Will Hellgate:London suck?

Submitted by TAR Tom on Mon, 08/10/2007 - 8:09pm. gameplay | preview

A lot has been promised for Hellgate. It's been pushed as the MMORPG successor to Diablo, an RPG with guns and demons. The attention to detail for the locations is a great thing for anyone who knows London at all well. However, Hellgate's buildup has not been without controversy.

The announcement that you'd have to pay a monthly fee to get the real goodies irked many. The real problems, though, lie in the recent videos that have been released.

Bearing in mind that Hellgate is due for release at the beginning of November, I found the latest movie for it seriously disappointing. Given this movie came out mid-September, just over a month before release, I find the graphics and movement of the monsters distinctly average.

This close to release, the wallpapers and preview movies should be building up the hype, in preparation for cracking open our wallets. Yet the preview movies so far have none of the graphical wow that's needed.

The thing that hooked my interest was the detail in the underground stations - "I know that staircase" sort of thing. I have to stress, that's not a good thing this close to release.

With graphically beautiful games like Guild Wars and EVE out there, and the oppressive subscriber numbers of World of Warcraft, new MMOs need to be pulling out all the stops.

You can check out the video at Gamespot here.

What're your thoughts and hopes for Hellgate? Let me know in the comments.

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