I know I’m a bit late on this one but I’ve had to play a little catch up on a
few things. This is one I didn’t want to pass up writing about however
since I’ve been taking a look at it since I first learned of the game. I’m
talking about
Webzen’s MMOFPS
Huxley, loosely based or at the least
inspired by Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”. Don’t get confused
though, this is not a “Brave New World” but just an inspiration. The
storylines are not the same but it is a “Brand New World”.Huxley touts
itself as a cross-platform interactive game using the Unreal 3 graphics
engine and will be available on both the PC and the XBox 360. Players
from PC and from the XBox will be able to go toe to toe and maybe at
last we’ll find out who are the better FPS players. Players on PC will be
able to choose the side of the Sapiens or the Alternatives. On the XBox
360 players will be able to play as a part of the Human Liberation
Organization (HLO) and fight against the Sapiens and Alternatives in
order to “unshackle the oppressed Hybrids”
While Huxley is an FPS it also has the MMO aspect going for it. There will
be in-game quests that allow players to learn more about the world they
live in as well as obtain new skills and weapons. Here’s a little snippet
from their site that tells a little about the storyline.
At E3 I got a chance to lay my hands on the game itself and try out the
small section they had up for people to check out. Once more, our
gracious host was Chris “Vosx” Mancil and I was anxious to give the
game a go.
I need to explain one of my strange quirks when I try a new game. I do
things oddly. That’s the only way to explain it. I purposely am a gimp for
the first bit. Someone on the floor came by as I was checking the game
out and while Sean “Ashen Temper” Dahlberg and Chris were on
another machine looking at the game. He seemed to believe I was a
total newbie and started giving some advice. I don’t mind getting advice
when I’m actually trying to play. I mind when I’m just testing the waters
a bit. I think perhaps he had the assumption that I needed advice as I
attempted things like jumping through a window. “You can’t jump out
windows,” he said. I had tried shooting one out and no dice. “You need
to turn around to get out,” He said as I gimply attempted to back down
the stairs to get the feel for how it handled down the stairs and around
the corners as if you’re in a firefight. “It’s ok,” I said. “I used to play
competitively. I swear there is a method to my madness,” I had to tell him.
The game handles as smooth as you’d like. It has that intuitive Unreal
Tournament feel. It’s a bit awkward on the backup but I’m not sure how
much of that was because I had an observer that was assessing
whether or not I needed a straight jacket.
The environments are what you expect in an FPS as well. It’s high quality
and clean with some great textures to give it that realistic feel you’ve
come to expect in a game. It’s a nice piece of work. Also outside were
ships you could use for transport around the map. I have to admit one of
my weaknesses is flying. I do all right enough but I bumped into more
than one building as I worked on getting a feel for the lift of the thing. I
was told that you could not fly over the buildings but had to go around. I
think that was wrong however because later I was able to once I had
enough loft to actually clear from a distance away. Maybe it’s all just
down to the handling.
There’s not a whole lot I can tell you about the game beyond a few
minutes of play. There are capture points you can get and of course
defend as you move about. The demo we saw was limited but when I
took my hands off the keyboard I had those after ‘twitches’ we all know
and love after playing a good FPS. Does Huxley rate as a good FPS? I
think it could very easily especially with the MMO aspects tied in.
This game is on my watch list. It looks good. It feels good. One of the few
things I didn’t like that I’ve gotten used to with games like Unreal
Tournament was the alternate fire on weapons. Huxley didn’t have this
capability. I’m sure it’s something I can get over provided I am given
enough variety of weapons and skills, which I’m assured Huxley, will
have.
When will Huxley release? They claim to have it ready for 2007. I’m going
to give them the benefit of the doubt since they actually had a working
demo in their booth and it looked good and felt good. I think they are
well on their way. With the right handling this could be THE MMOFPS
people have been waiting for. I am in the ‘Wait and See’ club but I’m
hoping the seeing will make many others and me believers.
Editor's Note: Danielle Vanderlip is the Assistant Community Manager for Shadowbane and covered E3 for us.
Article By: Danielle Vanderlip
Created On: May 24, 2006