Games Convention '03 Impressions, Part One

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The Games Convention in Leipzig/Germany is a relatively young event having launched for the first time in 2002. It is more consumer-oriented than E³ and ECTS, which are more or less business and press shows. While I hadn't attended the first GC due to difficult circumstances, I teamed up with some friends and headed off to Leipzig this year. Overall it was an enjoyable trip, I got to see many interesting titles. Unfortunately I couldn't spend as much time on all of them as I wanted, in some cases because of time constraints, and in other cases because there was simply no one around who could have explained the game mechanics, thus making more complicated games less accessible. Read on for some brief impressions I collected while roaming through the halls.

 

Main Hall  GC Booth Features  EyeToy Promo

Beyond Good & Evil (all): the stylish brawler which also incorporates other gameplay elements, looks quite promising. Specials such as a bullet-time-like slow-motion make it easier to survive the enemies' attacks and come in quite handy when being surrounded by several evil creatures. There are also sidekick characters around like a pig that helps the main character (Jade) in a cut scene. Bits like this ensure that the game doesn't lack funny moments. BG&E is currently being developed for all major consoles and the PC but as far as I remember it will to be a PS2-exclusive in Europe this year.  The game is made by the creators of Rayman.

Conker - Live & Uncut (Xbox): To make it short: Conker - L&A looks like Fur Fighters meets Xbox Live. The graphics are ok but not overly impressive. Gameplay-wise it looks like a standard FPS (although itÂ's third-person) with Conker-esque gore slapped on it. The demo didnÂ't contain hints of what kind of multiplayer modes will be featured in the final version, nor did it let you play against other (human) opponents. This made it nearly impossible to say how much fun Conker: L&U will be once it is done.

Cossacks II (PC): There isn't a lot I could say about the sequel to GSCÂ's strategy game. It's basically the same game featuring an increased number of units.

Crashday (PC): It happens to be one of the titles I have kept an eye on since I saw a trailer about a year ago. After having finally played it I'm happy to report that Crashday seems to fulfill my hopes. The game was originally a hobby developed by two guys ages ago and turned into a professional project some time later. It can be seen as spiritual successor to the überold Mindscape game Stunts/4D Sports Driving. The latest build contains notably improved car models such as a Lamborghini-alike which now features transparent windows and driver models. The environment detail cannot be compared to GT3 or Project Gotham 2 but that's not what Crashday is about anyways. The game is about stunts and wreckage. It's also about toying with the track editor included in the game. It's quite intuitive and very easy to create tracks and use them later in the game. No experience with other editors is required since you basically place tool sets on a 2D map. Robert Clemens also promised that they'll release mod/car kits and model converters along with the game so that people can create their own cars and obstacles. Crashday is currently set for a release later this year. A demo will be available and Xbox and PS2 ports may or may not be developed afterwards. The demo definitely sold me a copy.

Crashday  Crashday Track Editor

Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC/XB): Unfortunately Eidos only showed the Xbox version of Ion Storm's latest title. I'm not a fan of FPS-controls on consoles and that didn't change within the 15-20 minutes we played the game. Now obviously that isnÂ't enough to figure out if DX2 is a worthwhile successor to its acclaimed prequel. One thing I did notice while I was watching a friend toy around with a basketball in the game: the ball didn't behave like you would expect it to. Not a disaster, just an odd 'physics moment'.

DoveZ: Second Wave (PC): this PC action-game is programmed by the small developer Intergenies. The game can be described best as R-Type-alike as you can find various familiar elements in the game. A charge beam is featured as well as drone sidekicks. Or at least I think so, sometimes there was simply too much going on in the game to take it all in. Technically not on the same level as console shooters like Ikaruga or R-Type Final but one really wouldn't expect that, right? I don't mean to say that DoveZ doesn't look nice though. ItÂ's definitely worth a check if you are a fan of this particular genre, especially since there isn't a huge pool of PC arcade shooters to choose from. I haven't found out if this will be a full or mid-price title. It's not a game I personally would want to spend over $40 dollars on.

Dovez  Dovez

Far Cry (PC/XB): The graphics engine behind Crytek's shooter is quite impressive. That basically describes my only major impression as I only had my hands on the game for a few minutes. More would be necessary to see if and how far the game goes beyond your standard FPS. It remains to be seen how much substance is left after the initial excitement wears off. The demo shows a tropical island full of trees/plants, featuring some very nice water effects and an enormous draw distance. That said, despite the high amount of details I didn't find it to look as 'realistic' as let's say S.T.A.L.K.E.R..

Fire Warrior (PC/PS2/XB): The good: saw the PS2 version, looked ok, had a stable framerate. The bad: there wasn't really anything else notable or memorable I perceived while playing the game.

