E3 Hands-On: C.O.R.E. (Nintendo DS)
I spent a couple of minutes with the folks over at Graffiti Entertainment last Tuesday at E3, and they showed off both their upcoming DS games, Black Sigil (impressions coming later) and their space-themed, Mature-rated FPS, C.O.R.E. Really though, after MOON and Metroid Prime: Hunters, do we need yet another sci-fi first-person shooter on the Nintendo DS? While C.O.R.E. does little to distinguish itself from these aforementioned titles, it still looks to deliver some solid shooting action for the graphically-challenged handheld.
Yes, the first thing I noticed about C.O.R.E. was how good it looked and moved. The texture work impressed me more than anything — dithering, something that killed MOON’s otherwise impressive atmosphere. It wasn’t particularly creative texture work (I got a really strong Quake II vibe from both the look of the player/weapons and the level they had up for demonstration), but it did the job, considering the narrative itself’s not a bastion of originality itself — more on that later. Also of note were the neat particle effects — I know, nobody’s used that term since 1999 — for weapon fire, and just the way everything moved so silky-smooth. I wasn’t able to finish the demonstration level in time (I was being a dumb-dumb and couldn’t find one of the room keys), so no word yet on how much variety the fifteen self-contained levels will have. Based on the screenshots released so far however, it looks like the game will take place mostly in enclosed, indoor stages.
The plot is admittedly generic fluff; but come on, who’s looking for a novel-esque experience in a straight shooter? Set in the near future, you are Jason Crane, part of an “elite military operative” tasked to infiltrate C.O.R.E., a top-secret Area 51-type scientific installation built up from a meteor crash site. Crane’s unit was sent after communications from the site mysteriously ceased, and that’s (I’m assuming) how the game starts out.
Single-card local multiplayer was also promised — this was one aspect I felt was missing from Renegade Kid’s FPS efforts. Multiplayer’s always a great throwaway mode, but I’m hoping NoWay fleshes out the number of maps available in this mode as well.
Fact Sheet:
- Liquid smooth graphics and AI
- Penetrate 15 non-linear levels in an immersive and dangerous environment.
- Face 20 formidable enemy classes equipped with a deadly arsenal of weapons.
- Choose from eight powerful weapons (including alternate firing options and zoom).
- Compete with up to four players in MULTIPLAYER in three popular modes including Death Match, Team Arena and Capture the Flag – Using only one NDS card!
- Highly interactive environments: use vehicles, operate tools, switches, controllers, access cards, open boxes and blow up objects.
- Immersive dark atmosphere intensified by heavy music and special effects.
- In-game cut scenes present story elements while introducing new mission tasks.
C.O.R.E. Screenshot Gallery:
Looks good.
[...] might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet BoxAside from C.O.R.E., Graffitti Entertainment also showed their oft-delayed RPG, Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled. Black [...]