Today, Modus and myself got some time with the folks from Ijji, and we were shown a handful of titles.  Some looked quite promising, while others looked like clones of existing games, without much to differentiate them.

One of the titles we were set to play was Huxley The Distopia, the long-rumored, yet-to-materialize game that has been hovering about in development for years.

Huxley is set  to be an MMOFPS, with RPG elements behind the characters that allow them to pursue special powers and purchase upgrades as they grow.  We were told there would be cities for socializing and trading, and the ability to go on quests with other players or AI.

For the hands-on demonstration, we were tossed into a free-for-all deathmatch.  And with a fifteen minute round of the game now behind us, I have to say that I wish they’d shown us a different aspect of the game.

To put it bluntly, Huxley felt like a simple Unreal clone.   The characters, weapons, designs, gameplay – everything felt like Unreal Tournament 3.  In fact, if you had sat us down and told us that we were playing a new  add-on to UT3, it would have been believable.

It was a bit disheartening to see this title, after all these years, come to the surface as nothing more than a facsimile of a game we were already playing last year.  But of course, with its RPG elements, customizable weapons and gear, and the in-game power-ups (like deploying a personal shield, restoring health, etc.) giving the action an interesting tweak, the game could be a worthwhile replacement for diehard UT3 fans that want something a touch more substantial.

It’s a small note to throw on top of this, but starting each round with a wider array of weapons (for the demo, my character had an automatic, a missile lancher, and a laser repeating rifle) than what you would get at the start of an UT3 match really helped to deter against spawn-camping and things of that nature.  With Huxley, you can hit the ground running, and blast someone right away with some heavy damage if that’s what they’re attempting something like camping.  The product manager for the game told us all the fast movement was the key, and the constant barrage of explosions and lancing gunfire going every which way certainly backed up that statement.  This definitely provided a good response to a longstanding problem in FPS titles.

However, despite this perk and some of the others the game is bringing to the table, Huxley still suffers from the false prophecy it created for itself.  Back in 2006, the version of Huxley being promoted then promised PC to console interaction, with the PC crowd forming one army, and the 360 players making up the opposing side.  When the folks at Ijji were asked if this was still in the cards, they barely even seemed to follow the question.  They made mentions of potentially ‘porting’ the title down the road to the 360, but that’s a far cry from the cross-platform wars the game had so boldly promised so many years before.

Huxley announces closed beta players later this month, and the game is set for release in late 2009.  It still has some time to develop, so here’s hoping that it carves out a new role for itself that still brings something fun, exciting, and new to the realm of PC shooters.

Keyan Reid
Professional Hero
JRE Thug Division – Core Elite