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Breed - Extensive Impressions Preview
Derek dela Fuente
16/12/2003
We chat to Brat Designs and get the lowdown on this potential Halo beater...
UK Brat Designs may be a small development team in size but they have an impressive CV. The two directors of the company, who are the expertise and vision for Breed, are Ed Scio and Jason Gee, who formed their relationship whilst working at Psygnosis, when the Liverpool publisher could do little wrong. Although there has been a number of delays on Breed it should not be seen as a negative but the chance to get this 3D action shooter nigh on perfect.
This first person shooter is set in the future, where Earth is besieged by an aggressive alien race called BREED. Commanding humankind's lone surviving battleship, you are forced to realize that the devastating war the Breed waged in the distant Besalius system was nothing other than a diversion! While the battle was raging far away, the aggressive aliens took over Earth. Now is the time to come to the aid of your home planet! Some humans have surely survived the Breed invasion: search for them and use your wits and cunning to organize resistance. Discover your oppressorâs weaknesses and strike at them without mercy. Your suicide squad has only one goal: to annihilate the Breed!
Breed seamlessly blends addictive, accessible, free-roaming gameplay with cutting-edge and state-of-the-art technology which uses the Mercury engine. Breed utilises both 1st and 3rd person viewpoints and single and multiplayers can freely take (co-operatively) control of a variety of vehicles - from standard ground troops, tanks, jeeps, fighters to dropships. Ed Scio and Jason Gee collectively answered the questions put to them starting with the one that many are asking â“ âwhy such a long development periodâ?
âWhen you begin with a core idea itâs like a movie in some ways, you have this great thought and then, somewhere along the line these other ideas hop into your heads â“ and you go back, look at the first idea and decide, this is in need of updating and changing. Most people think games development is a static process but itâs not, itâs an evolution and with a game like Breed that hopes to bust the genre wide open with innovations â“ that kind of design and programming takes time and a lot of patience. So the answer we can give as to why so long is not a concrete one, itâs like asking how long is a piece of string? Confidentially itâs because we want to give the game and the public our best. As for the biggest change - we would have to say, probably the gameâs environment and mission structure.â
The strong mix of gaming ideas - first person shooter that blends the addictive gameplay of Tribes with the vehicular choices of games like Halo and Operation Flashpoint is one facet that is capturing gamersâ imaginations was a interesting quote from the team. The out and out shooting parts and missions where youâre going to have to think before you blast and while the idea of going from space to planet is not original Brat Design like to think that they have laid a good groundwork for others to follow and perhaps improve upon.
Vehicles play an important part in the game and include Tanks, Jeeps, Buggies, and Apcs. There are also air-based vehicles like the Dropship and the Fighter, plus a few other surprises.
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The extravaganza of game ideas is equally matched by the technology and it proves once again that Psygnosisâ focus on the perfect presentation has been learnt well.
âAs PC specs rise, you have to strike a balance between the technologies you have available, and the current base machines of the target audience, we donât want 1000s of gamers to have to upgrade their machines, but through research weâve determined the specs for the game and we think the majority of the gamers will have machines that can run it. As for the features that restrict your ideas, there are always numerous ones â“ the challenge is in finding a way around them with existing technology.â
Breed offers 18 missions of extreme diversity and youâll be involved in a variety of events and actions not just shooting, but piloting and plenty of stealth events. Ed and Jason were reluctant to expand on a single mission due to the storyline and the fact that each mission is part of the big picture. They were equally mute expanding on
the vast open expanses â“ which are simply impressive.
âWeâre not going to divulge anything apart from saying that we have seeded the game with Easter eggs, and there are a number of ways you can do each mission, secret routes to take, etc.â
One of your first tasks will be to put together a small squad.
âThe squad you control is pretty diverse; they have different strengths and weaknesses. The sniper for instance is pretty fast but not as well armed or armoured as the Heavy Gunner. Orders are pretty much based on a function key that gives out a single command, we didnât want to complicate the game or make a sci fi version of Ghost Recon or Raven Shield.â
As for the weapons, well, sniper rifles, laser guns, you name it. Itâs packed with gung-ho firepower.
Breed has been compared to the widely acclaimed Halo from Microsoft which isnât a bad recommendation and Ed and Jasonâs own focus was interesting.
âBreed is more a PC game, there are inherent control problems with FPS and consoles, keyboard and mouse is the way to go â“ it always has been. As far as weâre concerned, weâre flattered that Breed and Halo are mentioned in the same breath â“ people who compare the two games are actually doing us a big favour. We learned that too linear a game can box the player in, and too freeform a game can lead to the gameâs life being cut very short in terms of playability.â
Recently a demo was made available and the first thing that strikes you is the sheer size of the environments and there are both outdoor and space environments â“ which are wide open and have been rendered awesomely.
The actual game structure appears to be well tapered with lots of out and out action and the stealth elements are harder and thoughtfully conceptualised. Even the weapons the squad are supplied require expert instruction, so issuing of orders at the appropriate time is in some cases essential.
The underlying factor is that Breed creates an ambient setting and you feel immersed in the game right from the very start.
Ed And Jason summed up the experience â“ âit kicks ass, and you owe it to yourself, your cat and the rest of humanity to buy it â“ play it and love it.â
Already there is talk of Breed 2, the team is in discussion with their story-writer and we have a few ideas for possible sequels, but canât say anything concrete at the moment except â“ weâll see!
