Three Great Things About 1C 2011

Ghost of Moscow: Death to Spies

Originally announced as Death to Spies 3, Ghost of Moscow has been retooled and is set to turn heads. This stealth action game offers players the opportunity to play as three different spies all working towards the same goal. With strong visuals and a potentially awesome narrative, this 1960s espionage caper stole the show.

1. It's Hitman + The Lost Vikings: Ghost of Moscow: Death to Spies is what happens when you mix Agent 47 with Blizzard's very best 2D puzzler. Instead of playing the role of a single super spy, players are given the opportunity to switch between three characters on the fly. These three characters (including an attractive woman, a hardened spy and some other dude) each have their own personalities and character traits. In order to complete the various challenges, players will need to switch between these three spies and use their gift. Sometimes it's as simple as picking a lock, while other times you'll need to use the sexy woman to seduce a guard. I'm certainly intrigued by the possibilities for creative stealth action.

2. The Game Has Been Completely Retooled: Last year the game was about a single spy who goes off on a mission to do super spy stuff. Or something like that, it's all a blur to me now. All I remember is that I couldn't get very far into the game. It was hard to the point where I never wanted to play the game again. The goals were vague and one false move meant the end of you. Thankfully none of that applies to what I played at this year's event. The goals are much more forgiving, with improved gameplay and less vague tasks.

3. Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets: Nothing says 1960s Cold War spy caper quite like high-tech gadgets. While the demo on hand didn't demonstrate many gadgets, the developers promised us that we would have the chance to play with a lot of fun toys. As far as I'm concerned the lack of gadgets is the problem with the modern day James Bond movies. Seeing what Q could come up with was half the fun of classic 007, so the idea of playing a Hitman-esque stealth game with old school gadgets sends a tingle up my leg.

On the Other Hand: I hate to get my hopes up, especially when it comes to a console release. At last year's event the must-play console game was Captain Blood, which mixed Pirates of the Caribbean with God of War. Sadly, this year the game is nowhere to be seen. I fear the same fate could befall Ghost of Moscow, 1C's most promising new game.

Off-Road Drive

Like the title suggests, Off-Road Drive is a rally racing game. With a heavy emphasis on realism, 1C's only racing game has players speeding against the clock throughout some of the world's toughest locales. The game sports gorgeous graphics and support for up to six (that's right, SIX!) monitors.

1. It's Trying Something New: Although we've seen plenty of off-road rally racers, few can match the realism that Off-Road Drive is striving for. Forget speeding through rough terrain for the best times, in this PC exclusive you will need to accurately predict each and every obstacle (mud, rocks, etc.) in your way. Failure to do this will slow you down to a crawl and make you come in last. If the player does get stuck while racing through the mud, they'll be required to use a winch to escape. It's nods like this that steers this game away from being just another Sega Rally clone.

2. Supports the Gran Turismo Steering Wheel: Sony's venerable racing franchise made a cameo at this year's Another Night in Moscow. Instead of using a keyboard and mouse, 1C went all out by bringing in the official Gran Turismo steering wheel. Unfortunately none of the game guides accounted for this bulky wheel, instead only explaining how to play using the keyboard. It's worth noting that even if you play with a steering wheel, players will still have to reach for the keyboard to access the winch. Lame.

3. The Car Dirties Up Real Good: When I play a game set in some of the dirtiest locations in the world, I expect things to get messy. Thankfully Off-Road Drive has me covered, because there was realistic mud and dirt all over my vehicle. The attention to detail was even more impressive when playing the game using six monitors (made possible using AMD's Eyefinity technology, a sponsor of the event).

On the Other Hand: I worry that the game is a little too realistic for its own good. At last year's event I played this game with an Xbox 360 control, however since then the console port has been scrapped and the Gran Turismo steering wheel has been brought in. The steering wheel did the game no favors, making this racer even more frustrating to play. Steering was over-sensitive and there's never that sense of urgency you expect from a racing game. I hold out hope that some of these issues can be fixed with custom options and practice.

