If you were to take the entire city of New York, make it fully 3D and explorable, and then allow gamers to roam throughout with a whole arsenal of weaponry and tactical skills, then you would have close to what developer Acony are attempting with their newly announced title, Parabellum. Running on Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, the game promises to be a mixed hybrid of tactical multiplayer shooting set in the largest multiplayer gaming environment ever. And if Acony can pull this off, we may just have the game that could finally topple the likes of Counter Strike off its multiplayer throne.
We like big guns...
While the game does have a story, it isn’t so much essential to the game given its multiplayer roots. A rebel terrorist group known as ‘Black November’ is holding the entire city of New York under its command, and threatening to set off a thermonuclear bomb unless their demands are met. The group have made it clear that unless all US Forces from the middle-east are withdrawn, they will blow up NYC within ten days of their demands being issued. The US government, sensing that the threat is real, agree to Black November’s terms. However, while talking with Black November, the government discreetly release the highly trained Special Forces Operation Detachment Delta into the city in the hope of eliminating all potential threats at hand, and subsequently stopping the bomb from engulfing the entire city.
By using the Unreal Engine 3, gamers can rest assured that the game looks the part with stunning visuals. Given the sheer scale of NYC in the game, the detail of practically everything is incredible. Textures on walls are detailed in almost every aspect, and the particle effects from guns and explosions rival those of other games. Character models are also very detailed, and are actually incredibly similar to those of Rainbow Six: Vegas. Lighting in the game is also realistic. It gently shimmers off player models and causes different environmental effects depending on what time of day it is. Lighting will also create brilliant soft shadows on objects around it, something which is sorely missing from many next generation games.
The game also supports what is said to be an intuitive physics system which allows for unparalleled destruction on the surrounding environment. Bridges, walls and pretty much most things you can see will be worn and torn and in some cases destroyed by the fighting going on around them. It seems you can use the physics system to your advantage too, such as making ‘set-piece objects’ is order to eliminate an unsuspecting terrorist. Whether dropping lava on some poor fellow walking by, or even shooting a nice chunk of pipe work to fall on him, you can be sure you’ll be able to torment your enemies as much as possible.
Explosions anyone?
Given that the game is strictly a multiplayer affair, Acony have made sure that the multiplayer has been tweaked to perfection. Parabellum allows for five players per team, and also is mentioned to have full clan support. While this may seem as though the amount of players would be far too small given the gigantic environment, the game supports up to 32 players across multiple teams on one map, so there will be the perfect amount of players having fun at any given time. While we don’t know much about the modes, we do know that Parabellum will support standard classic multiplayer games, while also supporting its own objective-based modes similar to those of Counter-Strike. One could only assume that one team will have the opportunity to step into the shoes of Black November and attempt to destroy NYC. Tactically, the game also offers the chance to fully coordinate attacks. You will be able to set out routes, flanking options and even team positions in the pre-game lobby. You can also choose from different classes, although that as of yet is being kept under wraps by Acony.
Parabellum looks to be a very intriguing game. It has a unique multiplayer mode, and also has a nice look by using the UE3. If Acony can give the game some good variation when playing, then Parabellum could indeed take the multiplayer crown. And with the right guidance and resources behind it, the game could go on to be the sleeper hit when it releases in the second half of 2007 for the Xbox 360, PC and PS3.