Full Spectrum Warrior (XB/PC): Praised at E3, Full Spectrum Warrior also made its way to the Games Convention through THQ. I hadn't seen anything besides a few screenshots before I got to play it at the show. At first I didn't know what to do and how to do it, but I figured out how to move the squad - and how to get slaughtered. The tactical premise and the details are amazing. I made a mental note to return to the THQ booth later on and spend some more time on the game. I got there only to find the XDK launch screen frozen. Sadly enough there seemed to be no one around who felt like resetting the (locked) Xbox. A real shame. Full Spectrum Warrior is on my 'likely purchase' list nonetheless.

Geist (GC): It wasn't really advertised (like most of their games in the past year ... haha), but a playable version of Geist was available at the Nintendo booth. You play a ghost who can take control over the bodies of other characters, thus being able to use their equipment and skills. Messiah comes to mind. Having the right character at the right time and space to solve a problem is one of the major aspects of the game. The graphics are ok, some parts look pretty good. Overall it seems to be an FPS with the focus on the aforementioned ways to handle tasks. There were also several multiplayer modes to choose from where up to four players can participate. We decided to go for a little 1 vs 1 deathmatch in which you simply run (or rather, float) around the map until you see a physical body standing around that you can take control of. Once you grabbed a character it is pretty much a standard deathmatch. Weapons depend on the character your ghost is taking care of. The multiplayer mode also showed that the GC gamepad isn't really suited for two-stick setup many people would have liked to see in Metroid Prime. Running around while trying to aim with the right c-stick simply doesn't work out that well. Either that or my coordination skills leave something to be desired. (Quiet you!)

Grabbed by the Ghoulies (XB): One of several Rare projects for their new darling. From what I have played it looks like a mix of Final Fight and Zombies Ate Ny Neighbors, spiced up with cartoony graphics.

The Kore Gang (XB): CDV's Xbox title can be seen as action-adventure/jump'n run mix in the tradition of Rare's Banjo&Kazooie or Donkey Kong 64. I have to say I was rather under whelmed by the technical aspects as some parts seemed to have an N64-esque look and the framerate wasn't always smooth. The design itself doesn't look bad though. It's hard to judge the gameplay because there isn't a lot you can do right at the beginning except running and jumping. The character could swing his fists, but that failed to affect the creatures I encountered. A grappling hook was one of the first skills/items to be collected. It's not a demo people lined up for to get their hands on it, The Kore Gang wasn't really easy to get into.

The Kore Gang

Part Two will be posted tomorrow and includes impressions of Thief 3, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Spellforce, UFO: Aftermath and Söldner: Secret Wars among others.

-Spunior

Comments

Interesting reading, thanks for the report !

I agree with Spunior, FPS controls on console are not as enjoyable as the keyboard/mouse combo on PC. I was just wondering how are the Deus Ex graphics on Xbox? I'm still 90% certain that I will be getting for the PC... still curious though. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

many thanks for the coverage. Too bad I couldn't make it. I surely would have liked to test one or the other title...

Mechassault and Halo work out pretty well.  Thats not to say a mouse/keyboard player wouldnt smoke  a dual joystick player.  It works pretty well.  The action is a hair more instense in Halo but I like the control feel and weapons feel of Mechassault better.  So console control scheme wont prevent me from buying Deus Ex 2 and the like.

Grabbed by the Ghoulies sounds cool.  I love good brawlers like Final Fight.  My favorites are Golden Axe and Armored Warriors.  If anyone wants to remake Armored Warriors (anime mech brawler), I would be thrilled.

Good to see you're back Spun.  Was WoW or EQ2 not there?  Or was this indie PC dev and console dev mostly?

Fantastic work, Spunior.  Good stuff all around.

Once again, I'm envious of Germany.

I was just wondering how are the Deus Ex graphics on Xbox?

I don't consider what I saw as especially great, but then again the location I saw didn't have a lot to show off. The resolution in combination with the 'TV blurr' made it look worse though and kills some details. So, if you have the choice, I'd really suggest the PC version anyway.

Good to see you're back Spun. Was WoW or EQ2 not there?

Haven't searched for EQ2 not being a huge MMO-enthusiast, but didn't see it. So it might or might not have been available. I was looking for WoW though since you asked (and I was curious as well), but it apparently wasn't shown. I suspect that Vivendi decided to focus on the ECTS (later this week).

Or was this indie PC dev and console dev mostly?

Both. All major players (EA, Sony, MS, Nintendo, Ubi, Eidos) were there as well as a bunch of smaller German and Russian companies. Mostly mainstream though.

Thx, Spunior...