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Preview  Die Hard: Vendetta
- By Tealman Bjoraker [Contributing Editor]


Bits Studios has recently released the first screens and info for it’s Gamecube exclusive first person shooter, Die Hard: Vendetta. The game, taking place five years after the film Die Hard With a Vengence, puts players into the shoes of retired cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) and his daughter Lucy, who has just graduated from the police academy. The son of Hans Gruber, the mastermind behind the events of the original film, is taking the lead villain role in Vendetta. The plot will likely be driven by revenge, inflicted either directly upon the McClane family or perhaps even all of Los Angeles.

Like the movies, gameplay will be a mix of stealth and all out action. Players will often have the choice of sneaking by or simply blasting everyone; it’s refreshing to have a choice. Bits Studios has said that McClane isn’t “superhuman,” but don’t expect Rainbow Six style one hit kills. Screenshots reveal both Health and Armor readings, each going up to at least 100, suggesting that McClane will be able to take many hits before going down.

Developers are shooting (har har) for at least 18 different weapons, plus the requisite gadgets. Screenshots demonstrate quite a few different machine guns, including a pair of Uzis, but some stealthy silenced weapons were shown as well. The only gadget revealed so far is a standard set of night vision goggles, but expect there to be quite a few more. John McClane isn’t quite James Bond, but he still has access to some neat toys.

Several features have been mentioned, including a “Hero mode” and “Matrix style effects.” While it’s anyone’s guess as to what Hero mode could be, the Matrix effects could possibly be a gameplay element similar to Max Payne’s Bullet Time, in which the player can slow time in order to better aim shots and dodge bullets. That’s just a guess on my part, though. If such a thing is implemented, I would expect it to only occur at critical times. These effects could also just be used in cinematics, which is probably more likely.

The most exciting feature involves “unprecedented character interaction.” It’s quite rare for players to be able to talk with random people in any shooter, let alone a first person one. Bits Studios has said that McClane can talk to “virtually any character” and get “unique, relevant replies.” Hopefully this will actually be central to gameplay, as it would help separate Die Hard: Vendetta from the other big first person shooters.

The team hasn’t commented much on multiplayer, other than that it exists. A cooperative mode would surely be a blast to play, but it’s not likely to happen. Unique environments are being constructed for exclusive use in multiplayer, which indicates it’ll likely just offer simple deathmatching. I’d love to be wrong, though.

To be released sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, the Cube exclusive Die Hard: Vendetta is certainly one to watch. Rest assured, NGenres will have new information as soon as it’s available.

Some of the information presented in this preview was taken from an interview conducted by our affliate, Cube-Europe. For more information, check the interview out at Cube-Europe.com.

- 3.12.2002