters will be allowed to level up, get new gear, have a point system to get "talents" so to speak, and increase stats.
The game looks very nice, and hopefully will provide a nice mix of two game types that I enjoy. From the sounds of it you can play this game solo, or you can connect up online and form parties of other players to explore with. There will also be some kind of PVP element implemented but there is not a lot of information on that yet.
Cheryl from IAH Games has a blog going with monthly updates about the game. Check out what she has to say at Angelace's Hellgate: London Blog. If you look under the blog from August 2007 titled "Sizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzling hot! she has some nice pictures up of the Hellgate:London painted jeep. Did I mention the jeep is pretty sweet looking, but not as sweet as what is pictured with it? Go see for yourself. It is worth the click.
Check out the trailer for the here - Hellgate:London Trailer
I signed up for the Beta testing but like most people, I have not heard anything. Beta is scheduled to close up on October 7th 2007 so at this point I am going to vote "NO" on my getting in. The scheduled release date for the retail version is October 31, 2007 for the North American, and November 2, 2007 for the Europe date.
The December issue of PC Gamer is going to have a nice write up about the game. This should be hitting shelves in the next week or two so keep an eye open for it. This is what the cover is going to look like:
In case you are wanting some screenshots guess what...included. Don't say I don't take care of you!
No comments:
Post a Comment