Maximum PC E3 2009 RSS Feed

E3 Impressions: Single-Player + Multiplayer + Awesome Ideas = Bethesda’s Brink

Nathan Grayson — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:55:56 -0500

Let’s set the stage here: It was the last hour of the last day of E3. My feet were cramping, my back felt like Batman’s after a run-in with Bane, and the concept of sleep was itself a very dream-like, unrealistic thing to me. I wanted to be done. “One appointment left,” I grunted. “Let’s get this over with.” That appointment was for Bethesda and Splash Damage’s new shooter, Brink.

Presentation starts. “Hi, welcome to our demo of Brink blah blah blah.” Ugh, why’d I come to this? “So we’re on a boat.” Tee-hee, T Pain. “We’ve combined single-player and multiplayer using an ever-evolving mission system that breaks your main objective down into smaller objectives. Accomplish them however you see fit, alone or with friends. Also, there’s an overarching, Mirror’s Edge-ish plotline running throughout the whole thing.”

Ok, now I’m listening.

So, here’s how Brink works: You’re part of a team – either resistance or security forces – and each level presents you with an objective. In order to make your big mission less impossible, each level’s objective is broken down into smaller pieces, which dynamically change depending on countless factors in battle. Some of these pieces must be tackled by certain character classes, which you can morph into at will using computer terminals scattered throughout the game world. For instance, an engineer might be needed for a bit of his trademark tinkering, so the game will immediately notify everyone of this gaping hole in their team structure. Thus, completing the mission is as simple as transforming and rolling out. No extra hassle.

Switching between missions is also nice and stress free, so as to ensure that you won’t take one for the team while trying to decide how to best aid it. Just bring up your mission wheel, flick over to an objective – which can range from planting bombs to interrogating people to providing cover fire for a friend – and go show your enemies why they should or shouldn’t have done that thing they did or didn’t do. In theory, this setup will evade the monotony of other singularly focused, objective-based games like Left 4 Dead by constantly changing up your mission’s structure. Same mission again? Who cares? You’ve never tried X set of objectives with X class. Or at least, that’s the hope.

Objectives of all shapes and sizes probably mean tons of walking, though, right? Well, Splash Damage has taken care of that point-A-to-point-B nonsense as well. In what may be Brink’s most interesting innovation, you’re able to traverse an entire room at the push of a button. Just lay your eyes on whatever Promised Land you’re trying to reach, press the “SMART Button” and watch as the game’s A.I. effortlessly brings you out of the desert. Boxes, low railings, ledges, Mirror’s Edge-like acrobatics, whatever – SMART’s A.I. handles all of it while you sit back and take in the scenery.

Coolest of all, these things I’ve been describing? They’re all aspects of the campaign mode. Or the multiplayer mode. Or the co-op mode. You can play with or against real people or CPUs all throughout the game’s cautionary tale about the potential ravages of global warming. It’s all one big mode.

Oh, about the global warming thing. The game’s story centers on what’s become basically the center of human civilization in 2035: a floating city called “The Ark,” where humans have fled because the earth’s waters have rapidly risen and super-soaked the rest of the planet. Bethesda has yet to reveal exactly why resistance and security forces are bickering over this final slice of land, but the story seems to be taking aesthetic and tonal cues mostly from Mirror’s Edge and Team Fortress 2 (crazy, right?), so I’m hoping for something special.

From what I saw, Brink has all the right tools to make other team-based shooters feel utterly inadequate. However, none of that matters if Splash Damage can’t bake everything together into a functional, well-balanced whole, so that’s the elephant in the room for now. Granted, the game was only revealed a couple weeks ago, and it’s already looking spectacular. On top of that, there’s still plenty of time to baste it in even more secret recipe awesome sauce, as the game isn’t coming until the first half of 2010. Fingers crossed, people. Fingers crossed.

E3 2009: Left 4 Dead 2 Announced! 4 New Survivors, 5 New Campaigns

Norman Chan — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:30:00 -0500

Holy smokes! Who saw this coming? Valve and EA have just announced the sequel to last year's multiplayer zombie-killing smash hit (and Maximum PC's Game of the Year). Left 4 Dead 2 will be released on November 17th, and will feature five new campaigns that follow the story of four new survivors. PC Gamer has the full scoop in an exclusive 8-page feature in their August issue, which hits newsstands this month. Check out the cover below, which features two of the new survivors: Rochelle and Coach (Rochelle is an aspiring cable network news anchor, and Coach is a high school PE coach).

