Hands-on: Hardware

At a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe press event in London earlier this week, we participated in an eight-player deathmatch in Hardware--an online tank combat game that we 2867291first saw at last year's E3 in Los Angeles. The game isn't one that's ever likely to win any awards for its visuals, but despite the presence at the event of Ghost Recon (not available in Europe yet), EyeToy, and Destruction Derby Arenas , Hardware was by far the most difficult game to get hands-on time with without feeling like there was always somebody standing behind you waiting for the same opportunity.

Only a single level was on display at the event, but there was plenty to see, since the large map featured an abundance of ancient ruins to explore, ramps to jump off, and weapon pick-ups to experiment with. Players in our deathmatch (which was still raging after we surrendered our controller at 100 frags) had opted to play as a variety of different vehicles, including heavily armored tanks, well-equipped jeeps, and high-speed buggies. Each of the vehicles in the game is designed to suit a different style of play, but even after a good 30 minutes or so of play, the similar scores of each player suggested that the balancing of the different vehicles is already pretty much spot on.

There were occasions when one-on-one encounters with enemies degenerated into a kind of joust as we both performed 180-degree turns before charging at each other over and over again with guns blazing until one of us died, but the busy nature of the level design means that players should rarely find themselves short of options. Perhaps the only frustrating feature of the game right now is that a number of the powerful weapon pick-ups--which include swarming missiles and the like--are able to home in on enemies once they're locked on, which can not only make kills feel a little less rewarding, but can also result in players losing more lives to fire-and-forget opponents than to those they're enjoying high-speed chases through labyrinths and over pyramids with.

No release dates have been confirmed for Hardware at this time, but even though the game lacks polish, we'd like to think that it's not too far from completion. The game's extremely easy to pick up and play, and because of the limited variety of weapons and vehicles on offer, there's really no reason why newbies shouldn't be able to play competitively hardened veterans once the game becomes available. We'll bring you more information on Hardware as soon as it becomes available.