Bodycount PlayStation 3

Bodycount Product Details

Released on 02-Sep-2011

• Bodycount gets street date

  Codemastersnew FPS Bodycount has been looking incredible. It colourful, loud, and filled with explosions. Now we know when wel be getting our hands on it, too. The game out in Europe on 2nd September. Hooray!

  Why should you care? There are plenty of reasons. The game a spiritual successor to the brilliant last-gen shooter Black, and it has the same stunning sense of impact to its weapons, and the same shreddable scenery. If you like watching walls crumble and buildings collapse under gunfire, this is the game for you.

  It also a game that doesn take itself too seriously, sending you through bright, colourful environments and shooting it out with a cast of weirdos. Expect to throw grenades, engage in pitched battles over the online leaderboards, and enjoy a shooter in a way that you may not have since Bulletstorm.

  Bodycount will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and you can expect co-op and online features to complement a punchy, high-energy campaign. If youe really into making things go boom, then, this is a game you simply can miss out on.

• Bodycount Preview

  Why so serious?
  

  Amidst the combined din of Call of Duty and Battlefield's theatres of war, the big-hitting first-person shooters can often forget one very, very important thing; these games are all about the gun, and about how much fun it is to wield excessive firepower without a guilty conscience holding back your trigger finger.
  

  Guns to this genre are as important as cars are to racing games, so perhaps it's not surprising that Codemasters - the UK studio famed for DiRT, GRID and, more recently, the F1 games - is placing an emphasis on how they handle for its forthcoming first-person shooter.
  

  Bodycount (Xbox 360, PS3) puts its arsenal front and centre, and the result is brilliant. These guns, imaginary takes on shooter staples, are like muscle cars. Chunky, loud and aggressive, they're a pleasure to hold, their well-modeled muzzles taking up more screen space than most other shooters would allow.

  
  The real proof comes when the trigger's pulled, and Bodycount's guns don't disappoint. It's not in the angry rasp of an SMG or the bassy thud of a shotgun that their impact lies - though the game's meaty sound design certainly helps - but in the effect they have on the world around you.

  
  Bodycount's guiding mantra is 'Gun, bullet, world' - simple in its aims, but brutally effective in its execution. Bullets have a very real effect here, and the environment crumbles around you with an enthusiasm that's unmatched by other shooter games.
  

  The world's going to pieces...
  

  The destruction here's several steps ahead of what's been seen in games like Red Faction and Battlefield: Bad Company. In Bodycount, seemingly everything will react to gunfire, and it'll do so with often dazzling effect. Wood splinters, metal buckles and concrete crumbles with an authenticity that's delivered with a little comic overstatement.
  

  It's a mechanic that has a significant influence on the gameplay. It's a cover-based shooter, but with the cover so eager to fall apart under fire it's necessary to improvise, darting from point to point between the onslaught of enemy bullets.
  

  But it's also a mechanic that you can swing to your own advantage. Find a wall between yourself and the enemy that you're so desperate to gun down? Not a problem - just one grenade will clear the way and ensure you've got a clear line of fire.
  

  Colourful conflict
  

  The world that's yours to destroy is a vibrant one, and it's a million miles away from the muted authenticity of military shooters, or the acres of brown that are smeared across more fictional fare. Like Bulletstorm and Brink before it, Bodycount's set in a series of colourful environments - so far we've seen a sun-kissed slum in Africa, a stark techno-cavern that's like a Bond villain's lair designed by Apple, and a neon-lit fishing village in a rainswept China.
  

  It's got much more in common with Bulletstorm, the sadly overlooked over-the-top shooter that released earlier this year, than just a lively colour palette. In Bodycount, the bright arcade vibe runs deeper than the environments, and there's a score-based element that informs much of its shooting. Combos can be strung together by chaining headshots and other trick kills. Doing so provides the player with intel: small, glowing orbs that can be collected to fill an on-screen meter.
  

  Once full, it grants you a choice of power-ups. One renders all of your ammunition explosive - amping up the already ludicrous level of destruction - while another calls in an airstrike. It's a nice, overstated touch in a game that's shying away from subtlety – and it's all the better for doing so.
  

  And with the po-faced conflict between Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 choking up attention later this year, Bodycount's a welcome shot from the old-school; a reminder that we're not necessarily playing games in order to be hurled into convoluted plot lines, or to have authentic military jargon screamed in our faces.

  
  We're here because we want to have fun with guns, and in that regard Bodycount's certain to deliver.

• Bodycount blasts its way into UK stores

  Codemasters has reminded gamers that its explosive new shooter Bodycount is exploding its way on to UK shop shelves this week.

  The old-school arcade-style action game is designed to hark back to a previous era when shooters were over-the-top, chaotic and packed with mayhem, allowing players to rip through hordes of enemies with a vast arsenal of weapons.

  It casts players in the role of an agent for the mysterious Network, who are embroiled in a power struggle with the equally enigmatic Target, an enemy manipulating global events using civil warzones as a cover.

  Players will travel to locales such as Asia and Africa as they shred their way through fully destructible environments, unlocking upgrades and extra abilities by pulling off stylish skill kills or racking up combos.

  Solo mode amps up the replayability by challenging players to achieve high scores and compare them online, while a range of cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes are also on offer.

  Bodycount is available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and also features a score by the acclaimed composer Mick Kiely to immerse players in the heart of the action.

  Published: 02/09/2011

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