Without Warning First Look

One of the surprises at Capcom's recent press event was the announcement of Without Warning, a new third-person action game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox from UK developer Circle Studios. The game is the first title from the studio, and it is an action shooter that charges you with stopping a terrorist siege of a US-based chemical plant. While this may sound like a fairly run-of-the-mill premise, it isn't, because Without Warning features a unique 24-style twist that will drop you in the role of six playable characters, offering a multifaceted view of events while the story unfolds over a 12-hour period. Even though right now the game is nowhere near completion, it is set to ship this fall. A playable demo of both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game were on hand at Capcom's event for us to try.

The demo was fairly brief, offering just a taste of playing as Jack Hooper, one of the members of the covert ops team sent in to deal with the situation. Of course, in true dramatic fashion, the good-sized team is cut down to three following an eventful arrival. The demo of the game on hand followed the youngest member of the team, Jack Hooper, as he explored a small portion of the chemical plant. The short segment let us shoot a few enemies, lob some grenades, check out Jack's basic move set as well as the camera system, and use his sniper rifle. While the demo came across as a modest display of what the game had to offer, managing director Jeremy Heath-Smith, of Core Design fame, filled in the blanks.

Without Warning's premise is that a radical terrorist group has targeted and seized the Peterson-Daniels Chemical Facility in the US. The site is a vulnerable location whose destruction would jeopardize millions of people due to the ecological disaster that would follow. With negotiations obviously not much of an option, the decision is made to send in a covert operations team whose goal is to infiltrate the plant and eliminate the terrorists.

The story will play out in real time over a 12-hour period, much like in the TV show 24. Without Warning's spin on the formula is that the six perspectives you'll follow fall into two distinct groups. On the one hand, you'll have the expected military perspective, and you'll follow the three surviving members of the squadron as they attempt to complete their mission in the wake of an ambush that has decimated their squad. Kyle Rivers is the leader of the squad and is the most experienced of the trio. Jack Hooper is the youngest and most inexperienced member of the team (this is actually his first mission), and he probably should have stayed in bed on this particular day. Ed Reagan is the squad's bomb disposal specialist who is also a skilled melee fighter.

The flip side to the covert ops team's seasoned and focused view of events is provided by the other three playable characters you'll work with in the game: the civilians. Tanya Shaw is a terrified secretary who just wants to escape safely. Dave Wilson is a security guard who was overlooked by the terrorists and sets out to rescue his coworkers. Finally, Ben Harrison is a news cameraman trapped at the plant when his helicopter is shot down by the terrorists. Unlike Tanya's desire for self-preservation and Dave's altruistic drive to save his friends, Ben's there to get breaking news coverage and send it back to the studio.

You'll be put in control of each of the characters as the story unfolds chronologically. In some cases, you'll be seeing an event from several perspectives, as you'll hop back in time a few times for a few minutes as you get different characters into position. While we weren't able to see this mechanic in action, it strikes us as a bit similar to the heist mechanic seen in Sucker Punch's Sly Cooper 2. For example, you may end up taking control of Kyle as he coordinates with the other two members of the squad to secure an area. Once you guide him into position, you'll shift to controlling Jack from the moment the group breaks and guide him to his position. You'll then go back in time again to take control of Ed at the exact moment the group broke up. From the sounds of it, the system should be interesting and will ensure plenty of variety, as the gameplay will differ some, especially between the two groups. The covert ops trio is obviously prepared for the situation and they all share some common gameplay elements, while the civilians are a diverse group and are expected to offer completely different experiences. Tanya, for example, won't be "Rambo"-ing her way to freedom, as she's not much of a fighter.

Of course, the key element to all of the above will be balance. In Heath's descriptions of how the gameplay will unfold it sounds like you'll play each character for varying amounts of time, with the longest amount of time spent with the covert ops members. While it sounds cool, it could also be disorienting, so we'll be curious to see how it all shapes up.

The graphics in the game look sharp across both platforms. The environments are detailed and well lit. The character models are well done and animate smoothly. There's also a good helping of special effects on display to help add some depth to the visuals.

Based on the brief look and talk with Smith, we'll say we're intrigued by what Without Warning could offer. The premise is cool and the mechanics sound interesting. Above and beyond the main game, we're pleased to hear Smith hint at the possibility of extras, such as finding and rescuing all the hostages in the chemical plant, which will be added to the game to give it some replay value. Without Warning is currently slated to ship this fall for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.