Deadfall Adventures - E3 preview

Following in the daring footsteps of Nathan Drake, Lara Croft, and Indiana Jones, September will see James Lee Quatermain added to the roster of iconic adventurers in a spectacular blockbuster fashion.

Great grandson to fiction’s original hunter Allan Quatermain; the leading man in Edwardian writer H. Rider Haggard’s novels, plunderer of King Solomon’s Mines, and inspiration for practically every tomb-raiding-league-of-extraordinary-gentlemen work thereafter, James Lee Quatermain has the hallmarks of a classic hero being handy with guns, puzzles and having thankfully not inherited Allan’s supposedly unattractive, wiry looks. With beige cowboy hat, shirt sleeves rolled up under a leather waistcoat and bandolier weighing him down, James Lee isn’t bringing anything new to the ‘lost world’ genre but under all that cotton and sweat is a chap set up for a darn impressive looking adventure.

Deadfall Adventures

Using his grandfather’s journals as a guide, I watched James Lee pick his way through a sprawling Guatemalan temple complex with the oppressive jungle invading at every corner. On a quest to obtain the Heart of Atlantis, Quatermain and Jennifer, his sadly stereotypical female companion / love interest / mocking hint giver, found themselves up against age-old guardians awaking from their ancient slumber and things got fiery pretty quickly. Dusty mummies in ceremonial garb clattered towards the pair as James Lee punctured their scabby brains with bullets. There are 30 weapons to choose from, each with meticulous attention to detail and enjoyed in the first person view. Predominately heavy on the shooting, either picking off rival Nazi treasure hunters from afar or aiming for between the eyes of the undead at close range, there were other ways to progress through each area too which were equally gruesome. Hidden in dark corners are bug traps which release scuttling scarab type beetles into the area; very handy when being chased by a gang. The trick here was to not get too close. The bugs were hungry alright but if their appetite was found wanting, they would just as quickly turn on the player. 3 to 4 mummies provided a sufficient meal and the sound of their little rattling, tearing teeth was unnerving. With no bugs close by, there was also the option of burning mummies with the light of a torch (which has to recharge over time so use sparingly) which killed them quicker, but also made them mad, mega raving maaaaad. It was good to see different tactics coming into play, rather than simply shooting way through the level.

Deadfall Adventures

Each exotic location is dramatically different from the next yet all are stunning, which is to be expected from Polish developers Farm51 who have spent two years creating even better aesthetics than seen in Painkiller: Hell and Damnation to create one hell of a graphical punch. Whether in sandy Egyptian ruins, the frozen arctic or in the jungle, there were plenty of lost artefacts to collect. Quatermain’s compass points to where treasure lies and finding it will upgrade his health and stamina. We saw a complex challenge involving twisting metal skulls on spikes in order to get at some treasure that lay just out of reach. There’s the option of focusing on combat or puzzles as the game starts and if a player gets stuck, Jennifer is on hand to offer advice. When not vocally interrupting, she neatly keeps out of the way.

Deadfall Adventures

Elsewhere, as well as the single player campaign, there are multiplayer battle areas with the standard deathmatches and capture the artefact type modes as well as Mummy mode for some close combat action. Also announced this week is a survival cooperation mode for the most impactful, action adventure game. “Adding the new survival cooperation mode adds even more content to the game which is always going to be a bonus for players,” said Wojciech Pazdur Development Director at Farm 51. “The new mode will be both challenging and engaging and players will be able to jump straight into the game to get the best of the action.”

Deadfall Adventures

Deadfall Adventures will be released on September 27th 2013 for PC and Xbox 360

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