Since Vivisector
was displayed at E3 in Los Angeles in May of 2003, it has been blessed
with a generous amount of interest and publicity throughout the gaming
press. The main selling point of this first person game, the quality
that makes it more inviting then a cool drink on a hot summers day, is
that the game is based around the H.G.Wells novel - Island of Doctor
Moreau, A fantastic story line for any game to follow. Add the fact that
it is powered by AtmosFear, Action Form's very own game engine, and you
have a guaranteed recipe for success. Action form are plugging this game
to be a "fast paced, 3D first person shoot 'em up game that brings
you an immersive story line, high-adrenaline action and a rich,
fascinating experience" - all of which remains to be seen. So
therefore, if the press releases are anything to go by, it's going to be
one of the several games this year to make a sizable impact on the
gaming market.
The most important thing you need to remember about the potentially
adrenaline packed Vivisector is the prologue to the interactive
story-line. Set in the year 1978, 100 years after the hideous Dr.
Morhead is hunted out of England. He was forced to the volcanic and
uninhabited Isle of Soreo, for his ambitious and rather disgusting
experiments on animals. In his twisted and evil "temple of
Rebirth" he continues his tests on animals to
make
them look, feel and behave more like humans. However, in his pursuit for
the perfect race of humans, he falls prey to his own creations and his
"Temple of Rebirth" is raised to the ground. A few years
later, sailors discovered the Island and report that nothing bar a few
small animals exist, but the rumours and the conspiracies soon began,
however no confirmation of any of these were given... sounds creepy
enough yet? Well the story seems to get better, so 100 years after these
events, you find yourself on this Island due to "unexpected
circumstances" and as a result are forced to explore this deserted
and dangerous island and battle all types of evil baddies.
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Now if that story line itself doesn't seem appealing enough, then maybe
the 16 gigantic levels will attract your attention? The varied
landscapes will require you to battle through various terrains from the
lush tropical jungles to the deep woods and snowy mountains. One of the
main selling points' of this game to me, other then the complex
story-line. Is the contribution of the talented designer Timur
Mutsaev to the game. He pays meticulous attention and skill to the
intrinsic design of horror and fear in the enemies of the game, making
it all the more appealing to any hard core gaming horror fanatic, go to www.vivisector.com
to see some of his creatures.
Vivsector also seems to provide us with an entourage of
"horrific" creatures. All the animals have different
powers; firstly there's the Modbeasts animals which retain their natural
look but have an extra lethal power. Such as the almost comical Flameuar,
a Jaguar that spits fire and the Grenadilla, bet you cant guess that
one? Its the Grenade throwing Gorilla. As you advance into the game you
will come across fewer Modbeasts and more Humanimals, for example, Lions
with an intellect and weapons who walk on 2 legs as opposed to 4, which aids the creepy atmosphere in the game, they
appear practically human but with animal heads?!?!? Every different
creature possesses its own unique and fascinating abilities, tactics and
firepower, all of which increase the potential for a genius piece of
gaming design.
As Actionform informs me, "there are 3 main characters in the game,
each with specific and meticulous attention having been paid to their
individual characteristics, back story and distinctive style of game
play", sounds good to you to? Well, at the start of the game
each character has its own strengths and weaknesses and its own
potential for development. In this way, replaying the game as a
different character has the potential to yield a totally different
experience. First is Kurt Robinson, whose story is "A guy who has
devoted his whole life to the study of nature. He has spent the last
several years to the search for a legendary creature known as the
"Luminous lizard". He arrives at this mysterious part of the
world in hopes of achieving this goal, at last.." Enticing? or far
fetched? that's for you to decide, but to a fantasist as myself, it
sounds like the perfect foundations to build a character and a game upon. The other two
characters; a slick, beautiful but deadly "Malica Catwalk" and
the classical stereotype of an American army officer "Liam Quaid"
are, as very I'm sure, willing to provide us with extra storylines and
variations on levels. There is also an intuitive Scoring system which
encourages exploration and effective gameplay. In addition to this, you
are occasionally rewarded for your many hours of torturous gaming agony
with hard-earned achievement points so that you can evolve your
character and upgrade your equipment and your skills!
Now comes the technical bit, the AtmosFear engine is one that has sent
rumorous shock waves throughout the gaming community in London, and
indeed worldwide, for the past few months. As the PR department at
ActionForm have informed me; "The AtmosFear engine helps to immerse
you into the tension, horror and fear of this fast paced first person
shoot 'em up". The lead designer of the Vivisector project Andrey
Sharanevitch claims that the AtmosFear engine "fully supports all
modern video and audio hardware and APIs, and is packed with all modern
features, delivering a smooth, neat looking image to your monitor".
The AtmosFear engine has the potential to combine state of the art
rendering technologies for both indoor and outdoor environments. Wow! An
engine whom some claim put the Doom 3 and/or Unreal 2 engines to shame,
can this really be possible? Perhaps Vivisector will just be the game to
do that.
Controversial?
Perhaps, but regardless of whether its engine is as astonishing as
described, other factors within the structure of the story-line tend to
create an appealing curiosity towards the game, one by which not many
gamers would want to resist!
Features
. AtmosFear engine that combines state of the art rendering technologies
for
both indoor and outdoor environments.
. A deep and frightening interactive storyline.
. Character development system
. Bizarre never-before-seen enemies, ModBeasts and Humanimals, each with
unique abilities, tactics and firepower.
