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Notable Action Titles
Amen: The Awakening
Amen: The Awakening is an impressive-looking shooter in which the player assumes the role of Bishop 6, a British covert operative in the not-too-distant future armed with numerous weapons and the requisite dry, cool wit of the typical action hero.
Dramatic in-game sequences punctuate play. The first mission begins with a real-time parachute drop onto the roof of a skyscraper. You'll be required to carefully maneuver Bishop onto the roof (while he is chatting with his wife on the phone). In another level, Bishop must escape a New York subway tunnel irradiated by a nuclear warhead by piloting a derelict train that picks up speed all too quickly and finally spins off the track with a spectacular crash.
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Players should keep an eye on the paper-doll damage meter in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Bishop's body is divided into three zones: head, torso, and legs. Heavy damage to the legs may cause him to limp, torso hits will result in severe drops to his health, and shots to the head can be fatal. Interestingly, enemy AI will dynamically adjust to the situation as well. Enemies will draw and use different weapons depending on the situation at hand. For example, an enemy terrorist, on seeing that Bishop is equipped with a bulletproof vest, may instead pull out a laser rifle; then, when his ammo is exhausted, he may pull out a grenade launcher. As a result, no two conflicts will be
the same.
Developer/Publisher: Cavedog
DS9: The Fallen
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"What we're saying is that we're doing the first good Star Trek game," said Douglas Hare, vice president of production at The Collective, as he demonstrated early work on Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. The third person adventure/shooter uses the Unreal engine and, as of day one of E3, the talents of Thomas Elliot Cannon. Cannon, also known as Myscha the Sled Dog in the Unreal community, recently left Epic to join The Collective.
From what we could see, gameplay looked streamlined - the use of inverse kinematics made for smooth movements. The characters' faces did look strikingly real, which was the one detail that stood out most. The environs are dark, punctuated by excellent lighting effects. Character movement also looked excellent; the camera followed behind the third-person movement smoother than almost anything yet seen.
Developer: The Collective
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Next: More Notable Action Games
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