E3 2001 Preshow Hands-onBlood Wake

Blood Wake is an Asian-themed boat combat game that, so far, seems not entirely unlike the early 1999 boat combat PlayStation game, Dead in the Water. However, Blood Wake intends to take a more mission-minded approach to its single-player modes, and, well, it also features some of the best-looking water to ever appear on a console.

Between the reflection of the sun off the waves and bump mapping, Blood Wake's water looks real. Thanks to some nice wave modeling, Blood Wake's water acts real, as well. If you leave your boat sitting, it will rock up and down in the waves. When you open up and start racing across the water, you'll see your boat bouncing off of high waves and leaving behind a pretty nice-looking wake. Not all of the effects are in yet, but what we've seen so far was totally impressive.

Blood Wake takes a very easy-to-learn approach to its control. You have machine guns and a secondary weapon, which can be toggled between your different options with a push of one of the controller's face buttons. Some of the weapons include various types of missiles and torpedoes, some of which will home in on your opponents. The game will also include a shield pick-up of some kind.

Boats range greatly in size, from small, fast, lightly armed boats to gigantic, heavily armed but sluggish battle cruisers. The game's four-player multiplayer option will allow you to play simple free-for-alls, as well as various team-based games.

Blood Wake is currently scheduled to release late this year.