Source: Shacknews
Screenies
Sounds Interesting!
Many consider online game play the main attraction in the games they purchase, but to be honest, I've been getting tired of it. I've fragged everyone I care to frag; I've built armies to conquer my friends' empires; and I've captured my fair share of flags. Where's the innovation, the next popular gimmick that will make me want to keep on gaming well into the late hours of the night? In a little game called Infected, that's where.
Planet Moon Studios (Giants: Citizen Kabuto; Armed & Dangerous) plans to unleash Infected on PSPs worldwide November 15th, and since that's only a few short weeks away, I decided to get the scoop straight from Planet Moon's producer Aaron Loeb so as to infect as many Shackers with anticipation as possible. Read on; I'm sure you'll all find the preview very . . . infectious.
The setting for Infected is New York City, where the normal hustle and bustle of the Big Apple is compounded due to the Christmas shopping season. Of course since everyone is disgustingly happy, it is only appropriate for a virus to be unleashed that will dampen the holiday spirit ever so slightly. As the New York Christmas tree is lit for the first time, the Red Triangle Circus Gang attacks the citizens of Gotham the virus is unleashed onto the masses, causing many to mutate into zombies. The player takes on the roll of an undercover cop who happens to be immune to said virus. Why? You gotta play to find out!
Infected features both single and multiplayer modes, but the main focus is multiplayer. The reason for this is the unique gimmick Infected showcases: the character you create is your virus. When you defeat someone online, they become infected with the "N00bKi11er" virus (or whatever your name happens to be) and the virus spreads outward from them.
The ability to actually see how far your virus has spread is what appealed to me. It's one thing to see your name on a stats board; it's quite another to see the name of every city in the entire world that has at least one inhabitant infected with your virus. In addition to that, you'll also see "the most infected cities in the world, the best players, the worst players, and your personal stats, [such as how many people you've killed]." It gives your victories a more personal feel, and much great bragging rights than simply pointing your name out to a buddy on a leader board.
Infected features four different multiplayer modes, all of which have been done before to some degree: Deathmatch; Team Deathmatch; Savior; and Mad Cow. The objective of Savior is for each player to locate civilians and carry them to evacuation copters to be taken out of the infected city. Each time you evacuate a citizen, you earn a point. Mad Cow has a player don a cow suit, (anyone else have a flashback to the ending of Earthworm Jim 2?) rendering this player "it" for a not-so-friendly game of tag. You kill the cow, you wear the cow suit. The player who wears the cow suit the longest wins the match.
All the modes are standard fare in shooters these days, right? Yes, but it's important to remember that you're not just competing for a higher score in Infected: the threat of viruses always looms in the distance. Loeb elaborates, saying that "the big deal with our multiplayer is that at the end of a session, you infect the losers with your virus. They have to then either beat the virus off their systems in single-player, or win three more multiplayer matches to cleanse their systems. When they beat others, they pass your virus on to them, and so on."
The outcomes of your multiplayer sessions play a huge role in the single player game of Infected. Let's say you hop online for a round of deathmatch, and are lucky enough to pull out a win. Your virus (the name of your character) attaches itself to the loser's save game file. During the game, the player "will see your avatar running around trying to kill them, and they will have to beat your character to clear the virus." So not only will you have to deal with all the zombies running around the single player portion of the game, but the ghosts of the players who capped you online!
The mission types in Infected aren't limited to basic run-n-gun action. "In the most basic mission," says Loeb, "you blast zombies to kingdom come. Then [the missions] get progressively more elaborate: you have to defend cops from zombies; you pick up civilians and get them to evac choppers; you clear zones of undead so the choppers can land." All of this takes place in five fully rendered NYC neighborhoods, so the scenery shouldn't get boring.
The infection of save game files goes even more in-depth by writing in the history of the virus. So let's say you jump online and lose to Ted'. The save file now knows that you got the virus from Ted, who got it from Joe, who got it from John, and so on. All of this information is viewable online, and it's really something to see how far your viruses have spread.
All of this fighting against other players and the mindless undead will require a serious dosage of ammo, and Infected does not disappoint. According to Loeb, "There are nearly 20 weapons in the game, ranging from low to high power versions of the pistol, shotgun, machinegun, RPG and the mighty BMFG. There are also grenades and power-up pickups and, everyone's favorite, the Viral Chainsaw." What does BMFG stand for? Think about Doom and I'm sure you can figure it out. And as for the Viral Chainsaw, that's under the Wait and See' section of Planet Moon's filing cabinet. But as Loeb pointed out, it's capitalized, so it's gotta mean something special!
In addition to running in fear from all the players who kicked your ass online, Infected will provide you with a slew of unlockable content, such as skins to play as the members of the band Slipknot.
Infected caught my interest because of its distinct theme, and it's sure to stand out, especially on a system with more ports of oldies rather than original content. The fact that the multiplayer and single player modes are intertwined looks to provide lots of replay value, something that many console/portable shooters are lacking. If you're tired of the same old in terms of shooters and multiplayer gaming in general, Infected doesn't look to disappoint. Look for it on November 15th exclusively on PSP.
Screenies
Sounds Interesting!
