Hei$t
Preview
Will Hei$t be able to draw people away from GTAIV?
by MarvellousG
previewed on PC
Suttons 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, youre 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 wouldnt 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 wont 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. Its certainly exciting stuff, but its slightly ruined by the sparsely populated city.
With Grand Theft Auto IV garnering as much praise for its amazingly detailed city as it is its gameplay and story, youd think any imitator would try to emulate Rockstars incredible interpretation of New York.
Maybe its the fact that its 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 its 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 Id advise waiting for coverage closer to the games release before you make a decision on whether youre 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.
