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Activision Blizzard shows off footage from True Crime reboot

2010-03-09 21:20
Re-entering the highly competitive sandbox crime genre made famous by Rockstar 8217;s Grand Theft Auto series, Activision Blizzard 8217;s Activision Publishing division today showed live gameplay footage of its reboot entrГ e, True Crime, at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Many thought the series dead after a disappointing critical and fiscal second effort in 2006 with the second in the series, True Crime: New York. But Activision tapped United Front Games (maker of ModNation Racers). With former employees from Radical Games, EA 8217;s Need for Speed franchise, and Rockstar Games, UFG has been in development with its own unique software tools to generate the third-person perspective, Hong Kong-based game. Activision is trying to differentiate its title from the towering success of Grand Theft Auto IV and, to a lesser extent, THQ 8217;s well-received Saints Row, by focusing on deep combat moves and an undercover-cop story generated by extensive research done with the Hong Kong police department and active members from the Triad crime organization. We 8217;re treating the franchise as if it were a brand new intellectual property , said Lead Producer Jeff O 8217;Connell. True Crime is being developed by a completely new team using new tech, and a brand new storyline that 8217;s serious, not campy. In the early (pre-alpha testing) version shown at the W Hotel, Activision demoed a fully working game offering with smooth transitions between exploration, open-world car chases, and hand-to-hand combat. Visually, the game reflects a relatively modern-looking Hong Kong, packed with dense skyscrapers, night-time marketplaces, and bustling streets. Gamers will play detective Wei Shen, an undercover cop who reports to a hot-headed, foul-mouthed crime boss Winston of the Triads whose mother and family have been threatened by a rival club. At this point in development, character facial movement and animations aren 8217;t fully complete, and they looked slightly out of sync. But the game is due in fall of this year, meaning UFG has several months to develop and hone it. Character movement, particularly in combat interaction, was more impressive. The first and only mission shown is to confront a rival gang at their manufacturing plant and remove everyone except Siu Wah, a key member of the gang. You 8217;ll have to locate, capture, and usher him out of the building as enemies swarm in upon learning of your attack. One of the more impressive scenes takes place after you successfully leave the building. On a stolen cop motorcycle you 8217;ll chase Wah in a stolen cop car, leap from the bike onto the car 8217;s roof, climb into the car, and force Wah to surrender. We spent several weeks earning the trust of one real-life Triad members, said O 8217;Connell. Once we were able to gain their trust, they showed us a lot. They drove us around the city, showed us their street fighting techniques, and helped us piece together how their organization works...
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