PDA

View Full Version : Darkwatch Preview



thrAsher
05-20-2004, 12:19 PM
Let’s see: FPS – check, Wild West theme – check, gritty tone – check, the ability to ride a horse without being “on rails” (that’s been sadly lacking in most recent western themed games) – check, half-human, half-vampire main character who works for an organization that grinds the bones of other vampires for fuel and uses their skin as cloaks – che---WHAT?!? I’ll admit that was my first reaction when hearing about this game. I thought the designers were fools, the developers were mad, and the fate of Wild West games would be sealed by Darkwatch like the last nail in a coffin, so to speak. After sitting down with the game at E3 however, I can confidently say that the game is right on track to be everything an action/FPS/horror junkie could want.

The game’s main character is Jericho Cross, who starts out as a normal human who makes his way however he can in the Wild West, which most often includes gunning someone down with his trusty six shooter. One day Jericho hears tell of a train supposedly laden with gold that is going to be one last target for him before he skips down to Mexico. When he gets aboard the train, he finds humans dressed in unfamiliar uniforms ripped in half, along with other disturbing signs of battle. He makes his way through the train and eventually comes to a mysterious container which he supposes the gold is being kept in. He opens it and unwittingly releases evil incarnate in the form of an ultra-powerful Vampire Lord. Jericho is bitten by this horror, and he begins to turn into a vampire himself. The Darkwatch arrives in time to stop Jericho from turning all the way, and offers him the opportunity to work for them or he can die. Jericho decides to sign up, and the Darkwatch begins to supply him with a serum that slows his descent into vampirism. If it sounds a little like Blade to you, well, yes, it’s somewhat similar, but Blade never has an organization to back him up on his vampire eradication crusade.

In terms of gameplay, Jericho can summon his trusty steed Shadow at times to aid him in his slayage of undead minions. You can fire your gun while mounted, charge into enemies, or have Shadow rear up and kick the bad guys in their noggins. Speaking of bad guys’ noggins, the game features location-based damage so that you can take out limbs, the aforementioned bad guys’ noggins, or even the Wild West standard of shooting someone’s hat off of their head! The fact that you can target different parts of an enemy independently will come in really handy once you’re facing down the likes of an enemy known as “Keggers”, who are zombies running around with kegs of TNT slung over their shoulders. And you thought a kegger was a fun party…not in Darkwatch terms it’s not! Along with your horse, the game will feature some other vehicles, including a Darkwatch buggy that’s not horse-driven!

Some of the other abilities Jericho gets are enhanced vision, or Blood Vision as the devs are calling it. Using Blood Vision allows him to differentiate between undead and humans, as well as being able to see slightly through walls. Jericho can also jump much further and higher than a normal human can. This ability seems pretty fun to use as enemies come at you in a swarm and you can jump out from the middle of them all the while firing your guns.

Firing guns isn’t all this title is about, but Darkwatch does supply you with an impressive amount of firepower with which to do battle with the forces of darkness. First off, there is your pistol to consider, which could almost pass for a regular six shooter, except that it has an underslung clip along the barrel that contains 4 chambers with 6 bullets each. On the pistol there is a normal fire mode, and an alternate “fanning the hammer” mode to really put a lot of lead into the air *fast*. And beyond that, all of your ranged weapons can be used as melee weapons because they have blades attached at their ends. I also got to see the shotgun…the shotgun with 4 barrels! Both weapons were really cool, and I look forward to using them in the game to lay some half-human, half-vampire smack down on undead noggins! All told there will be about 10 weapons in the final game.

When a foe is defeated, they exude a pickup the devs called a blood cloud. As Jericho collects blood clouds by passing through them, he will be able to increase his abilities. As of right now, the player will be able to determine where upgrades go for Jericho. Both undead and humans exude blood clouds upon defeat, and Jericho can benefit from both. The player will have moments to make a choice on what kind of reputation they wish to enjoy in the game world. If you save townsfolk, they will be grateful and promise to tell others that Jericho is a hero. They may also come and help you out in crucial moments. The game’s story seems to branch depending on who you save, and who falls by your hand. The game’s non-linearity and massiveness is tantalizing. Hopefully this will be the game that Wild West fans and action junkies have been craving for. I guess we’ll see when the game is released in Spring of 2005. Till then I guess I’ll have to look longingly at my Darkwatch badge I was so kindly given and keep pining for spring.

Source (www.gamehelper.com)

Oh, man. Talk about a cool concept for a game. I've been keeping my eye on this one, and this preview makes it sound great so far. Definitely not your run of the mill shooter...

Slowride
05-20-2004, 01:07 PM
I watched the video at sammystudios.com or w/e the site it. It definetly looks pretty cool. I think after the people drive a stake through my heart I might have some vengeance to let loose.....but we'll see. Also, as most know by now, sammy merged with sega so it shoudl only help.:cheers:

It's also gonna be on xbox live for up to 16 people they said.

I think one thing that held back the wild west genre lately was the restrain on the types of weapons that could be used. Pretty boring by today's standards. But this takes care of that.