When Red Faction came out in 2001, the developers bragged about its cutting edge “Geomod” technology that would allow players to blast holes through the environment. It was no where near as extensive as they made it out to be, but action game designers have spent the last decade looking for new ways to let player blow stuff up in shooters. The Battlefield games will let trigger-happy soldiers destroy just about everything on the map, but even that level of destruction is no where near what the team behind Guncraft is aiming to bring players later this summer.
Currently in closed beta, Guncraft is essentially Minecraft with guns. Lots of guns! It features the same kind of level-building that Minecraft offers, with a single-player level-building mode where gamers can select blocks of any material they like and stack them to create just about any sort of structure of setting imaginable. The current Beta version of the game also has a few preset pieces so that players who aren’t skilled at building can still make rudimentary forts on their maps. Once finished, maps can be shared with other players online.
While being creative is a worthwhile pursuit for virtual architects, Guncraft naturally allows players to subsequently destroy the levels by blasting away with guns. And not just guns – in order to make it easier to trash the environment players also get grenades and rocket launchers, plus melee weapons (Including a sort of pickaxe that should be familiar to Minecraft fans).
In its current beta state, there is no single-player campaign, and the focus is on multiplayer combat. There, players can customize their character’s load out with various rifles, pistols and support weapons as with most online shooters, then head out into the blocky levels for light-hearted combat in a fully destructible world.
Literally everything can be destroyed. Not just objects and buildings, but every block in the level can be blown apart, including the ground. Once a hole had been blown clear through the ground it leads to an endless white space. Players can literally fall of the edge of the world, and clever level design can lead to maps built around shooting the ground out from under enemies.
Aside from destroying the very earth that player tread upon, any other sort of obstacle is fair game too. Walls can be taken out easily with rifle shots, so the tactic of taking cover is at best a short term plan. Rocket launchers and grenades will obliterate large sections of walls too, making forts easily penetrated.
There’s also no such thing as “Getting lost” in Guncraft. Take a wrong turn? Just shoot your way through the level until you’re back in the open. Doors are for pansies!
Players will be able to construct forts and other objects in the heat of battle, so clever builders will be able to use those skills to their advantage, thereby elevating the game beyond just twitch shooting.
There have been a many Minecraft clones since that game introduced the gaming world to this whole new genre of play three years ago, but Guncraft has some very good tricks up its sleeve. The traditional shooter violence blends well with Minecraft’s cute creativity, making an experience a lot like the Lego adventure games.
It’s slated to come out “Soon” for PC with an Xbox 360 Indie version arriving afterwards. Explosion will have more coverage as the game approaches launch.
0 Comments