Adhesive Games is developing a new Mech Combat FPS. All clips in this video were captured from actual network game matches. The third person shots are from a spectator camera, gameplay is first person. We expect to release a first person gameplay trailer soon. Assume this is coming to the 360 & PS3 since it’s developed on Unreal tech.

Time to put that demo down, today is Killzone 2 launch day. With over a million preorders, Killzone 2 is already a hit. More importantly, it’s a hit with critics too.
The game description is pretty straight forward:

Two years after the Helghast assault on Vekta, the ISA is taking the fight to the enemy’s home world of Helghan. The ISA goal is direct: capture the Helghast leader, Emperor Visari, and bring the Helghast war machine to a halt. Assuming the role of Sev, a battle-hardened veteran and a member of the special forces unit known as the Legion, players lead a group of highly trained soldiers on a mission to take out the Helghast threat. For Sev and his squad, the invasion of Helghan is just the beginning. Tasked with securing Pyrrhus, the Capital City, the team quickly discovers that the Helghast are a formidable enemy on their home planet. Not only have they adjusted to the planet’s hostile conditions, they have also harnessed a source of power they can now use against the ISA. Sev discovers his squad isn’t just fighting enemy forces – their fiercest opponent may be the planet itself.

What are critics saying about it? Some are talking about this as a Game of the Year contender, while others throw around phrases like “brilliant in its execution”, and “you don’t want to miss this game”, although G4 TV puts it in a way that I can appreciate:

Probably the tastiest part of the Killzone Cocktail is the Multiplayer. Imagine if Call Of Duty 4 and Team Fortress 2 had a baby, which they then abandoned and as a result had to learn a few new tricks to survive. That’s what Killzone Multiplayer is like.

Mmm … multiplayer goodness. Help fight the global economic collapse and go buy Killzone 2 today.

Is it Nazi Zombies or Zombie Nazis? I’m not sure, but whatever you call ‘em, there’s no better fun than filling some Nazi Zombies full of lead. I’ve only just unlocked the “hidden” game mode in Call of Duty: World at War – but I quickly found that this is another incarnation of defend. In this case, you’re stuck in a farmhouse, with boarded up windows that look out on a dark and foggy night. Before too long something moves in the dark, and you realize you’re witnessing the zombie breakfast hour – and you’re on the menu. As you progress, the zombie hoard gets faster and stronger – and you and your friends (did I mention this was a co-op mode?) have to coordinate a defense.

mmm… brains.

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Gears of War 2 has been out for a few months, and one of the game modes that I’ve been having the most fun with is Hoard. My friends and I like playing co-op, and this is Epic’s take on what’s known in other games as Defend.
Think of it like this – you’re going to be outnumbered, greatly outnumbered, by increasingly hostile and effective opponents, and you and your friends need to find a way to survive. We’ve played through a number of times, and here are some strategies that may help you and your friends do just that.

Work as a Team

This goes without saying, but that can lead gamers to sometimes forget one of the basic rules of defensive play: Teams are stronger than their individual players. Maybe it’s a gestalt thing, but it’s true. Good communication with your mates, knowing where everyone is looking, coordinating movement to contact and concentrating fire actually work. Use those 8 or 10 extra pairs of eyes and ears on your team to get intel you wouldn’t otherwise have. And whatever you do, try to stick together, yes?

Find a Defensible Position and Set Up Shop

If you’re working together, your entire team should move to a location that is most easily defended. This is easier on some maps than others, but look for spots that have cover, long sight lines, and as few potential directions of attack. On some maps, like Gold Rush (from the combustible pack) there are spots that force the horde to attack from one direction. The balconies on Day One are pretty easily defended if you can keep your head down and watch for Locust getting directly beneath you. In genera, getting attacked from one direction is better than getting it from 2. And getting it from 2 is better than getting it from 3 – you get the idea.

