Devastation (computer game)

Devastation is a first-person shooter from Digitalo Studios . The game was released in March 2003. The game is based on Unreal Engine 2 and offered good graphics for the time. Likewise, the game has a believable physics engine for the game environment.

action

In 2075 the earth has come down, destroyed and dangerous. Huge companies control the whole world. Genetically engineered troops kill anyone who rebels against the corporations. The player takes on the role of Flynn Haskell, the leader of one of the last remaining resistance movements. Great hope lies with a member of the resistance movement who has been smuggled into the Grathius Corporation . This has brought important data about genetic manipulation on the part of the group, but is killed shortly afterwards. Now Flynn and his colleagues have to decrypt the data. They meet Eve, a Grathius employee, who quickly joins the resistance movement because she is not satisfied with her life with Grathius.

Gameplay

Game modes

Single player:

20 maps
The player can choose between arcade (faster game, more unrealistic weapons and movement behavior etc.) and simulation mode (weight of the weapons influences movement, aiming while moving more difficult etc.).

Multiplayer:

There are six modes to choose from:

Deathmatch
Team deathmatch
Capture the flag
Territory mode
Here one team has to find a secret code to get into the enemy base. Once there, the opponent's respawn point must be paralyzed so that opponents who have been killed must stay outside until the end of the round.
GunGame mode
Place the bomb mode

weapons

The large selection of weapons and the ability to use many weapons in Akimbo mode distinguish Devastation .

There are 40 different weapons in the game, which can be divided into eight categories:

Melee weapons
Handguns
Light automatic weapons
Assault rifles and shotguns
Sniper rifles
heavy weapons
Special weapons
Grenades

technology

The game is based on the Unreal Engine 2 , which was already the basis for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal 2 and was designed for the development of new games by other development studios. Devastation was particularly noticeable due to the high-resolution textures , the high level of detail in the virtual environment and the coherent voice output. The proven Havok physics engine was also used and simulated the physically correct behavior of objects such as boxes, lamps and cans in the environment. Furthermore, the controversial ragdoll effect is used, which calculates and displays the movements of the opponents' bodies hit.

Modifications

The German retail version of the game is delivered together with the editor UnrealEd , with which it is possible to develop your own levels. Due to the great competition from other first-person shooters with the same engine (and not least the Unreal series itself) the community around Devastation is quite small, which is why there are hardly any extensive modifications available.

reception

Reviews

In the trade press, Devastation was rated as mediocre overall. The technical implementation was praised, but criticism was expressed of the simple gameplay and the weak artificial intelligence of fellow players and opponents. According to some critics, later levels are just better botmatches .

Age rating

The German version of Devastation is uncut and identical to all international versions. Nevertheless, rumors of cuts in the game persist to this day. These stem from the fact that, on the one hand, it was actually intended to remove the ragdoll elements from the game, and on the other hand, various PC game magazines announced the German version as "censored". However, the German version of Devastation was approved by the USK from the age of 16 without such interference .

Web links

Largest devastation fansite
Largest devastation file base
Devastation Linux Beta
Devastation at MobyGames (English, accessed March 30, 2013)

Individual evidence

↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/561478.asp

[1] ttp://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/561478.asp