When it comes to FPS, I have to say that I'm the world's toughest critique. The developers over at Dreamcatcher, best known for their top-notch adventure titles, ventured off their course to develop a unique FPS. Problem is, is that when you set off to compete in the FPS market you are up against tough competition. Unfortunate as it is, most gamers the follow the genre will benchmark all FPS's based on the likes of Quake, Unreal, Deus Ex and even Medal of Honor.
Kill da MOB
The MOB is a ruthless terrorist organization that is just plain naughty. However, a group of soldiers trained at a virtual reality facility (The Meat Machine) are up to the challenge of putting an end to the onslaught of terrorists.
Story is of little consequence and you will soon discover that Gore wasn't meant to be a single player game after about an hour into gameplay. The storyline lends aid to the gameplay, but when it comes down to it; Gore is your straight-edged FPS that lays waste to any thought of a compelling story.
Once you get into the game (tediously long load times) the training level is quite respectable. You are thrown into a basecamp like facility and jump through a few hoops, all the while learning your capabilities. Soon into it, however, all hell breaks loose and you need to track down the stolen information (thus the "story" begins).
Now that I've gotten the obligatory data out of the way... When I read about FPS and haven't played it there are a few things that I want to know.
1. Physics: How do the players feel? What are the speed of the weapons and characters?
2. Graphics: Is the environment interactive? What about dynamic surroundings?
3. Fun Factor: Is the game fun? Why would I choose it over Unreal? What easter-eggs can I expect?
Probably the most important factor when it comes to creating a successful FPS is the physics and overall gameplay. For the most part, the gameplay is satisfactory, solid and the game runs fast. The overallfeel of the combat is more akin to a Medal of Honor rather than an Unreal Tournament. Depending on your personal style, this could be a blessing or a curse. I've never been a huge fan of the MoH series, but still found Gore to be responsive and unique.
Probably the biggest asset as far as the single-player option, has to be the unique map layout. The grandeur of fighting indoors has always entranced me. The indoor levels rival or beat anything I've come in contact with. To me, any developer can throw together some outdoor scenery, rocks and trees and call it a level, but true foresight is required when developing indoor scenes. However, the outdoor scenes were much less impressive, fairly dull and the dynamics were just never there. While the "features" tout about the interactivity of the game, I never felt it the way I should have. My first disappointment came when I was i the first level and encountered a HUGE fish tank. Like any FPS nut, I opened fire on the unsuspecting fish and their glass housing. To my disappointment, it was left with nothing more than a few "bullet holes" and the difference in texture was not apparent. What I mean is, you can shoot at a wall or a window and duplicate the same end-result. While I didn't expect the glass to shatter, getting soaked with water (although if that would have happened I would have choked on my own drool); I did expect water to pour out the holes.
It was details like this that truly blue-balled me as far as interactivity goes. During the first training mode, I was like a kid on Christmas morning with the though of the so-called interaction. I watched as fire extinguishers burst when shot, and toxic ooze stung me when walked on. So, to be honest the game lost a bit of credibility from me simply because it claimed interactivity as a feature. But, the omega of the gameplay was old-school blast-em-up.
Beer in one hand and a knuckle-sandwich in the other.
I was a bit shocked in regards to the enemy AI. It was dismal at best. You could stand directly behind them and shoot the baddies in the back of the head without them even budging. If that is the case, you can image firefights. Drones with guns, shooting blindly into the darkness... As far as character variation, I gotta give 4D mad props for the funny-factor. The characters are unique and hilarious at times. Even though the character variations were pathetic, the white-trash-beer-toting-token fatman came at you arms wailing with a beer in his hand claiming he hasn't been drinking. Too funny. When it comes down to it, you can classify the baddies into one of three categories. The first you have the demon-possessed chargers who run at you like kamikazes. The second group simply strafes left and right and shoots at you rhythmically. And our last group (and favorite) are the concrete feet boys; who basically just stand and shoot never moving...
