you've guessed it huh. Yup, it's the game everyone's so fed up with and it's been tested over at gamespot. Looks like the most interesting part (that a-life system) hasn't been removed from the game, so it's still interesting, although they pissed me off real bad more than once. Looks like not completely vaourised after all.In the short term, they seemed interested in finding artefacts to sell, but in the long term, these characters displayed real-life human needs. Non-playable characters automatically communicated with each other, rested, ate food, and showed basic survival needs by killing nearby enemies. (...) also have to contend with the army that patrols the area. Somewhere in the middle are the groups of traders and bandits, who have little interest in fighting but exist to control the movement of artefacts and their value (...)
In total, the ambitious A-Life engine controls more than 1,000 (NPCs) and monsters at any one time (...) Humans can be seen unloading clips into the mutants and heading for cover when they run out of ammunition, while monsters will feast on the bodies of those that don't quite manage to find safe cover. Once the numbers in either camp start to dwindle, then the A-Life engine will begin to migrate characters from other areas to restore the balance. (...)
a branching storyline that has seven different endings. (...) open-ended, do-anything structure lets you choose how involved you want to be in the game. If you decide to take part in the secondary goals and help those in need, you'll earn one of the better finales. (...) Other considerations, such as how much you trade and who you decide to kill, will also affect the game's conclusion.
(...)However, once we began to push the military forces back, the allies moved forward and became more aggressive. Moving away from the area, we could see the A-Life technology in action as a military helicopter flew in to replenish the armed forces in the area. Shortly afterward, a developer representative demonstrated to us that with a little exploration, you can avoid the fire fight altogether and find the underground opening that would have been revealed if you had extracted the allied leader.
As well as choosing whether or not to engage enemies, you can use different battle tactics. The game encourages a Splinter Cell-like stealth approach, with noise and visibility bars in the corner of the screen ... shoot out light bulbs and use night-vision goggles ... weapons can be adapted with silencers and scopes ...
introduces bleeding into the mix, with a trail of blood that will help both you and your enemies find each other if shot.
(...)You're limited in the amount of equipment you can carry by weight, (...) scavenge, as well as buy from traders
(...)vodka giving you protection from radiation as well as offering a small amount of health ()
(...)At night time, (...) both groups retreating into camps for rest. ... sitting around campfires, singing songs, and playing the guitar.
If you think it's newsworthy (I doubt?) I might post a news item about this.
