Enemy In Sight
Preview
Premission to fire
by CrazyCanuck
previewed on PC
Just enough to whet your appetite!
Imagine an alternate reality where the Cold War refused to cool and the United States and Russia now find themselves in the throws of war. Now envision yourself as a basic infantryman on the front lines in Europe climbing the ranks as you push eastwards towards one of the sources of the conflict. Picture yourself with modern warfare weaponry at your disposal in huge, destructible environments and what you have is Enemy in Sight!
Enemy in Sight is Czech Republic developer Illusion Softworks' next foray into the first-person-shooter genre. Best known for their previous work on the Mafia, Vietcong and Hidden & Dangerous series, this next project which is to be published by Atari takes players on a roller-coaster ride in an alternative war-torn reality.
It's always about the engine...
Aren't games released these days always focusing on the engine they are using to render graphical detail or the physics model? Well, Enemy in Sight is no different in this regard. It is employing the Mequon physics engine to render realistic behaviour of everything in the environment from the enemies and the terrain to the debris created from your destruction. It will even allow players to realistically do things that they've never done before such as climb trees, dig holes to use as foxholes and use other objects to their advantage. You'll find the battlefields changing dynamically before your eyes as you battle back the opposing forces in an attempt to meet your next objective.
The environment itself is extensive. It encompasses approximately 1000 square km of detail, 100 of which is painstakingly modeled (using DTM or Digital Terrain Modeling) from satellite images and the rest which is auto-generated terrain. The aerial models provide an accuracy of between one and ten meters in size resulting in incredibly realistic countryside topography. You'll find yourself advancing over this carefully crafted landscape from the front lines in England (on the southwest coast near Plymouth), through Germany (along the mountains near Baden-Baden) and on to the Czech Republic (near the White Carpathians area, close to the Slovakian border).
Buckle Up Soldier!
You take on the role of a soldier, beginning as a basic infantryman and climbing in rank as you progress. Training will be provided throughout the experience as part of the game structure. Your tour of duty will see you involved in a variety of combat situations including defense of targets, collection of intelligence, holding an area and defeating enemies. The huge levels (with their destructible attributes) provide a unique experience and the variety of land and air-based craft (tanks and helicopters anyone?) further deepen the adventure. Of course, no FPS would be complete without a hard-nosed set of weaponry and Enemy in Sight offers equipment ranging from machine guns to laser-guided missile launchers. How you use this equipment is up to you.
The heart of the title is on the goal-oriented single player experience and throughout the campaign you'll be learning more about who actually started the war and their reasons for doing so. It's presented in a realistic albeit action-oriented format with the focus being on large scale battles with a number of types of units operating at the same time. There are also multi-player modes available where you can play as part of a team or go solo (called Green Beret mode). These feature a number of unannounced modes for you to enjoy with friends. A large mission editor will also be available for those of you who like to build their own dream battlefields.
More intel please...
At this point there really isn't a lot of information available for Enemy in Sight. I was only able to track down a few screenshots and information is quite scarce. The word is that the title is presently on hold and will not meet the original publishing date set for Q4 2006. However, being a fan of the Hidden & Dangerous series, I know what Illusion Softworks is capable of and with a realistic twist on history; elaborate weapons; well-implemented game play and an interesting plot, Enemy in Sight could be one to keep your sights set on. Stay tuned...