Men of War: Vietnam

The next installment in the Men of War series takes us out of World War II and into the jungles of Vietnam. Using history as the backdrop, this series mixes real-time strategy with contemporary conflicts. The game's sharp visuals compliment the refined gameplay mechanics, making Men of War: Vietnam a PC game to look for.

1. Seen from the Russian's Point of View: Now here's something you don't see very often. Instead of giving us the standard American retelling of the Vietnam War, Men of War: Vietnam comes at the conflict from an entirely new point of view. This change of perspective should be enough to make the Vietnam War fresh again. Even when the emotions are painful, it's always nice to see historical events retold in other perspectives. I look forward to seeing how this affects the game's narrative.

2. It's Not World War II: As goofy as it sounds, I was relieved to see the new Men of War game is not set in World War II. A few years ago I would have called it WWII fatigue, but these days it feels more like mutual loathing. Finally this series can tackle something new, giving me hope that one of these days the Men of War franchise will appeal to me.

3. It Saves Frequently: Men of War: Vietnam saves a lot. It's constantly saving. Every minute or two a bar would pop up, stop the action to save the game. This is great news for those of us afraid of losing our progress. If all of a sudden your house catches on fire and the only thing you save is your computer, you should be able to start right up where you left off. When you find a new place to live, that is. And seriously, if the thing you save is your computer and not your family, then you need to think about your priorities.

On the Other Hand: Have I mentioned that Russians like their games hard? I'm talking about a grueling difficulty that seems almost unfair by American standards. Men of War: Vietnam is no exception, it straddles the line between "there's no possible way" and "you've got to be kidding me." Even on the easiest difficulty, Men of War is like a strong punch in the face. I constantly felt overwhelmed and unprepared, no matter which scenario I tried. Fans of the series will have no issue rolling right into this new game, but I worry that Men of War: Vietnam won't be accessible to anybody else.

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad

The sequel to Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, Heroes of Stalingrad (an infinitely better name, I might add) made a strong showing at the 1C event. This World War II first-person shooter features a brand new first-person cover mechanic, first-person collision detection and more guns than I could count. This event was the first time Tripwire Interactive had shown off the single-player campaign to the press.

1. It Does Not Feel like Call of Duty: Although it may look a bit like Call of Duty from the screen shots, the truth is that Red Orchestra 2 felt nothing like Activision's wildly popular franchise. That's a good thing. With so many other shooters trying to be the next Call of Duty, it was refreshing to play one that felt so different. The gameplay here feels foreign. Not in a way that is bad, but rather one that takes a little getting used to. The result may mean that it's not as accessible, but I suspect hardcore fans of first-person shooters will enjoy Tripwire Interactive's take on the war genre.

2. Switch Between Characters When You Die: It turns out Ghost of Moscow: Death to Spies was not the only game that had players switching between characters. Like most first-person shooters, you can die a bunch of times in Red Orchestra 2's single player campaign. But what sets this game apart from the crowd is that players get zapped into a completely different soldier on the field. That means that you might die with an assault rifle and then spawn with a sniper. While a little jarring at first, I was intrigued by the concept. This could be the type of thing that keeps things fresh in an especially difficult firefight.

3. Realistic Tank Simulation: Believe it or not, one of this game's biggest selling points was the tank mechanics. While a lot of World War II games give you the option of driving a tank, Heroes of Stalingrad adds some much-needed reality. You aren't alone in your tank; you'll be working with a group of talented soldiers who each have a different job. This is the first game to truly simulate what it's like to be in one of these metal beasts. You'll interact with a full A.I. crew, working together in order to win. But don't get too cocky, because any one of these computer-controlled characters can die. The result is unlike anything I've seen before, adding a unique twist to an otherwise standard gameplay mechanic.

On the Other Hand: It's hard to get excited about a World War II-themed first-person shooter, no matter how good it is. Yes, I was impressed by the tank simulation and how different the controls felt, but it didn't take long to realize that this is yet another in a long line of WWII games. The developers promise a non-linear campaign and unique levels, but I didn't see any of that in the short time I had with the game. Perhaps that will change when I sit down and play Red Orchestra 2 from start to finish.

