More Articles on Breed
Breed - Extensive ImpressionsBreed DemoBreed Delayed Again!Stunning New Breed ScreensBreed - New ScreensLatest Previews
Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Hands OnStar Wars: The Force Unleashed - Hands OnToo Human - Hands OnRaven Squad - First LookQuantum Of Solace - First LookUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for BreedWrite your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
Breed Indepth Hands On Previews Preview
Stephen Leyton
13/11/2002
Best PC game at the ECTS, has elevated this game into being one of the big releases for 2002.
Breed has been in development for over three years but as the game nears completion (a recent change of date now pushes it to 2003) it has been receiving plenty of coverage and rave previews. The biggest fanfare, along with the most prestigious award - Best PC game at the European Computer Trade Show, has elevated this game into being one of the big releases for 2002.
Not many people will have heard of Brat Design but if you were around 9 odd years ago Ed Scio will be a name that a lot of people admired and respected. Ed, programmer and head of Brat Design, along with graphics artist Jason Gee, was at Psygnosis when the Liverpool company was probably the number one publisher in the world. Although Breed is now with one of the best publishers in Europe it was not as easy as would have been expected for them to find a publisher for this game. Publishers nowadays are looking for big teams and Brat is small in terms of personnel but there are a few big names now kicking themselves for not taking on this game believing that small team equates to risky!
Speaking with the team, who are close to releasing a demo for everyone to play, brought forth some interesting comments.
To those who might have somehow not seen or read about Breed, it is a sophisticated, polished and cinematic shooter best summed up by the teamâs own 100-word press statement.
'A cutting-edge science-fiction shootâem up, which skilfully blends addictive, accessible, free-roaming game play with cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technology to expand not only the game play potential, but also the playerâs perceived freedom within the game world. Utilising both 1st and 3rd person viewpoints, players can freely take control of a variety of units and vehicles â“ from standard ground troops to APCs and Dropships â“ to do battle with The Breed both in orbit and on the Earthâs surface. The objective is simple: Halt the invasion of The Breed and stop the destruction of mankind.'
A strong backdrop story adds to the overall cutting edge and interest of the game. Placed in the near future, space travel has allowed mankind to venture beyond our solar system to other worlds. Throughout the ensuing centuries the Earthâs over-populated colonies travelled far to colonise worlds in the neighbouring star system bur all was not well. The first problem in this mass colonisation was when these established populations found out they were lacking in a defence system and were an easy target and attacked by an aggressive alien race.
Managing to hold its weak defences, a call for help is made to Earth for reinforcements and a large Space Corp. is sent to assist but it is a long and fateful journey. Armed with some of the best military hardware onboard, along with gestation pods, which grow a constant supply of ground troops, the enemy - 'The Breedâ - proved to be a constant hassle and their lack of guile is supplemented by their ferocity. Like all good stories the fleet got to its destination but the time, effort and resources has taken its toll on everyone and on their return to Earth find a new 'Breed' have taken control of their home planet and so another final fight was to ensue. The only advantage the Darwin force had got was their unexpected appearance and surprise factor. Can they regain Earth and free many incarcerated survivors? So the game beginsâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦
Breed manages to set the right tone and ambiance for an epic game and the overlooked area in most games/ titles of late, the sound and music, is catered to the highest standard. With its original and absorbing storyline on offer, its 25 plus missions and campaigns, with a wide variety of playing modes, nothing appears to be lacking.
The innovations within the game speak for themselves and seeing the game up and running and a fleeting look through the specs list you cannot but be impressed! Seamless terrain/orbit transition - co-existing real-time battles - shared vehicle control - the list goes on and on but the teamâs slant on the gameâs innovations is more direct. "Breed is innovative in a number of areas. It brings together styles of game play from a number of genres into a new type of hybrid game that can't be tied down. How many games have you seen where you can be given orders in a battle room, run the length of a space cruiser, jump in your fighter, fly down through the atmosphere to Earth, perhaps shoot down a couple of enemy fighters, before landing and then embarking on a land mission at the end of which you can get back in your fighter and fly all the way back up to space again?"
Story, innovations and technology go hand in hand. "We are very technology led - and why not? There are always extra little effects and tweaks we could add to the game, but the major factor is our schedule. We could spend another two years adding all kinds of extra details, but the game as it stands is already graphically very impressive and will still run on reasonably low-end systems so we're happy with the way things stand at the moment."
Like most development teams, and Brat is no exception, they spout on about their Mercury engine - the disernable elements as well as unseen, which distinguish it. The average player will notice that the Mercury engine can handle truly epic landscapes as well as do seamless in-game transitions from space to Earth and vice-versa. When comparing Mercury to other game engines, similar things are noticeable. Their engine handles huge landscapes and still manages to provide great detail so that you donât lose the sense of being part of the action.
Like any top notch action shooter taking damage, being hit, blowing the enemy sky high, being careful not to have 'end of gameâ appear on the screen too early revolves around how many hits you can take, as the team explained. "All characters, vehicles, etc. in the game will take varying amounts of punishment, though there's nothing really 'special' about the hit points. The number of hits you can take will depend on which character you are and likewise for the Breed - different Breed characters will take different amounts of damage before dying. Locational damage will also mean that it's not necessarily a set number of hits. You could be thrown back by an explosion, but if youâre only on the edge of the blast radius, you're not going to be hurt as badly as if you're right in the centre."
What view works best? The debate over the advantages of first and third-person views can and probably will carry on forever but in Breed you have both! Obviously in first-person youâll see what the character sees and can aim much more accurately because youâre looking pretty much straight down the line-of-sight of that character. Third-person shows more of the surrounding area so youâll be able to see what's going on around you better. You also get to see the great player models of Jeff, Bratâs modelling artist.
The team as yet haven't released info on all of the units and weapons in the game but needless to say it is long and will satisfy all action players. The gameâs locales will cover a wide range of landscapes, from small island clusters in the ocean, to deserts and canyons and are detailed and convey a great ambiance!
The objective of the game - Need we tell you as the screenshots tell their own story? Basically, you'll usually control a GRUNT, with a team of AI GRUNTS alongside you to whom you can give commands. If you want a more hands-on approach, you can take control of the other GRUNTS and play as them for a while. The ability to switch between units at will should make more tactical game play possible, though there's nothing to force you to switch units (unless you die of course). Kill or be killed could be the bottom line but with some thought going into what you do.
Comments by the team about the players total immersion in the game and over 30 hours on game play make Breed a title you can't pass by. "Gamers will experience a huge range of environments as mentioned above. On one mission you'll be riding in a tank up onto a cliff face in order to ambush a Breed convoy, while the next mission is a stealth mission where you'll be on your own and have to sneak inside a Breed base to plant a bug. All of the environments provide a very realistic atmosphere, with high-quality landscapes and weather effects providing some stunning visual scenes. Sound, which we are keen to push, also plays an important part and the Mercury Engine has a full 3D sound engine, so you'll be able to tell where stuff is coming from and run in the other direction."
Clever AI plays an important driving force. One of the main traits of Breed is that it is a team-based game. There is no 'hero' character in the game. You control teams of GRUNTS (Genetically Revived UNiversal Tactical Sentients) who are basically test-tube soldiers, grown to order. The game includes some clever AI and you'll have a hard time killing many of your enemies. Luckily your teammates also have some very clever AI and through the game you'll certainly come to realise how important they are in helping complete the mission. Firefights can get very hectic, with people rolling around, dodging gunfire, hiding behind the nearest large object and all sorts of other tactics that make for very immersive game play.
