Damnation
Description
Damnation is an action shooter game released on 26 May 2009, is developed by Blue Omega Entertainment and published by Codemasters for the PS3 game platform. The game features large open environments and verticality that allows players to explore the game’s environment vertically, climbing buildings and such. It has a single player mode and a split-screen, drop-in-drop-out co-operative gameplay through large-scale levels that provides up to three hours of streaming gameplay and thousands of vertical feet to explore.
These open environments provide the backdrop for the storyline, combat, acrobatics and vehicle based stunts that are featured on Damnation’s gameplay. The game has Steampunk elements. In Damnation players assume the role of hero Captain Hamilton Rourke in his journey to reveal the truth behind Prescott Standard Industries. The player is accompanied by the game’s AI which includes Rourke’s fellow Peacemakers and pits themselves in gun battles against drug-enhanced soldiers and steam-powered mechanical monsters to save the country from Damnation. With large streaming environments rendered in 3D that cover miles of horizontal distance and thousands of vertical feet, players can choose from multiple paths and tactics in the landscapes that unfold in all three dimensions. Other features on Damnation include Player Choice and Freedom, where players will need up to three hours in real-time travel to get from one end to the other, as well as three hours to climb to the top. Players are able to choose their own routes; “Spirit Vision” which allows users to see through walls and anticipate the enemy’s movements; Daredevil Stunts where players perform moves at the limits of human ability to jump between ledges, swing on ropes and chains, and traverse vertical surfaces. This feature also allows players to zip, slide, vault, shinny, swing and jump through the environment with intelligent AI attacking from all sides, above and below; as well as Multiplayer mode that allows players to play through the entire singleplayer campaign in co-op mode or online with multiplayer. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 3 and is played on a DVD-DL media format.
Review
Damnation is an action shooter game that promised to provide hours of entertainment on its sprawling open-environment. But for all the much hyped up features, it would be more befitting to say that Damnation is in itself its own name. Sluggish framerate, poorly rendered texture, atrocious voice acting and below par animations is but only a few things gone wrong with this game. And we haven’t even touched the storyline yet. It is rather unforgiving that this game was created by the same people who gave us Mass Effect, Gears of War and Bioshock. The game glows with hiccups like enemies that would do nothing but stand around for you to shoot to death, muddled textures, and character play that baffles you. How many shots would it take to just kill one person? A LOT. But of course they can take you down quickly enough. If you think that the multiplayer online feature can save the game from, well, damnation, think again. With no voice chat there isn’t a way for team members to strategise. It’s adding salt to injury. Its bad enough that AI fighting looks like you’re swatting flies, you know have to put up with fighting online on mute. You will begin to wonder if there is any saving grace in this game. Shall we go back to the storyline? If you’re not bored already by its premise, the cut-scenes itself riddled with bad voice acting will make you want to commit console suicide.
Recommending this game would be a damnation itself. It would be total injustice to subject anyone reading this with a lie that the game is worth you buck. Wait for more titles to arrive in the coming months, and spend your hard earned money on something more worthy of your time.
