Devastation

DEVASTATION is a first-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic USA (ooh, that's a new one) which features 20-plus missions in the single-player game, plus online multiplayer features. I've only played the single-player game, so I can't comment on the multiplayer. First off, this game is pretty good-looking - well, as good-looking as urban squallor can be. It's not up to the standards of UNREAL II ( whose engine it borrows) but the graphics are on the whole impressive. The characters are particularly well done... until they start speaking. Yes, the voice acting is awful, as it so often is, and there has been no attempt to lip-sync; the characters just open and close their mouths like goldfish and sometimes continue to do so even after their voices have died down. The frame rate starts out fairly solid, although you'll need a beefy set-up to employ all the video options. However, as soon as the number of enemies (and allies) you encounter increases, you'll be shuddering all over the place, and this makes the last few levels almost unplayable (and I'm using a P4 2GHz 512K RAM and a GeForce 4!). There are also tons of clipping issues and other glitches - in fact, sometimes your gunfire will cause enemies to rise into the air and stay there as if by magic, then when they die their bodies continue to hang several feet off the ground. Bizarre. The story is fairly unoriginal, but enough to keep you going...just about. It's a very simple out-and-out blaster - there's nothing wrong with that of course, provided it's well produced, but this game isn't. The AI of both friends and enemies is terrible. Squads of goons run straight at you and then pause out in the open, waiting for you to shoot them. Your friends frequently throw themselves into laser fences and stand directly in front of heavy cannons but are never there when you actually want them to make a gung-ho assault as a distraction. I had to re-start several times because my 'team' had me blocked on a narrow path or stairway and absolutely refused to move. Very frustrating. The final nail in the coffin comes about halfway through, when you gain access to cloning technology. This robs the game of any remaining tension or excitement, because as soon as you are killed you simply regenerate and take up where you left off. That's all very well in a frag-based game like Quake but doesn't work in a single-player experience. I lost interest rapidly, and didn't even bother with the final two missions. It's a great shame the developers didn't spend as long on the gameplay as they did on the visuals (although even these are far from perfect). It kept me mildly entertained for a few hours, and if you're an absolute die-hard FPS freak you'll partially enjoy it, but it just doesn't stand up to the current competition. A real wasted opportunity.

Really good pc shooter

This looks like a cool game for multiplayer gameplay. Everything appears to be interactive and apart from the slightly less polished graphics this could be a good rival to Medal of Honour.The Idea of street wars have been pulled off very well.I give this a good 4/5.

This game starts with an excellent sequence that really draws you in, despite it being similar to some old movies.In the future a number of megacorps control all of the technology and the resisitance is trying to sway the balance away from them. The usual skulduggery and side changing of characters soon turns into a very interesting web of intrigue.This game is based on a modified Unreal2 engine so is visually very impressive and also means you can sneak as well as rush about all guns blazing.Being quite large this game will keep you amused for some time, and then you can play the multiplayer. I have been dissapointed by some of the latest games being rather quick to complete, but I have not had a problem with this game in that regard.This game will have elements that all Half-Life fans will enjoy and relate to at the start. A really good new entry into the genre.

Written by Novalogic and using a 'heavily-modified' version of the Unreal engine, Devastation is a first-person perspective shoot-'em-up based in the future. The world has descended into chaos - most steets and buildings lie in rubble, giant corporations control the brutal military, and small gangs of resistance fighters grip onto the last shreds of humanity. You happen to be the leader of that resistance, and must make every effort to decode a stolen disk and bring the corporations down.Set in a cyber-punk ruined future, you pick your way through deserted streets or gloomy buildings, exchanging fire with the military, collecting weapons, ammo and health, and looking after your buddies.Basically there's nothing new at all here - it's just a question of graphics, playability and longevity which will compare it to other games of this genre. However, the graphics are gorgeous - detailed both in terms of texture and content, and the game plays quite smoothly, even when the screen is pretty 'busy'.Other features of the game are: * 'rag-doll' deaths (as seen in Unreal Tournament 2003). * pick up almost anything from the floor to use as a weapon or throw as a distraction. * Over 30 weapons (machine guns, pistols, shotguns, swords, etc.). * Realistic physics.This game plays very well - it's fun and addictive - the frustration factor is quite low. Controls are easy peasy and fully configurable. Often you have the ability to issue simple commands to your teammate or group of buddies (commands are ATTACK, DEFEND, HOLD and FOLLOW). The levels are fairly linear, but are quite large and full of content and detail, and vary from dizzying rooftop ledges to hospitals, deserted streets and even an asylum!The enemy and buddy A.I. seem to vary from interesting to stupid. Often an enemy will either run to take cover behind something and shoot at you, or run into the open and walk sideways without shooting you at all. I believe this problem is fixed in the patch - unfortunately at the time of writing there is no patch available for the UK version of the game. Luckily you do not need the patch to still enjoy this game.There's also an editor to keep the modders happy! Overall, shoot-'em-up fans buy this now!

when i first saw it i thought oh no another unreal tournament but No it has excellent grapics as expected but it also has a story line and an awsome aray of weapons / maps and mods