Huxley Xbox 360 hands on preview

[OrangeSoul]

Huxley is the most ambitious game we've seen in quite some time. It is also one of the trickiest to describe. For example, many people don't realize that the majority of what's been said about the game up to this point only describes the PC version. Due to the Xbox 360 version's mixture of a single-player campaign with a massively multiplayer game world -- in a first- and third-person shooter setting, no less -- it presents a different experience than the PC version that has been on gamers' lips over the past year. We recently got an exclusive first look at the 360 version of the game, and though it's very early in development, much of the technology is already in place.

Players of the Xbox 360 and PC versions will not be playing the exact same game; they will, however, be participating in the same battle. In the massively multiplayer side of the game, the two versions match up rather similarly. Players will be able to compete cross-platform, and will compete in many of the same challenges.

One of the main differences comes with the territory that each version calls its own. Huxley's world is made up of three cities, with "HLO City" being the exclusive location for 360 players. Those familiar with the PC version know that the massive 200-some player group battles happen outside the cities in battlezones anyway, so this structure looks to keep a good part of the fraternizing, item bartering, and relaxing specific to players on the same platform.

Of course, Huxley's MMO mode isn't just about messing around in the world and going to battle; players will spend a lot of their time teaming up with other players in various missions online. These have been structured into quests that affect the main story and those that affect peripheral side stories, and players can find them in the cities by approaching non-player characters or checking their inbox, so there will never be much downtime. The quests themselves aren't too out of the ordinary, offering battles, item transport, and things of that nature.

The single-player campaign -- exclusive to the 360 -- gives players a more traditional shooter experience, with level-based missions and standard run and gun gameplay. The twist to this mode is that it has ties to the MMO mode, so at certain points in the single-player game where you need a specific item, you can jump online and meet up with a friend to get the item, then head back to the single-player game.

This may sound like a hassle for those who just want to make their way through the campaign quickly, but the developers assure us there will be good reasons for players to want to meet up with other real life players mid-game. Additionally, any item you would need to go online to pick up won't be essential to completing the campaign, so players who refuse to connect to Xbox Live will still be able to go through the campaign...they will just miss out on a lot that the game has to offer.

more here

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?Dispatch...lay&cId=3149688

screens

Realtime

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822898&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822897&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822896&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822895&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822894&type=lg

Gameplay

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822893&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822892&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822891&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822890&type=lg

http://www.1up.com/media?id=2822889&type=lg

[fascist]

Does anyone know if it costs extra?

[-Anthony]

So the PC version has no campaign ?

[Elliott]

This looks and sounds insanely fun, and hoorah for the 360 exclusive single player campaign! :D

[golazo]

we dont have to pay extra for this like WoW do we?

[dnast]

we dont have to pay extra for this like WoW do we?

It's very likely.

This game looks and sounds great! I hope the subscription cost isn't too high. Although with 200-player battles it just might be.

[Konstanov]

Webzen has made free to play games so far maybe this will be no different.

[Nvidia]

I can't believe there's still people on the internet under the impression that they shouldn't have to pay to play massively multiplayer games...

They're using the Unreal 3 Engine (I think?) for this, and combining all those pretty graphics with huge RPG/stat-based elements, along with physics and netcode for bullets, grenades, player tracking for the 200-player battles, vehicle movement, and god knows what else.

How can you honestly expect them to give this to you for free with the MASSIVE amounts of bandwidth/strain this is gonna put on their servers?

This game is gonna kick ass, btw. I will DEFINITELY pay up to $20.00 a month for this as long as it doesn't turn out like Planetside. If it's AMAZING, I'd even pay $25.00 a month. The PvP content would have to be absolutely incredible for that to happen, but it looks to be shaping up that way so far. :)

[bob_c_b]

I can't believe there's still people on the internet under the impression that they shouldn't have to pay to play massively multiplayer games...

How can you honestly expect them to give this to you for free with the MASSIVE amounts of bandwidth/strain this is gonna put on their servers?

So they are giving away the client for free? Because otherwise they aren't giving us anything for free, and after seeing the Guild Wars model I don't think every MMO game has to have a monthly fee. But I do think we'll have to endure a lot more companies trying to grab some of that WoW player base and their willingness to pay for play time.

[MadFerIt]

I can't believe there's still people on the internet under the impression that they shouldn't have to pay to play massively multiplayer games...

