Ender's Game anyone?
This a the zero-G FPS being developed by Futuremark that's promising to bring some innovation to the genre. PC gamers should definitely keep an eye out for it. I can't say much more than that.
Update:
Gameplay video
The closed beta just ended an the NDA has been partially lifted, so I can finally talk about it.
The gameplay video does a good job of showing what the game really looks like. Shattered Horizons will be a PC exclusive, multiplayer only, and dx10/11 only. They are scheduled to release this holiday season. I'm very excited for this one, given the recent dearth of FPS games tailored to the PC.
Graphics/Sound: the game definitely captures the atmosphere of space well. It's kind of hard to judge how it compares to a game like Crysis when the landscape is so different and barren, but ultimately it does the job in providing an immersing experience. In the video, they go with the idea that space is silent, but normally in game, you will hear typical gunshots/explosions/hitsounds. They try to account for this by playing an audio sequence after every re-spawn saying "audio simulation initializing", implying that your space suit is generating missing sounds. Indeed, when you are hit by and EMP grenade, you do lose all your sound and HUD. There is also a silent running mode where you give up sound, HUD, and maneuverability for radar invisibility and better camouflage without the glow of your rockets.
Physics: You have full freedom of movement and can orient yourself however you like, but you'll get killed by space debris if you fly too far from the map. The physics appear semi-Newtonian, there's a force behaving like air drag that will slow you down at higher speeds, which makes gameplay sense, because otherwise you'd have people chain boosting and zipping off the map unable to turn back. I wasn't bothered by nor did I really pay attention to this aspect of the physics. You can push around certain physics enabled objects like crates, but not small asteroids or entire satellites. There's also a concussive grenade that blasts players away, leaving them exposed and vulnerable to snipers.
Gameplay: The gameplay is refreshing. As a fan of FPS's and space shooters like Freespace, I definitely enjoyed playing. It's pretty easy to get the hang of the controls, but you can still get very disoriented in intense firefights with people coming in at all directions and orientations. In close quarters, intuition and being able to get the jump on your enemy is more important than aiming skills. The beta servers held up to 32 players, and things got very intense the few 20+ player games I played. So far, there are 4 maps, each significantly different. My favorite would be the map on the exterior of the International Space Station. During the beta, there was TDM, DM, CTF, 2 sided control points, and assault/defense control points.
Mechanics: You can move quickly by floating around, or you can latch onto any fixed object to get a significant accuracy boost but far slower movement. Shooting is quite inaccurate when you're floating in space but pinpoint precise when you are latched to a surface and scoped. One potential drawback of the game is that there is only 1 gun. However, this gun pretty much does everything. It launches three types of grenades, functions as an assault rifle unscoped, and snipes when scoped. When scoped, the gun fires instant 5 bullet bursts, which effectively makes it a 2 hit kill sniper rifle. The game also features 1 hit kill heads shots and tank shots. Melee is also 1 hit kill, but I've only managed to melee one EMP paralyzed person during my entire time playing.
Futuremark has stated that they'll release the game at below normal retail price, since it's mp only, in which case I'll definitely be buying it. I'd love to see them release some mod making/map editing tools, because the zero-G fps genre still has a lot of untapped potential.
Update 2:
Releases Nov. 4 on Steam at $19.99.
This a the zero-G FPS being developed by Futuremark that's promising to bring some innovation to the genre. PC gamers should definitely keep an eye out for it. I can't say much more than that.
Update:
Gameplay video
The closed beta just ended an the NDA has been partially lifted, so I can finally talk about it.
The gameplay video does a good job of showing what the game really looks like. Shattered Horizons will be a PC exclusive, multiplayer only, and dx10/11 only. They are scheduled to release this holiday season. I'm very excited for this one, given the recent dearth of FPS games tailored to the PC.
Graphics/Sound: the game definitely captures the atmosphere of space well. It's kind of hard to judge how it compares to a game like Crysis when the landscape is so different and barren, but ultimately it does the job in providing an immersing experience. In the video, they go with the idea that space is silent, but normally in game, you will hear typical gunshots/explosions/hitsounds. They try to account for this by playing an audio sequence after every re-spawn saying "audio simulation initializing", implying that your space suit is generating missing sounds. Indeed, when you are hit by and EMP grenade, you do lose all your sound and HUD. There is also a silent running mode where you give up sound, HUD, and maneuverability for radar invisibility and better camouflage without the glow of your rockets.
Physics: You have full freedom of movement and can orient yourself however you like, but you'll get killed by space debris if you fly too far from the map. The physics appear semi-Newtonian, there's a force behaving like air drag that will slow you down at higher speeds, which makes gameplay sense, because otherwise you'd have people chain boosting and zipping off the map unable to turn back. I wasn't bothered by nor did I really pay attention to this aspect of the physics. You can push around certain physics enabled objects like crates, but not small asteroids or entire satellites. There's also a concussive grenade that blasts players away, leaving them exposed and vulnerable to snipers.
Gameplay: The gameplay is refreshing. As a fan of FPS's and space shooters like Freespace, I definitely enjoyed playing. It's pretty easy to get the hang of the controls, but you can still get very disoriented in intense firefights with people coming in at all directions and orientations. In close quarters, intuition and being able to get the jump on your enemy is more important than aiming skills. The beta servers held up to 32 players, and things got very intense the few 20+ player games I played. So far, there are 4 maps, each significantly different. My favorite would be the map on the exterior of the International Space Station. During the beta, there was TDM, DM, CTF, 2 sided control points, and assault/defense control points.
Mechanics: You can move quickly by floating around, or you can latch onto any fixed object to get a significant accuracy boost but far slower movement. Shooting is quite inaccurate when you're floating in space but pinpoint precise when you are latched to a surface and scoped. One potential drawback of the game is that there is only 1 gun. However, this gun pretty much does everything. It launches three types of grenades, functions as an assault rifle unscoped, and snipes when scoped. When scoped, the gun fires instant 5 bullet bursts, which effectively makes it a 2 hit kill sniper rifle. The game also features 1 hit kill heads shots and tank shots. Melee is also 1 hit kill, but I've only managed to melee one EMP paralyzed person during my entire time playing.
Futuremark has stated that they'll release the game at below normal retail price, since it's mp only, in which case I'll definitely be buying it. I'd love to see them release some mod making/map editing tools, because the zero-G fps genre still has a lot of untapped potential.
Update 2:
Releases Nov. 4 on Steam at $19.99.
Facebook
Twitter