Hei$t
Preview
Will Hei$t be able to draw people away from GTAIV?
by MarvellousG
previewed on PC
Sutton’s Eleven? (cntd)
But if the cops are waiting outside for you, then are you in trouble. The AI in Hei$t looks to be excellent so far, providing a real challenge no matter how skilled a player you are. The aim of the game is to plan so meticulously that you avoid combat, and much in the same way as in the Splinter Cell series, chances are that if it comes down to a shoot-out, you’re probably going to lose. But if you command your squad well enough, you might just stand a chance...
With Friends Like These...
You can direct your squad with good old fashioned button prompts, but what excited us was the fact that you can also use a microphone to actually be the gang leader, yelling out commands to your buddies and attracting the attention of anybody in the house with you. You can personalize commands, so if you want to say ‘I love Hooked Gamers ever so much’ (which you should say every morning when you wake up) every time you want one of your squaddies to take cover, you can. Although we probably wouldn’t advise that. Another interesting feature of your squad is an almost dog-like memory system.
If one of your friends is being a little too violent towards a hostage, you can reprimand him, and he won’t do it again for as long as it takes you to finish the game. If he does something good, like pick up on a customer you forgot to round up, you can praise him, and the AI will remember that you approved and repeat the action more frequently. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Codemasters can implement this feature successfully.
The Chase
But back to the chases. You jump into your vintage car, and scream around San Francisco looking for a way through the numerous roadblocks that will be lined up your way by the coppers. It’s certainly exciting stuff, but it’s slightly ruined by the sparsely populated city.
With Grand Theft Auto IV garnering as much praise for it’s amazingly detailed city as it is it’s gameplay and story, you’d think any imitator would try to emulate Rockstar’s incredible interpretation of New York.
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s just early code, but what we saw of San Francisco in Hei$t did not impress us one bit. It was sparsely populated, with little traffic and even less pedestrians. We know it’s only a very early preview, but we hope Codies improve this for the final game.
Worth Waiting For?
So far Hei$t does not look like it could distract anybody from GTAIV, but I’d advise waiting for coverage closer to the game’s release before you make a decision on whether you’re going to ignore it completely or buy it. Keep your eyes open, and your trigger finger at the ready; this could be very good indeed.
