It's a bit of a looker but where's the AI?
On the eye candy side of things, Hellgate: London is a bit of a looker, but only really in the outdoor sections. Outside you’ve got a dirty, rubble strewn London complete with toppled double decker busses, burnt out police cars and the detritus of a civilisation suddenly thrown into disarray. What’s nice is that Hellgate: London looks like it’s in London and, given that some of London’s most famous landmarks and tourist traps are in here, you’ll probably recognise them too.But what really struck me was the detail in the outdoor environments, all those little touches that make a British street instantly recognisable. The road markings are right, the keep left signs, the kerbs, the bus stops, BT junction boxes… Ok, I sound like a plank going on about kerbstones and bus stops but it does all add to the general atmosphere. The only oddity I saw was a traditional red phone box, but I hear there’s a few of them still around in London as the tourists like them and drunks always need a place to relieve themselves.
Click for larger imageBut underground is a slightly different story. I know it must be hard to make what is basically a concrete corridor look like it’s in London seeing as all that differentiates British building is that it’s normally three years late and twice the price of the quote. But the underground sewer sections could just be lifted from Generic Sewer Maker Edition 4, if such a bit of software existed. Sure, there’s brick archways from the Victorian days but these open out into fairly bog standard concrete rooms and corridors, scattered with the usual abandoned lockers, chairs, bits of wood and oil drum cum braziers… To be fair, the sections of tube tunnel do look the part but on the whole, if it weren’t for the HUD and interface overlaying the screen, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was your clichéd FPS sewer environment.
The action itself is, depending on your class, is very similar to World of Warcraft. So those of you that opt for the melee guys or mage based classes will be right at home. You select the required spell or skill from the hot keys list, which you can just drag and drop skills or items into, and then click on your target to attack. It’s that simple. Depending on the weapon or spell being used, you’ll get a drain on your power level, which is Hellgate: London’s version of mana. Many skills and spells require a recharge period, so you can just flick through your repertoire, unleashing havoc as each one recharges.
Click for larger imageThe Hunters, for those of you with an FPS hankering, work in a similar way but with the same limitations as the other classes. Some weapons drain your power as do some skills and they all have a recharge time. But the effectiveness of the attack isn’t just dependant on you personally having a decent aim, there’s some behind the scenes dice rolling going on too, to see how much damage you’re dealing out or even if you’ve made a hit at all. This can be a bit disconcerting at first as a baddie clearly takes a hit but doesn’t drop, but you soon get used to it. Don’t think you can run and gun in the Hunter faction though, your effectiveness is severely reduced if you fire on the move so it’s well worth choosing a good spot to snipe from and letting the enemy come to you.
Sadly though, pretty much all of the enemies are about as dumb as they come. Ok, I know these are demons who are driven by the Dark Lord or some personal insanity or whatever but often you’ll find that enemies just run straight at you… so it’s more a question of creeping into range and not getting too many attacking you at once. It doesn’t help that they can’t seem to figure out even the simplest of paths to get to you either.
Click for larger imageI’ve stood just below a fairly hefty demon on a walkway above me and, over the course of a few minutes, reduced him to bloody bits and a nice big drop of loot… all because he couldn’t figure out that walking away from me a short ways would’ve taken him to the stairs where he could’ve come down and attacked me. I know demons are supposed to be fodder there for the butchering but tricking Hellgate: London’s AI this easily was something of a disappointment because it removes a fair whack of the sense of achievement when the goal of your mission can be dispatched so easily.
