PAX 07: D3

by: Chuck - posted: 8/25/2007 10:57:00 AM

I didn't get the chance to meet with D3 at E3 so this was my first chance to get some hands one time with their upcoming titles.  Dead Head Fred is Vicious Cycle's upcoming third person game.  Set in an alternate 1940's universe the game has you playing Fred Neuman (voiced by John C McGinley) a PI who's taken out by a mob boss at the start of the game.  Thanks to a small nuclear waste accident and some scientific ingenuity you are re-animated and out for revenge.

The only downside to your resurrection is that it's not quite perfect as you don't currently have a head.  Rather your brains and eyes rest in a water filled bottle on the top of your head.  During the game you'll be able to pick up nine different heads which will allow you several different attacks and ways to play the game.

I only got to spend a few minutes playing the introductory level of the game but the game is one of the better looking PSP games I've seen in a while.  The game is your standard third person action game and offers some nice combat controls including a fun decapitation move that's a headlock taken to the next level.   The game comes out next week so there's not much of a wait before every one else will get a chance to play the game.

Up next was Dark Sector from developer Digital Extremes.  This is a new IP using a new engine developed in house by Digital Extremes.  I got to see the fourth level of the game where the protagonist is half infected with the technocyte virus.  The downside is that the virus will eventually kill him, the good news is that the virus does make him a little stronger and harder to kill.  The real star of the game though is the glaive that you get to use during the game.  Besides being a very effective ranged and melee weapon (decapitations seem to be popular with D3 this year) you can use the glaive to pick up weapons that enemies drop when you kill them.  You can also charge your glaive with environmental effects like fire and electricity.  For example you can through the glaive into power lines to charge it with electricity and then electrocute a bad guy by hitting him with it. 

The game is taking an interesting to weapons management as you don't have to deal with ammunition in the game.  Instead you can only use each weapon for a period of time before it is locked to you.  The reason?  The bad guys in the game have gene-locked all of their weapons and you can only use them for a period of time before they lock you out.  This is an interesting feature as it prevents you from having to constantly search for ammo but I do wonder if people will get sick of using the glaive all the time.  The game also lacks any sort of HUD which is a nice twist. 

The final game I saw was Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire a new DS property.The game has you fighting dragons and as you progress through the game you'll pick up various dragon powers.  The dragon powers are the heart of the game as you can do cool things like use a fire breathing dragon head and a pair of flaming dragons claws.  The claws are especially cool as you control each one with the wii remote and nunchuk.  The game will be coming out on September 25th and should provide decent counter programming for anyone who's not picking up Halo 3.