What does THQ have in store for E3?
A while ago, I got a chance to see 3 games that THQ will be showing off at this year’s E3. First off let’s take a look at Company of Heroes 2…
The presentation began with a typical PowerPoint presentation, detailing the development process from the original game to the sequel and we were shown lots of war footage to help set the scene for the game’s missions, as well as clips of the team using real weapons to record sound effects. But in terms of actual gameplay, we only saw a brief glimpse of what was to come…
Having said that, I was impressed with what I saw. You play as the Russians this time around and you can’t retreat or you’ll be gunned down, also weather like snow has a huge impact on the battlefield. The demo ended with more or less the squad wiped out by mortar fire, which was unexpected to say the least. I look forward to seeing more different types of terrain and what effects they will have in battle.
Now onto Metro: Last Light…
The original Metro 2033 was a nice shooter, but it had its fair share of flaws and odd game choices. Its sequel looks to sort that and be a real contender in the FPS genre, and after seeing the game in-action…I can easily say that it surpasses the original, based on about 10 minutes of gameplay. Forced into an uneasy alliance with the young Red Line office Pavel, Artyom must journey across the hostile Moscow surface in a bid to reach the station-city known as ‘The Theatre’. It already looks set to be much more memorable than its predecessor…
Death takes over the reins of his brother War in Darksiders II. I was skeptical when I heard that War wouldn’t be returning in the sequel, but after playing the beginning of the game, I cannot wait to play more. Veterans will feel right at home, although you can no longer block…instead you roll fast, so getting huge combos isn’t as easy as it was in the original. The story opens up with a recap of the story thus far, but Death fights to prove his brother’s innocence.
Combat and exploration feel very familiar and the end boss at the beginning is something unexpected, yet very epic. I played through the demo 3 times, once on each difficulty and can say honestly that I didn’t die once, so maybe there is still some work to be done with the balancing or I’m just “that” good. Who knows? Through the small opening, you come across an interesting character called the Crowfather who knows everything, even that War is innocent. But Death knows that the only way to save his brother is to undo his “crime” of starting the apocalypse by restoring humanity. Believe me when I say that he’ll have a tough time accomplishing this…
Overall, I was really impressed with Darksiders II. It plays to the original’s strengths but on a much bigger scale and I for one am counting the days till I can play the whole game.