Hellgate: London set for Halloween release

Author: Tim Smalley
Published: 7th August 2007
Comments (11) Stumble
Hellgate: London set for Halloween release

Hellgate: London combines RPG and FPS elements and is hailed as "the next leap in the evolution of the action RPG genre."

Electronic Arts has announced that Hellgate: London, the long-awaited title from Flagship Studios, Bill Roper’s new development team, will be released in North America on October 31st and then in Europe on November 2nd on the PC.

Roper was a Director at Blizzard Entertainment from 1994 to 2003 and played key roles in the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo franchises. Understandably, there are a lot of fans eager to see what Roper’s new team comes up with – there are definitely a few members of the bit-tech team looking forward to Hellgate, that’s for sure.

According to Flagship Studios, the game represents “the next leap in the evolution of the action RPG genre, combining the depth and addictive gameplay of traditional RPGs with the visceral action of first-person shooters.”

In a statement, Roper said that “we wanted to hit the sweet-spot for release in terms of the development schedule and delivering the highest-quality game to our players. Halloween was the perfect fit as it ensures that Hellgate: London will have an appropriate amount of beta testing, while also being an incredibly fun time to unleash the game.”

Hellgate: London claims to deliver infinite replayability as the levels, items, enemies and events are all dynamically generated as the player takes their heroic character through a very story-driven campaign.

Are you looking forward to Hellgate: London, or are you waiting for the release of another one of the slew of big titles coming this year? Tell us in the forums.
Quote kickarse 7th August 2007, 17:53
This games looks crazy! Can't wait!
Quote Bungle 7th August 2007, 18:50
I think it was you Tim , who got an advanced look at this game a while back. If I remember correctly you were somewhat underwhelmed by it. Have you seen anything lately to change that view?
Quote Bladestorm 7th August 2007, 19:24
Looking forward to it :) assuming they didn't mess up.

After all with a project statement of "Diablo, crossed with halflife, set in london" and some talanted folks like half the diablo team behind it, who wouldn't though ?
Quote Tim S 7th August 2007, 21:02
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bungle
I think it was you Tim , who got an advanced look at this game a while back. If I remember correctly you were somewhat underwhelmed by it. Have you seen anything lately to change that view?

When I got an early look, the game was a very early build (last November) and yes, I was a little underwhelmed at the time... I've seen a few more of the gameplay trailers since then and it is showing some promise. I think it's one of those games that could be really good, or could be really bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bladestorm
Looking forward to it :) assuming they didn't mess up.

After all with a project statement of "Diablo, crossed with halflife, set in london" and some talanted folks like half the diablo team behind it, who wouldn't though ?
Yeah, when I saw it I saw a lot of likenesses to Half-Life, but without a story to follow, it looked a bit bland back then (obviously, I didn't see much of a story... so it's hard to really draw any kind of solid opinion if it's a very story-driven game). However, if it combines a story as strong as Half-Life's with the hack and slash Diablo style, I think it could be pretty good. :)
Quote devdevil85 7th August 2007, 21:04
"Hellgate: London claims to deliver infinite replayability as the levels, items, enemies and events are all dynamically generated as the player takes their heroic character through a very story-driven campaign."

Wow that is going to be a huge turning point in the way I perceive FPS/RPG gameplay because in every FPS/RPG game that I have played it's pretty much a linear experience with some, of course, different action scenarios, but I want to play a game where I don't always expect something to happen and I hope this game can live up to that expectation....
Quote naokaji 7th August 2007, 21:05
Hellgate:London + Crysis + Bioshock + new unreal title(whatever name will be) + StarCraft 2 = so many potential uber titles to choose from in the next few months... forget it... i'll just get them all... *runs off and starts saving money*
Quote Bungle 7th August 2007, 23:46
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim S
When I got an early look, the game was a very early build (last November) and yes, I was a little underwhelmed at the time... I've seen a few more of the gameplay trailers since then and it is showing some promise. I think it's one of those games that could be really good, or could be really bad.
:) Hope that fence is comfy. I gueess we'll have to wait for the full review before the truth is revelaed so to speaketh.
Quote CardJoe 8th August 2007, 09:18
Quote:
Originally Posted by devdevil85
"Hellgate: London claims to deliver infinite replayability as the levels, items, enemies and events are all dynamically generated as the player takes their heroic character through a very story-driven campaign."

Wow that is going to be a huge turning point in the way I perceive FPS/RPG gameplay because in every FPS/RPG game that I have played it's pretty much a linear experience with some, of course, different action scenarios, but I want to play a game where I don't always expect something to happen and I hope this game can live up to that expectation....

There are tons of game which have 'infinite replayability' thanks to dynamic generation. Loads of old ones, like Nethack or Survivor on the low-end. More recent? Oblivion, completely randomised loot and enemy placement dynamically based on how the player was progressing.

The result? It means that things in the game are either not as random as they appear and instances are scripted and programmed in, or the game is very very bland. It was one of the first and most complained about things in Oblivion and one of the first things fixed in the mods.

Now, Hellgate may be different. But I have mixed opinions and am wary about that aspect - especially with the tiered, subscription nature of the multiplayers aspects, which I discussed previously in a different thread.
Quote DougEdey 8th August 2007, 09:40
Quote:
Originally Posted by CardJoe

No, Hellgate may be different. But I have mixed opinions and am wary about that aspect - especially with the tiered, subscription nature of the multiplayers aspects, which I discussed previously in a different thread.

And it was decided that it was a poop idea.
Quote Mister_X 8th August 2007, 14:22
I've had this on pre-order for over a year. Looking forward to it. Liked the 4 part story told in the comics hopefully the game can carry that same atmosphere. Worth the money for the pre rendered CGI cut scenes. I'd watch a feature movie of that alone.
Roll on Halloween
Quote Misiowiec 9th August 2007, 14:39
Never been a RPG person (except for Warcraft II, still play that on occasion) but it does look great. Hopefully it will only add to and further entrench the PC gaming community.

Looking forward to Crysis, QW and other FPS myself.
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