By John Walker on March 6th, 2009 at 12:56 am.
There’s a new video showing Zeno Clash, which I suspect is the best yet. ACE Team’s game has really caught the imagination of many, partly through its remarkable artistic style, and partly through the use of melee combat – people are really interested to find out if this could be the game to satisfyingly pull it off. (With a respectful nod to Dark Messiah, of course.) The new video begins with two of the trio of brothers at the helm of the game explaining the offensive and defensive nature of it all, and then cuts to some lovely in-game examples of the combat in action. It is, of course, below.
It’s great to see the various attack styles linked together. Ranged weapons swapped out for a close-up bashing, tricks using the enemies’ size and speed against them, and smart ways to outwit the AI when it tries to evade skull bombs (grenades) and the like.
Of course, it’s very important not to be distracted from the most significant feature in the video: smashing an elephant to death with a hammer. It’s something we’ve all dreamed of, if we’re honest, and were the zoos not so damned puritanical, perhaps a dream we’d have lived out. In the meantime, this is a fine substitute for murdering those proboscidean bastards. Their time will come.
Chronicles of Riddick too, surely?
It looks like playing a crazy French comic. I love this.
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Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
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Looking awesome soo far.. :-)
Expectations.. RIIIISING :-) (a bit)
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Surreal pugilism ahoy!
I have to say that this game is looking more interesting the more I hear about it. Of course, it’s always too early to say for certain until the thing’s been released…
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If this pans out… I have the feeling it will be a sensation, and will mean the rise of a major new development studio, not to mention game style. I’m more excited about this than I have been for any other game maybe since Portal.
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Looks good, but almost too realistically paced. It’s probably better if you play it (and the amount of options for action probably slows things a bit), but it seems like it’d be more fun to be able to grab someone and knee them a bit quicker.
(actually the measuring of some of those blows on stunned opponents seems a bit sadistic in that clip. Yes I am a big girls blouse)
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OK this does in fact look awesome and I can’t wait to shower the developers with cash rewards, but I also can’t help but notice that a lot of the combat involved running backwards really fast. Doesn’t seem like it’s going to live up to my post Mirror’s Edge expectations of physical movement and momentum. considering how much of this game seems to involve using your body. And the variety of moves didn’t exactly blow me away, elephant-like..
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Pretty cool. But I preferred the trailers with showed off some of the story as well. Plus there were some weirder (and bigger) creatures before if I remember correctly.
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Huh. The enemies seemed kinda dumb in that clip, but… I don’t know. I eagerly anticipate more news. (And cannot help but approve of fish-guns. Fish-guns!
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That last hit on the elephant was brutal! The poor thing was dazed and desperately trying to protect his head. Too upsetting for me.
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Well i’m sold.
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Riddick melee > everything. This could be interesting though.
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MD: That was the best bit! The physics bounce as his head slammed back up from the ground was ace! I wish all games had feedback as visceral as that.
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Can’t wait for this.
Daliesque melee fighting against elephants from Chile!
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I thought Condemned and, especially, Riddick had already pulled off the satisfying FPP melee combat thing before Dark Messiah? That said this game still looks aces, pun fully intended.
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Dual fish guns!
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fish gunz
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I love how he says it like it’s the most normal thing in the world that there the guns are fish. Or else it’s funny that he felt he had to point out an additional bit of weirdness among the murderous elephants and bird-men.
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I love how he so casually mentions fish-guns, as if they’re nothing special. It bodes very well for this game.
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not just fish guns; dual fish guns. A terrific way to school your opponents.
I think that some of the backwards movement was just there to let the guy explain what he was setting up.
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I’d give that joke a 4 on a scale of one to ten.
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Perhaps you are too generous Pags. No, you are definitely too generous. That joke just forever erased my chances of appearing on Q.I.
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How could you harm that elephant? He was Mr LeCrisp’s most successful patient to date!
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I’d give that joke a 4 on ascale of one to ten.
I’m sure that line left him gutted.
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melee combat – people are really interested to find out if this could be the game to satisfyingly pull it off
Oi!! What about Condemned and Riddick? >=(
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Ahh, Elephant fighting…I can finally enact revenge on those murderous pachyderms after what they did at Boatmurdered…
I am so going to get this, and possibly a copy for some of my friends too, just to give them more money.
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Aye, Malagate! Never forget Boatmurdered!
Say are those fish guns made from…carp??
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Fish guns. FISH GUNNNNNNNNNS!
so awesome.
they’ve got the art style and the combat, let’s hope they put a game around it.
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Congrats ACE team, this is the first demonstration of your game that succeeded in engaging my interest. I t not only looks great but also promises subtle tactics in our fish-gun wielding, elephant hammering escapades? Niiiiiice.
*puts game officially on want list*
BTW, I’d also like to give these guys some praise for their presentation. Contrast their enthusiastic, professional and well-focused delivery with Brad Wardell’s rambling, monotonous and often vague efforts yesterday. THAT’s how to do a developer interview, guys. Short and sweet.
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They had me at “dual fish guns”.
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Those dual fish guns give the game a real sense of plaice.
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This game seems in everyone radar (I will be not surprised if it shows on Steam ) (well.. maybe only 34% surprised) ….hope it fullfill these expectations. Mele in a FPS is a hard concept to do good. Also, there are a billion FPS games out here to compare even the most minuscular bit. The good thing is that these guys are far from the “marine in metal corridors, shotting cybors”-ske topic that has plaged our computers. I have notice that the game has a “arena” mode, If that arena is coop or multiplayer and there are really silly weapons / monster to fight / use, then we have a thing here some people will love. Super Mario Brawling whatchachiwhat.
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Say are those fish guns made from…carp??
