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An archived Hellgate: London feature. See the Hellgate Archives for more.

Feature: Hellgate London preview by MMOG
Date: February 17, 2007
Source: MPOGD.com

Hellgate: London - Closer by the minute

By Linda "Brasse" Carlson

So what do we call this game? RPG? FPS? Multiplayer but not quite massively so? The answer is simple. YES.

I had the chance to see Hellgate London at CES this year, and the new build is slick. Hellgate is insanely customizable for a shooter-style game, in keeping with a model that wants you to invest in and care about your character and its development. The avatars will be far easier to tell apart than in most… but I am perhaps skipping ahead for those of you who may not yet be familiar with this game.

In the near future, the vast city of London is devastated, torn asunder by the forces of Hell. Through a rift to the netherworld, demons pour out and set themselves against the few remnants of humanity (that'd be you), fighting pitched battles throughout the ruins of the still recognizable city.

At CES, Chris Arretche, Senior Producer for Flagship Studios, was happily running through the demo zones for onlookers, and was good enough to show me just how far the game had progressed since the earlier build I'd seen at E3 in 2006. A bit of history here: Flagship was formed by a breakaway at the former "Blizzard North" studios… yep, the people who brought us Diablo and Diablo II. You can see an overall evolution from the Diablo games; there is still a comforting sense of familiarity as a result, but the level of gameplay and sophistication has grown by leaps and bounds since those days.

The art department has managed to capture a strong sense of London's urban landscape, although broken and twisted; some of the underground areas are downright creepy… all in a good way, provided one is well armed and has some bodyguards along!

The core game is largely RPG in style, and single player. Gamers will experience a well-developed storyline that helps them build a sense of purpose and destiny in this twisted world. The inclusion of random quests adds variety to the usual mix. For example, you may run into a character on a street corner who pleads for aid. Do you take time out of your day to assist him, or ignore his feeble entreaties?

Hellgate's online multiplayer mode brings in more of an FPS game aspect, although still played in 3rd person. Sounds odd, but it works. The fighting style is very immediate and fast-moving, requiring strong character development and abilities, more than pure twitch skills to excel.

In the best FPS tradition, there are a wide variety of cool weapons (a hundred base types!) and highly customizable armor available. Better still, players can gain access (via game drops or manufacturing) to various "mods", which can be technological or magical in origin and effect. These mods are made to be temporary applications to weapons and armor, such that you can pop them in and out of slots as occasion demands. This feature affords more flexibility in play style, as well as further personalization for your character. Creation of mods by players will use some form of in-game crafting, but details are not available yet, beyond the fact that when collecting junky loot in game, items can be broken down (salvaged) into useful components.

Player classes are varied and incorporate an interesting combination of arcane ability and modern technology. For example, it is unusual to see a pure "spell caster" in a near-future setting, but the Cabalist is just that… taking the very powers of Hell to use against it. The Templars are hefty, almost medievally armored warriors that make full use of modern armaments as well as ancient ritual.

The hellspawn that emerge through the rift are properly hideous and rife with interesting variations, most of them deadly. Let us look at one of the so-called lesser demons, the "Grotesque." A huge, lumbering amalgam of other melded beings whose main attack involves tearing globs of parasites from its own body to hurl at its foes. Ewwwwww! Oh yes… filled with demonic gases, these clumps of maggoty things explode on impact. Worse yet, once the Grotesque dies, abominations arise from its putrid corpse, freed of the ties that once bound them together. Welcome to Hell. Who knew it could be so FUN?

There has been considerable discussion from CES onwards about Hellgate's payment model. Hard-core fans, hoping for the old Diablo-school of free multiplayer that had been discussed, were incensed when it was reported that the multiplayer aspect of Hellgate would be subscription based. According to Ivan Sulic, Community Manager for Flagship Studios, this was largely a misquote, and that nothing is set in stone; subscription fees were not a stated fact, but just one of innumerable options being evaluated by the company. "We are still considering many options for the game delivery model," he said, "but at least some aspects of multiplayer will be free." We went on to discuss the fact that Flagship plans to devote significant development time to ongoing game content after launch.

What's my take on the matter? Let's face it; SOMEONE has to pay for the additional development cycle; no-one can afford to work for free, and the initial purchase price can only cover so much. My impression after talking to these guys is that we can expect a limited subscription model, or perhaps optional buy-ins for new content modules… we'll see. I would be a big fan of the latter; buying into various adventure packs or mini-expansions as they became available, which allows people to opt in or out, based on their pocketbook and preferences. I am very curious to see which path Flagship decides on. In any case, this is a game that looks well worth picking up, and you'll get your chance to buy into a living hell in the summer of 2007.