04/29/05 >> Huxley

Genre: Massive multi-player online first-person shooter

Developer: H-Studio

Publisher: WEBZEN

No official site yet

 

 

 

It’s inevitable that with each new generation of graphics engine, there comes a time when you see a screenshot and think to yourself, “That can’t be possible?!” This was our introduction to Huxley, a massive multi-player first-person shooter game with role-playing elements, developed by the H-Studio of WEBZEN, a Korean online entertainment company.

 

WEBZEN has licensed Epic’s Unreal Engine 3. We were given a small taste of what Epic’s new engine can do at E3 last year. Though it was essentially a ‘tech demo,’ it did show off the amount of polys it can push on-screen at any given time. Of course large numbers of polys don’t translate to “Game of the Year” but it does give you an idea of what the engine can do and what direction Epic is going. Unlike id’s DOOM 3 engine, which is just a beautiful indoor rendering engine, Unreal Engine 3 aims to bridge the gap between gorgeous visuals and huge outdoor areas.

 

Epic’s engines have always placed emphasis on being able to render large outdoor areas without breaking a sweat. If their engine did have a weakness, however, it was that their art always had a slightly cartoonish look. This is not the case with Huxley. The visuals of this game are nothing short of astounding. From the few screenshots that have been released thus far, one can easily see that Huxley will be able to render enormous outdoor environments with breathtaking graphics.

 

 

Looking at screenshots though is just to whet your appetite for the game. We still need to know what the game is about. Huxley, the title of this MMO FPS, is inspired by the novel Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley, though the two worlds don’t have much in common. The world of Huxley is a post-apocalyptic one, where humans have mutated and are divided into two opposing races, Sapiens and Alternative. Since all fossil energies have been exhausted, both sides are fighting for control of a new energy, Lunarites. Sapiens and Alternatives will do whatever it takes to destroy the other side and gain control of the world and its resources. There’s been mention of a Hybrid race but virtually nothing is known about them.

 

Sounds promising; but hasn’t the MMO FPS formula been tried with less than stellar results? Some might point to Planetside or NeoCron as examples of mixing first-person shooters with MMOs that failed to wow the consumer. WEBZEN points out however, that Planetside is more of a first-person strategy in a MMO context, whereas Huxley will be more action-focused. They aim to combine the excitement and rich gameplay of a MMORPG with the high intensity action of an online FPS game.

 

Not only can players communicate and socialize with each other, they can participate in side battles against other players. Everything a character does in the Huxley world directly affects the prosperity of not only the individual himself, but also of his race and party; from battles to behaviors, all interactions are linked to the survival of a character’s entire race. All this begs the question: Will players be able to sabotage their own side by their actions? We’ll have to wait a little while longer before that can be answered.

 

Large-scale battles will play an important role in the Huxley game world. Players will be challenged to adapt to new forms of combat to protect the interests of the camp. WEBZEN claims it will have servers solely dedicated to accommodate millions of users engaged in fast paced, large-scale combat. Characters will require strategy and cooperation to achieve victory. Extensive multiplayer battle modes are available each with a variety of unique fighting techniques and special characteristics. Nothing short of revolutionary… if WEBZEN can pull it off.

 

After learning a few of these features, one may be inclined to ask, “Is this nothing more than a ‘team deathmatch’ on a MMO scale?” Far from it. Huxley has advanced A.I. that rivals other online games. Enemies in Huxley demonstrate remarkable intelligence, which can be used to a player’s advantage or demise. Quests in Huxley will take players on paths of intrigue to uncover conspiracies resulting in confrontations. Each quest is continually updated so players feel as though they are enjoying a new story mode every time they play. This interesting single-player aspect is enough to attract those who shy away from PvP type games.

 

Though Huxley will have its share of PvP missions, it will also feature missions and quests that involve leading a squad of AI comrades. Huxley will even feature a variety of vehicles such as cars, choppers, tanks and more, all controlled by the players themselves. It’s been hinted that players may even have their own vehicles.

 

 

Page 2 >