Hmm hang on…k…v…*Dual Fish Guns*
(boy do I hope I used the tags right, what happened to the preview function?)
Edito: Yay, it worked! Also you can see many more of the weapons here. I likes the Hammer.
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I believe Zeno Clash is already confirmed for Steam.
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Whatever they were on when they thought this up, I’ll buy some.
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I’m sure that line left him gutted.
It went down swimmingly, actually.
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They had me at “Game Designer” and “Game Designers Clone”…
@Tei I’m pretty sure this is built on the Source engine, so the chances of appearing on Steam are high.
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When I see melee action like this I’m always reminded at the good times I had with Rune quite some years ago. Multiplayer was *awesome*. Granted; it was third person, but it was the only game that had a working melee system in MP.
Humanhead really should make Rune 2.
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Looks better and better to me, although the combat seems a bit… hampered by retarded enemy a.i.
In other news I’m playing Cryostasis and it has some amazing combat, very similar to condemned but a bit faster, more dynamic etc…. the english version is out btw, awesome game.
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It went down swimmingly, actually.
Ergh, is anyone else feeling battered by all these puns? They’re bad for the sole, I’m angling for this to end before we sink into the dark depths of punnage.
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Nah, fish puns definitely have their plaice.
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Like an LSD trip to the Zoo. Me likes and wants.
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Sorry Nashwan, Feet has already used that particularly fishy pun, I will not let repeat offenders skate by, you will be targeted by the death ray. Not even the small fry criminals will escape its sting.
Also Zeno Clash will not only be released via steam, but direct 2 drive as well, apparantly for $20. Unconfirmed if it’ll be converted correctly for in europe yet, sauce here.
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Malagate is far too good at this.
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yep Malagate winz!
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I wonder if Malagate has more quality puns where those came from or if he’s fin-ished now?
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N: ” although the combat seems a bit… hampered by retarded enemy a.i.”
This is a good point, N. Could the moment where the two beasts ignored the grenade be properly attributed to “panic”, as the developers described it? Or just sub-par AI?
I guess only a hands-on muckabout could tell us for sure – I’m hoping for a demo prior to release.
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Seriously, Dual Fish Guns. I’m sold. I also agree that the final death blow the Elephant impacted me. However, it was more of a beaming “Kill him while he’s begging for mercy” with wonderfully responsive head and hammer. It all looked just like my dreams…
I won’t even try to enter in the Great Fish Joke WaRPS of 2009. More smiles abound! :)
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Looks good, but I hope the AI will provide a challenge without resorting to “OH COME ON!” bullshit tactics. While I liked Dark Messiah a lot, it was really annoying how the ghouls’ “slowly recover from being stunned”-animation also seemed to double as “attack that knocks off 70% of your health”.
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@Pags, if it helps, I do have a degree in Marine Biology. With Oceanography no less!
@Ian, well I was considering (elasmo)branching out to further extremes, but I suspect I’ve reached the pin(nate-tent)acle of my ab-eel-aties. I’ll just do some basking in the praise and win I’ve been given.
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I liked the elephant :(
The puns, oh god the puns… I almost mistook you for a journalist!
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I love Dark Messiah soo much, has the RPS hivemind heard anything about a sequel or what Arkane are doing next?
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@John, I’d imagine Arkane are still working on The Crossing, but I haven’t heard anything about that in AGES.
I’m not sure whether to be flattered or otherwise by down rodeo though. I probably don’t even want to dab-ble in that area, I doubt I have what it hakes to be a journalist. Maybe a red top one.
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These jokes are (h)erring on the side of just plain awful now.
I’d also like to express concern that the bit with the grenade was a bit dodgy regarding the AI. Hopefully they smooth it out because the enemy was clearly facing the guy when he threw the grenade…
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Dear God what have I done?
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Holllllly shit.
The landscapes there, especially the town, were beautiful. And such fluid animation! This is looking aces.
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Also, hurray that the fish based puns have seamingly ceased now!
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Thank Cod!
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I like the fact that when The Hammer wrote that the fish based puns had seemingly stopped, he was infact perpetuating more fish base-d puns. For every Cod thanked, there is a salmon of doubt. I’ll get my coat, but whale meat again soon ;-)
Also hammer, you like the environments? Have you checked out their blod? There’s a nice entry here that shows 4 of the environments in Zeno Clash, it might include details that could be considered a little spoilery though.
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Was it just me, or was the melee kind of unimpressive? He’d hit something once, and then it would be stunlocked while he beat its brains in the rest of the way…
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I’m reminded of Serious Sam actually. Lotta running backward with dumb AI enemies charging toward you.
I think I was more interested before I saw this trailer. I do want the dual fish guns though.
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It is definitely on Steam. They already have an official Stream Group in there that you can join. That’s where I learned of this video first hand.
http://steamcommunity.com/games/ZenoClash
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It’s nice to see RPS readers aren’t koi about being a grouper of pun enthusiasts.
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Heres a article about the game (trough Babelfish).
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gratisjuegos.org%2Fdescargar-warez%2Fzeno-clash-el-primer-videojuego-chileno%2F&lp=es_en&btnTrUrl=Translate
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Is it seriously the first Chilean video game? Wow.
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No, sorry, I don’t feel like killing the Elephant Man. By which I mean: It looks to be a promising game, but probably not for me.
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Yes, Spanish Technophobe. This is the first chilean game. At least the first major comercial one. Very proud to be from Chile now! lol
These guys worked before in a very cool Doom Batman mod.
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I’m against the wave, but it wasn’t so impressive. Stupid AI, unbalanced combat animations (when the player hits, the enemy is taking to long to show that he was hurt) and a bizzare world. I wish them luck, but if they don’t have a great story behind, is not going to be stellar. Mod quality.
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