Men of War: Condemned Heroes

After years of iterations, 1C is taking Men of War to the "next generation." Condemned Heroes is a real-time strategy game that attempts to tell a brand new story. That's not an easy task for a World War II game. But with a new engine, intriguing concept and unsealed documents, it looks like Men of War may finally be growing up.

1. The Penal Battalions: Most war games star bright-eyed volunteers looking to be all they can be. That's definitely not the case in Men of War: Condemned Heroes. Forget innocent kids, this is a game about the infamous Penal Battalions. These were squads made up of disgraced soldiers, those who disobeyed laws or acted up. The idea is that these squads were forced to go on suicide missions. If you lived long enough you would have a chance to go back to your battalion, but the odds of that were small. This has been a dirty little secret of World War II for years and 1C is the first video game publisher to broach the topic. This set-up allows the developers to craft an impossibly hard game full of no-win scenarios. Perfect for the fans of Men of War.

2. It Comes with a Dictionary: While some games want to tell you a story, Condemned Heroes wants you to learn a thing or two about the history of war. This brand new Men of War game comes with a dictionary full of the terms and events that make up the Penal Battalions. That's right, a full history lesson that you can take back to school for extra credit. What's more, 1C has gone to military experts to add much needed context to this troubled history. Missions are based on real events, to the point where the developers were able to unseal classified documents for the first time ever. It's the kind of thing you expect to see on The History Channel, only this time around you'll be the one in control of the history lesson.

3. Next-Generation Men of War: While a lot can be made about the historical accuracy, one shouldn't ignore how good this game looks. This is the first "next-generation" Men of War game; a visual tour-de-force that pushes the boundaries of the real-time strategy genre. As you zoom into the action you'll see soldiers emote and the landscape deform. This is a fully realized world that uses the most out of the technology. The fact that the game looks this good more than a year before its release gives me a lot of hope for Condemned Heroes.

On the Other Hand: Let's face it, sometimes too much historical accuracy can get in the way of good gameplay. Gamers are fine with developers taking some creative license in order to make a game more fun and I would hate for the good intentions to ultimately detract from the experience. I'm also concerned the game plays too much like the other Men of War games, titles I have mixed feelings on. Will the history lesson alone be enough to keep me interested in this series? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

A Few More 1C Games!

With only a few hours to play each game, conduct interviews and binge drinks, I didn't have enough time to fully experience every game. Early on I decided to only focus on games relevant to the average Defunct Games reader. And after realizing that the average Defunct Games reader only plays Atari Jaguar games on an 11 inch black and white television, I had to come up with a plan B.

Although I only previewed five games, 1C had a lot more titles just waiting to be played. Up first is the brand new Men of War expansion Pack, Not a Step Back. This awkwardly named add-on is a skirmish pack that offers five new missions (one from each faction -- USA, Germany, Soviet Union, Commonwealth and Japan). What I played of it was good, albeit difficult to get a grasp of in just a few minutes.

Next up is Star Wolves 3: Ashes of Victory, a stand-alone expansion pack to the popular strategy game. Of all the games on the show floor, this is the one that intrigued me the most. I love the idea of exploring space, building an alliance and taking part in epic battles. But alas, the early bits of this game were slow going and hard to master. This is a game I can't wait to delve into deeper once it's released later this year, but this kind of in-depth space simulator is hard to demo at a three hour event.

1C showed a video of Real Warfare 2: Northern Crusades, however I didn't see it on the show floor. Instead of offering ultra-realistic historical battles (a hallmark for the series), Northern Crusades has veered off into fiction. The gameplay appears to be the same, but the developers promise that the story will be more free-flowing this time around. At one point the game was compared to King's Bounty meets an RTS, which sounds good to me. I look forward to seeing this in action later this year.

I was surprised to see 1C announce a brand new MMO, especially given how crowded the market is. I don't know the first thing about massively multiplayer role-playing games, so I was intimidated by Royal Quest. I was impressed by the game's visuals and variety of characters, though the gameplay didn't strike me as anything new or original. Still, I like the idea of another free-to-play MMO on the market, especially if it helps evolve this genre.