| At
X06, we had the chance to play the “Warzone” mode
on “Canals”, one of the eight versus multiplayer
maps that will ship with Gears of War this November.
Before I continue describing our time
with this map, let me tell you that Gears of War will ship
with three versus-multiplayer variants:
“Warzone”,
which is a kind of a last-man standing team-based versus multiplayer
mode; “Execution”,
which as the name suggests is a mode where you have to perform
an execution to finish off your opponents (more on executions
later); and “Assassination”,
in which each team objective is to kill the other team’s
leader. Cliff let the door open to the possibility that, in
addition to maps that are already in the works, new versus
modes might be developed by Epic Games after the GoW’s
release.
You know that Cliff has looked into
the beautiful architecture of Europe for inspiration of the
Gears of War scenarios, and the Canals map is no exception.
It has a déjà vu or modern Amsterdam feel mixed
with Prague, but with the added touch of being estroyed by
the Locust horde. You better get used to “destroyed
beauty” aesthetics.
Canals has a symmetrical design similar
to the versus multiplayer map we played behind closed doors
at E3 2006. The idea is that both teams, the Coalition of
Ordered Goverments and the Locust, start at opposite sides
in comparable conditions. As they move forward, the skills
of the players will determine which team overcomes the other.
You can think of GOW’s multiplayer as a sort of tug
of war experience but there is no rope pulling, only shooting
and popping.
In the middle of the map
there is usually a special weapon that can truly make a difference
for the team that gets to it first. My team found a sniper
rifle, but you can also expect more exclusive weapons in the
final game.
Speaking of weapons, the arsenal was
the same as in previous demos; two pistols, an assault rifle,
a shotgun, grenades, a crossbow, and the sniper rifle. But
rumor has it there are still unknown weapons that Epic Games
doesn’t want to reveal until the game ships.
But let’s talk about gameplay.
Those who tell you the cover system needs extra working or
that it feels awkward are lying to you and are simply being
crybabies. Although it might need some tuning, the cover system
is intuitive, and once you learn the basics, it becomes natural
and you no longer think what you are doing, you just perform
your cover up moves. It’s like learning to drive a car:
after you get used to it, you no longer think about every
gear you have to switch or when to press in on the brake.
Ranking is by points, and although
killing an opponent gets you points, there are many ways to
earn these; from melee attacks and head shots, to reviving
team mates and performing deadly executions… which reminds
me about how cool executions are.
When a player has been taken down,
there’s a short period of time that can make the difference
between getting revived or dying disgracefully. If that guy
on the floor is your team mate, (assuming you’re not
that kind of sadistic who likes to kill comrades) you can
revive your friend.
But the best situation is when that
fallen player is your enemy, because you can take your time
to kill him either with your pistol, one shoot at a time;
with your chainsaw, to experience how it feels to be Leatherface.
What’s even more offending is
the cool “curb stomped” move, which has you pressing
the X button to stomp your enemy’s head, and smash it
like a bug. Remember that all this is happening on a network
multiplayer game, with the other guy begging on the headset
for a more respectful death.
In regards to visuals and performance,
I’m happy to report that this near final build is running
smoother than at E3, and the fact the Unreal Engine 3 is running
on multiple cores now has eliminated frame rates issues while
adding some nice effects such as blurred distant objects,
realistic lighting and shadow.
There were so many particles on screen
it fees like you, your couch and the entire living room will
end up dirty, wet or sprayed by blood; hopefully, your enemy’s
blood.
So far, I had lot of fun playing this
versus multiplayer mode on Canals. The game feels practically
the same on campaign and versus mode, which is a good thing
as you don’t have to learn a whole bunch of new mechanics
to play either mode.
Unfortunately, Gears of War is focused
on his campaign mode, so the versus multiplayer mode won’t
be as big as you’d expect from the maker of Unreal Tournament,
but that doesn’t mean Gears of War won’t offer
a terrific versus experience.
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By: Cesar Berardini
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