A look at the Action Games to come in 2000.
By - The GameSpy Staff
With our recent look back into the past year of gaming history, we affirmed our roots. Now, it's time to sally forth (we love saying that) and look at games to come. Quite a few upcoming action titles have our appetites whetted, and it's time to take a closer look at the games we can't wait to play.
Duke Nukem Forever
Who hasn't been waiting for this one since they first played Duke Nukem 3D? Raise your hands and get out. What Duke 3D lacked in graphics, it made up in sheer Attitude(TM). Now, a few years later, 3D Realms is offering us cake we may have, and eat too! Duke Nukem Forever will use the beautiful Unreal Tournament engine from Epic, while keeping the sheer Cool Factor(R) that made Duke 3D such a hit. Originally slated to use the Quake II engine, 3D Realms decided early on that the Unreal engine was offering more of what was needed. Consequently, DNF has undergone a long development time as code bases have been switched.
In this latest Duke installment, expect to see Dr. Proton and his evil cohorts, law (ahem) enforcers, and, hopefully, lots of scantily clad women who like dollar bills. Also expect lots of classic Duke quotes, as well as new ones. Hail to the King, baby! This one should be out sometime in Y2K. If we haven't reverted to an agrarian society by then, be sure to keep an eye out for this one.
Duke Nukem Forever Stuff on the Web:
Team Fortress II
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What started as a mod for Quake has grown to be a game in its own right. Veterans of Team Fortress for Quake, and Team Fortress Classic for Half-Life will be able to fully appreciate how brilliantly Valve has taken what was good about TF, and added much more to it. Team Fortress 2 is military-themed -- that is, real-world military models, skins, and vehicles. There are nine classes in TF2, most of which are returning classes from TF and TFC. A few new ones include a Commander and Commando. A good question that has yet to be answered is this: Will the Commander class have a significant impact on teamplay, like the popular Battle of the Sexes mod for Quake 2? Time will tell. Mission objectives will include military-themed goals, such as assassinating the other team's Commander or Spy Wars. Also new to TF2 is the fill-in-the-blanks method that will be used for play. No more uneven teams, as both teams in TF2 will have a full complement of bots to fill in every class. As players connect and choose a class, they fill in the blank and kick the bots out. With any luck, the bot AI will be good enough to fool a person, though that may be wishful thinking.
Assuming your Y2K-amuck computer doesn't enslave you, forcing you to punch its keys until it crashes, look out for this one in 2000.
Elite TeamFortress Stuff on da Web:
Oni
What do you get when you combine Tekken, Unreal, Tomb Raider and a good RPG? If you said Oni, you can give yourself two points. Bungie is developing this title, and (no surprise) it is looking as sweet as Uncle Juan's honey mustard. This 3D 3rd-person shooter/adventure/RPG combines a lot of great elements, including hand-to-hand fighting, weapons combat, and environment interaction. On top of that, there's a decidedly RPG flavor to the storyline, as you meet various NPC's and the main character gets even better at what she does. To quote:
"Also interesting is how Konoko develops new fighting skills as the game progresses. In early levels, hitting the 'punch' key might yield a simple jab that does moderate damage, perhaps making the opponent take a step back. In later levels, as Konoko becomes more skilled and also, consistent with the story, more vicious, the same key might unleash a series of blows that knock out opponents or even kill them."
A word or two on environment interaction:
"When you run out of ammo, you can drop it and take out your opponents with flying kicks and neck-snapping throws. If they're unarmed, you can kick an opponent's gun out of his hand, grab it and finish off a roomful of bad guys in a blaze of fire. If the action gets too hairy, you can kill the lights, ignite a concussion grenade and dive through a plate glass window while the room explodes above you."
Oni looks to be one of a select few action games to look forward to. Provided fire and brimstone don't rain from the heavens on Jan. 1st, 2000, you definitely want to consider this title. Just what the hell is "brimstone" anyways? How come you never hear about it unless it's raining from the sky?
Jaw-dropping Oni Stuff the Net is Hiding from You:
Next: A Halo over our heads brings on the Payne...