-clears throat-
Anyway... For those of you who really like a challenge, Gore really is quite the tough cookie at times. I found myself dying consistently the first few times until I found the patterns. One of the most enigmatic things, however, is how the enemies die. The handgun and machine gun are about as effective as throwing mini-marshmallows at a ninja. I then found out after running out of ammo (which happens often) that doing hand-to-hand combat is much more damaging. Again, whether the humor was intended or not; hand-to-hand combat is hysterical as you start swinging.
The weaponry in Gore is nothing to get too excited about, and found myself clinging to the shotgun 90% of the time with the occasional switch to the rocket launcher. Again, the weaponry was a bit unbalanced but overall the weapon selection was satisfactory (save the sniper rifle).
As with any competing game in any genre, there has to be a hook that separates it from the others in the same genre. My biggest kudos goes to 4D Rulers for instilling a unique armor/item method. When you pick up an item, weapon or armor; you can actually see what you are wearing (as well as the enemy). Watching an enemy take damage to a particular area, watching it fall off and focus fire on that area was quite rewarding. Again, a nice feature I hope other developers can take note of.
Secondly, the other outstanding feature of Gore is the surprisingly addictive multiplayer aspects. I truly appreciated the class attributes. What this means is, depending on who you pick to play as, also determines certain attributes that effect the overall gameplay. Once into the multiplayer, I found this to be the saving grace for Gore. The single player aspects of the game are...well... pitiful when compared to the rest of the industry. Recently I found myself hopping online playing Gore, even over Unreal 2003 this last week believe it or not. Unfortunately, finding others that feel the same way is about as easy as finding John Denver fans. Gamespy (which is also included)provides a good beginning point, but for the most part the servers are barren and lifeless. There are a few people out there, and after a week I knew half of them by first name.
And there was blood
I have to admit when playing Gore, I could never tell if the cheese was intended to be cheese or the developers were just missing a few pixels. The blood factor was just amazingly funny to me. While the dynamics were not here (shoot a guy and he bleeds), when you were in close quarters and fired the mess was something that only a mother could clean up with a mop and bucket. Body matter and blood would spew everywhere. It totally cracked me up, especially when a body was severed in half as it continued to walk (intentional or a bug?).
Aside from the bloody mess, the graphics were about two-years outdated. Nothing ever "wowed" me, but felt the graphic content was consistent with the gameplay. Environments and horizons were excellent (although the transition between levels was quirky)and the fog/lighting effects were top notched. My biggest gripe visually has to be the questionable animations of the enemies. Again, a "feature" was supposed to be the realism and how limbs would move realistically, etc. I rarely felt the character animations were realistic. Many times the enemy would hop around, not even bending at the knee caps. Still, I loved the interior aspects of the game and was most enthused by the creativity of indoor designs.
The audio portions were down-right silly. The voice acting was (again) hilarious. I could swear that the person who did the voice-overs had to play a role in Army of Darkness. Yea, the voice acting was that bad. Luckily, the sound effects were solid as well as the weaponry. The soundtrack was a bit generic, and felt more like a midi than an MP3 (that's a big no-no in my book).
66 Says:
Let's do a quick cost comparison. The game retails at under $20. Is it worth the twenty-bucks? Without hesitation I say "yes". Is it the same value as a Serious Sam? Nopers. For those who just can't get enough of the FPS genre, this will be a nice breath of fresh air; especially if you crave awesome multiplayer aspects.
The single player is all but mockable. While a single player module is a necessity, a few extra levels could have really made this a more sound purchase. I still feel that you won't feel robbed when paying the 20 clams for it, even when other games now cost three times that. Fact is, Unreal Tourney 2k3 isn't three times as good as Gore. Heck, you can still get this for under 15 bux if you search the net.. Bargain.
The developmental team at 4D have introduced many unique aspects to an old genre. While it may not win any awards for brilliance, it has opened the door for other areas and ideas that others seem hard pressed to find.