They're using the Unreal 3 Engine (I think?) for this, and combining all those pretty graphics with huge RPG/stat-based elements, along with physics and netcode for bullets, grenades, player tracking for the 200-player battles, vehicle movement, and god knows what else.

How can you honestly expect them to give this to you for free with the MASSIVE amounts of bandwidth/strain this is gonna put on their servers?

This game is gonna kick ass, btw. I will DEFINITELY pay up to $20.00 a month for this as long as it doesn't turn out like Planetside. If it's AMAZING, I'd even pay $25.00 a month. The PvP content would have to be absolutely incredible for that to happen, but it looks to be shaping up that way so far. :)

I think Guild Wars proves that you can have an online RPG that is free and still be successful.

[sanctified Veteran]

I wonder if this has anything to do with Aldous Huxley`s Brave new world

[thagame]

I can't believe there's still people on the internet under the impression that they shouldn't have to pay to play massively multiplayer games...

They're using the Unreal 3 Engine (I think?) for this, and combining all those pretty graphics with huge RPG/stat-based elements, along with physics and netcode for bullets, grenades, player tracking for the 200-player battles, vehicle movement, and god knows what else.

How can you honestly expect them to give this to you for free with the MASSIVE amounts of bandwidth/strain this is gonna put on their servers?

This game is gonna kick ass, btw. I will DEFINITELY pay up to $20.00 a month for this as long as it doesn't turn out like Planetside. If it's AMAZING, I'd even pay $25.00 a month. The PvP content would have to be absolutely incredible for that to happen, but it looks to be shaping up that way so far. :)

some of us dont sit in our rooms all day to play online games, i for one maybe get an hour a week to play online and i dont really wanna be paying 20 - 25 a month for 4 hours of gameplay. there should be a option at least to maybe get 5 or 6 hours a month free for people like me.

[magik]

11 New Screens: http://xbox360.qj.net/11-New-Huxley-Screen...pg/49/aid/25688

[Konstanov]

I think the Guild Wars model would be best for this type of game so you get your own zone so you want be shooting mobs and then get sniped in the back while fighting off the invasions they show so often.

[Nvidia]

So they are giving away the client for free? Because otherwise they aren't giving us anything for free, and after seeing the Guild Wars model I don't think every MMO game has to have a monthly fee. But I do think we'll have to endure a lot more companies trying to grab some of that WoW player base and their willingness to pay for play time.

I don't consider Guild Wars to be a true MMO. I've played it, and I don't feel it is on par at ALL with any TRUE MMO that I've paid for. I consider Guild Wars to be a Shoebox MMO, and with a Shoebox MMO, you don't have to charge people monthly for server fees.

I think Guild Wars proves that you can have an online RPG that is free and still be successful.

See above.

some of us dont sit in our rooms all day to play online games, i for one maybe get an hour a week to play online and i dont really wanna be paying 20 - 25 a month for 4 hours of gameplay. there should be a option at least to maybe get 5 or 6 hours a month free for people like me.

You can't expect a major company running a MMO, where they have to invest millions and millions of dollars into the engine, more into the research, and even more into the 20-500 people who have to work for 2 or 3 years to develop the game (yes, they need to eat too), all the while they're not selling ANY copies to help recooperate funds, to cater to people like you who want free hours every month. Where do you think the money to develop an MMO comes from? They get investors to give millions of dollars to help the project make it to the end of the tunnel so they can then spend the next 2 years paying off the investors, and then spent the next 3 trying to make a profit.

That is one reason why I absolutely can't stand Guild Wars. They have this TINY game that they market as a free MMO, and then when a REAL MMO comes out after it, everyone bitches about the subscription fee, "Uh, Guild Wars didn't have one! Why do I need to pay for this?". Honestly, it's 15-20 dollars a month to get LONGTERM support. That's one trip to a restaurant a month. - If you can't afford that, then how are you affording internet subscription fees? Or Cable? Or the Electricity? Just my point - people who bitch when there's a subscription fee associated with an MMO are wasting their breath, and also not thinking very clearly about all the work that goes on behind your character, on your computer screen.

Oh yeah. BTW - If you're complaining that you don't want to have to pay a monthly fee for this game, how are you even gonna afford the new computer to even run this game? This is the Unreal 3 Engine we're talking about. New technologies cost money.