First-person shooters come out year after year, each trying to do something new with them. There are the generic ones, such as Call of Juarez: The Cartel (read the review here) to jaw dropping graphics and gameplay, such as the Bioshock series. The demo of Bodycount, from the same people that made the critically acclaimed Black, came out today and I’m here to give you my impressions on it.
The story revolves around Jackson, a former American solider recruited by a organization called “The Network”, who solves the worlds problems when others can’t. This demo takes place in one of those areas.
Destructible environments? Black had better ones then this.
There was the promise of destructible environments in this game. I really don’t see that. There are many areas that can be destroyed, but they are severely limited in what can be destroyed. For example, there were places where a rocket or grenade would have destroyed everything. It’s true that fortified buildings should partially be standing, but what about the huts? The areas were destroyed enough to make me get the hell out of there, but it’s not the same. We were promised completely destructible environments. That’s not what Bodycount seems to be offering.
The AI seems to be all over the place in Bodycount. There were times where they all through grenades at the same time, causing the framerate to drop to almost nothing. There were also times where they just shot straight ahead at a a wall, completely ignoring me. I would restart the game and they would be absolutely fine, trying to flank me and constantly being on the move. These mishaps really took me out of the experiences I was supposed to be feeling. Especially when the AI kills their own teammates. What was with that?
There is a feature called “intel”, where the death of enemies spills out orbs for pickup. These orbs can be used to improve your Operative Support Button, which can call in airstrikes, give you a health boost for a short time, or deliver ammunition. Saving up the points and using them wisely is key, but the results of what I tried weren’t that satisfying.
The graphics are really sub HD. Everything looks pretty bland to me. The gameplay was also really generic, despite the OSB trying to spice some things up.
I can pretty much say that this game will be in the discount bin just a few months after it comes out. We all remember Brink and how that failed our expectations. This seems like it would be no different. It’s filled with empty promises. The graphics and environments are just bland, the gameplay is generic, and the AI seems very glitchy. This one is doomed to fail.