Find Ways to Slow Your Enemy

The AI in Gears of War 2 is pretty sophisticated, but it’s not really smarter than you are. There are some things you can count on. For example, if you put enough fire on an enemy or a group of enemies, they’ll look for cover. This works for most light enemies, but even Maulers will take cover behind their shields and slow down if you’re firing on them. Most of the other Boomer class Locust (Boomers, Grinders, Flamers, and Butchers) will keep on advancing, and I believe Bloodmounts also don’t care too much about the pitiful bullets you’re sending at them.

You can also set traps using explosive and ink grenades at bottlenecks and along obvious attack paths. Do this at the beginning of the round and you may halt a flanking attack.

Another way to slow the advancing hoard is to collect the shields dropped by defeated Maulers and plant them in the ground. This is, I believe, the only way to actually obstruct the enemy. A couple shields placed at key locations on a ramp or stairway can cause a nice bottleneck that you can exploit with concentrated fire – after all you’re still playing as a team, right? One thing to remember is that any planted shields (and other dropped weapons) will disappear about 15 seconds into a new round, so be quick about grabbing a shield or two as the round starts, and then replant it after the timer has elapsed.

Pick Up Weapons and Ammo

One of the things you’ll start noticing is that the hoard not only get stronger and more accurate, they also spawn bigger and badder weapons as each block of 10 rounds progresses. By round 4 or 5 (of each 10-round block) you’ll be fighting boomers and grinders, and by 7 or 8 you’ll see Kantus and Theron Guards. Each of these enemies carries decent weapons, and you might do well to pick up a mulcher from a fallen grinder and turn its business end toward those damn Locust. Remember, fallen weapons will disappear shortly into each round, so you need to move fast to grab that nice torque bow before it vanishes.

The biohazard threat has not ended: Just when it seemed that the menace of Resident Evil had been destroyed, along comes a new terror to send shivers down players’ spines. Chris Redfield, returning Resident Evil hero, has followed the path of the evil literally around the globe.

After joining a new organization, Chris heads to Africa where the latest bioterrorism threat is literally transforming the people and animals of the city into mindless, maddened creatures. He is joined by a new partner, Sheva Alomar, who lends her strength, intelligence and sharp-shooting skills to the mission. In order to survive, Chris and Sheva must work together to take on the challenges of discovering the truth behind this evil plot. Utilizing a revolutionary new 2-player co-op mode of gameplay, players assume control of either Chris or Sheva and experience Resident Evil in new ways. In Resident Evil 5, Capcom has players fearing the daylight as much as they have feared shadow in previous games. [Capcom]

PUBLISHER: Capcom
DEVELOPER: Capcom
GENRE(S): Third-Person Action, Adventure, Survival Horror
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2009 (Capcom)

Our Preview

I tore into the Resident Evil 5 demo for XBox 360 like a rabid grizzly bear into a fat weekend hunter. Unfortunately, there were enough flaws in the demo to make me hope for better things come release day. First off, let’s set aside the things Capcom has done right.

Look and Feel

RE5 looks amazing. There’s no other way to say it. The environment detail, characters, lighting, effects, almost everything about the graphic quality of this game will NOT disappoint you. For me, one of the minor nits was the cheesy feel to enemy body disposal. Rather than simply fading away, Capcom has chosen to make your fallen foes melt in away in a bizarre bubbly mess that is completely at odds with the artistic direction of the rest of the game.

Another thing I loved about the demo was sense of immersion. I’m not usually a cut scene fan, but in this case, the cut scenes really added to the story because the quality of the in-game play was so close to the rendered cut scenes. You see this a lot these days, but Capcom has done a good job blending the missions and story-driven cut scenes so that the distinction between them is fairly seamless.

Gameplay

The control scheme is pretty intuitive and easy to grasp, but the one major flaw that I’ve found in the demo was the wonky camera and slow aiming system. Aiming is essential to a shooter, and I can forgive slow aiming in most cases. Here, however, the camera gets in the way. Since you’re playing over the shoulder, the camera can get hung up in a wall or whatever is behind your character during a fight. I found this to be annoying, and the one thing you DON’T want to do in a game demo is annoy your potential customers.

Have you played Resident Evil 5 yet? What did you think?