Bodycount Slated For Q1 2011 Release News

We already knew that Codemasters was working on a new first-person shooter IP, that it'd signed up Stuart Black (the Co-creator of Criterion's Black) for the project, and that the game is called Bodycount. What we didn't know, and what Codies has announced today, is that it's due to arrive during the first three months of next year when it will ship for the Xbox 360 and PS3 with online multiplayer and co-op modes to boot.

Today's announcement also fleshes out some of the story behind the game, which casts players as a "powerful combat asset" working for a clandestine 'Network'. Tasked with killing nameless 'Targets' for a living, players are encouraged to leave no witnesses during their various operations (hence the title Bodycount, presumably).

There are also promises of a "mouth-watering selection of contemporary weapons", "destructible cover", and a "shreddable world". It all sounds very much like Black to be honest, which the first batch of screens more or less confirm (just check out the anal level of detail on those gun barrels), so clearly Stuart Black's influence is shining through on this one.

"We're all massive FPS fans," said Stuart Black, Creative Director on Bodycount, "and believe that there's room for a refresh of the shooter experience. If Race Driver: GRID was all about the purity of racing, then everything in Bodycount is absolutely centred on the bullet and its impact on the world. Our shredding tech enables us to create a different kind of gameplay, where players and AI can't hide behind indestructible cover and rely on whack-a-mole mechanics. Here the environment is constantly changing as the game world is shot to hell; it's going to be a huge amount of fun."