Without
a doubt, the biggest surprise of the show for me. Though HW:AR has been released in Europe
for a while and will be released in the States in about a month, wed barely heard of
it and our expectations werent exactly high. Foolish us. HW:AR is a strategy/action game that takes place in the
near future, after the world has managed to establish peace between all nations. Of course
its too good to last, and the remaining old world magnates decide to
stir things up by building military bases on an archipelago of islands and launching
missiles from them. Your job is to salvage the last of the adaptive carriers,
the Antaeus, and conduct an island-hopping campaign that puts an end to war
forever.
Loosely
based on the old chestnut Carrier Command, the game is an intriguing blend of Battlezone-like action and real-time strategy. The
Antaeus is both your base of operations and production center through the games 21
missions, and youll use it to create and upgrade units, issue commands on the
strategic map, and transport your expanding army from island to island. You can command up
to ten vehicles, and can jump between them at any time. The units youre not in
direct control of can be equipped with soulcatcher chips which contain the
memories of long-dead soldiers, each with their own strengths and weaknesses; for example,
some are excellent pilots, others better with tanks. From what we saw, the unit AI looked
pretty good. It had better be; the action aspect of the game is fast and furious, and
carrying out the more ambitious strategies made available by the command interface will
require some tight teamwork. And speaking of interfaces, the gameplay interface itself was
surprisingly elegant. It takes a little while to get the hang of, but its a very smooth ride once you figure
it out.
Its real pretty, too.
HW:AR is a visual treat, and was easily one of the best-looking games at E3. And from what
we could see, the game told a compelling (though creepy and M-rated) story with plenty of
plot twists. While the game will be shipping without multiplayer, a patch has been
promised. Well know for sure soon enough, but this one looks like a hit to us.
Rick
Fehrenbacher |