According to the PC Gamer preview, the five campaigns of the sequel will be set in the American south -- in Georgia and Louisiana. The game will feature new playable boss infected characters alongside the Boomers, Smokers, Hunters, and Tanks of the original. Melee weapons will also be introduced, including fire axe, chainsaw, and even frying pan. No word yet on backward compatibility with the original Left 4 Dead, though we would expect that Valve won't split their community in two. You'll want to check out the PC Gamer preview (the Official Xbox Magazine has their own exclusive preview and interview for console fans) for more details, including the new levels, environmental effects, and how the sequel's story ties in with the adventures of Bill, Louis, Zoey, and Francis.

We'll be at E3 this week to meet with Valve, and will report on any additional details revealed. Stay tuned!

Update: IGN has a preview with more details. Highlights below:

Survivors: Nick, Ellis, Rochelle, and the Coach
Missions played in full daylight
Witch behaves differently during the day – wanders around like an old homeless woman
New weapons: silenced SMG (silencer has no gameplay implications)
One new gameplay mode not revealed at this time
Stronger narrative thread to connect the campaigns
Savannah campaign where “the zombie infection hasn’t hit yet”
Instead of a Last Stand-type finale, survivors may have to fight through a hazard-filled highway
Director can change the layout of the map
New boss infected: The Charger

Also, here's a Youtube video with gameplay:

Update: Valve's announcement press release:

June 1, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), the sequel to the best-selling and critically-acclaimed co-operative multiplayer thriller.

Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and PC, L4D2 promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009's marquee titles.

"A large part of how Left 4 Dead became 2008's top-selling new IP on Xbox 360 and the PC was the custom-tailored gameplay made possible by the AI Director," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games."

Set for release on November 17, the title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaw, frying pan, axe, baseball bat, and more.

Introducing the AI Director 2.0, L4D's dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance. The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Featuring new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original with more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.

Supported by a $10+ million marketing campaign, Left 4 Dead has sold over 2.5 million retail copies since it was released in November of 2008. Left 4 Dead 2 is targeted for release on Xbox 360 and the PC on November 17, 2009, and will be launched worldwide with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign across TV, Outdoor, and Online.

"Left 4 Dead was backed by our most aggressive advertising campaign to date, and resulted in a top 5 showing on two platforms during holiday 2008," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "Left 4 Dead 2 is a larger game and will be supported with even more consumer and retail advertising programs than the original."

Left 4 Dead 2 will be featured as the cover story on PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazines this month. For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

E3 2009: Bigger, Better, More Badass

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:31:28 -0500

It's official. E3 as you know it is no more. Again. E3 version 3.0 will return to the glitz and glamour of the gaming trade show's 2006 iteration, but with a few tweaks to put an end to those pesky money leaks.

"[E3 2009] will be smaller than E3 2006 because it will be a much smarter show than E3 2006," ESA President Mike Gallagher said, boasting the new format's cost-effectiveness.

Compared to its 2007 and 2008 counterparts, E3 2009 intends to stop sucking it in and let its girth flow freely. With a target attendance of 40,000 industry professionals, 2008's 5,000 will have plenty of company. However, 2006 and 2005 remain "king of the hill" and "hill," respectively, with totals of 60,000 and 70,000.

So, the question you probably skipped all of the other stuff to answer: Can you get into E3? Well, not really.

Strolling into E3's hallowed halls is as simple as being a "qualified" industry or media member -- though defining that position is much less simple.

"We have criteria set up to define what is an analyst, what is a media attendee," Gallagher said. "We want to make sure bloggers and others in the online space have the right path to admission, as long as they're legitimate."

"This is not a consumer show," he emphasized.

Unless, of course, you're a booth babe.

"Here's the thing," Gallagher said of the sisterhood of the traveling pants-less. "Our publishers will have the maximum ability to drive energy and excitement around their titles and their products. I would expect that you're going to see models there, but there will be controlled guildelines, just like we've had previous years."

E3 2009 will run from June 2-4. We'll be there, reporting with oodles of "energy and excitement." Oh, and booth babes -- look out. We've been known to get a little feisty while on show floors.