Recently ARUSH sent along a demo of Devastation that let us try out four of the game's levels for ourselves.  The game is a first-person shooter that is powered by the Unreal engine and set in a dismal future.  The year is 2075 and the corporate giants that control the world have made a mess of it.  Some people have formed together in groups that are beginning to grow into a full-fledged resistance movement.  You play as Flynn Haskell, the leader of one of these groups.

Devastation looks good thanks to the Unreal engine, but the developers have taken it one step further by coupling it to an impressive physics engine.  The objects which typically litter FPS levels such as crates and fuel drums are here in Devastation too, but they can be pushed, kicked, knocked around by explosions, and even thrown at an enemy should you find yourself out of ammunition.  You can also find shortcuts by pushing a box near a fence, climbing on it, and then jumping over the fence.  Each object behaves differently when hit, but all of them are modeled quite realistically.  Kick a bottle and it will go spinning and bouncing across the floor, but a crate will just nudge forward a few inches.  The game's "rat physics" is also, um, interesting and slightly disturbing the first few times you accidentally step on and squish a rodent.

Devastation features location-based damage.

The physics model also extends to weapons damage, and Devastation features "rag doll deaths".  This means that if you shoot someone in the stomach they will double over and if you hit them in the head they will drop to the ground in a heap.  Blow some oil drums or set off a rat drone (more on that later), and the victim will be flung around by the force of the blast or disappear into a shower of innumerable pieces.

FPS games follow one of two philosophies.  You have the arcade-style shooters that allow you to carry an entire arsenal on your back and take more damage than an M-1 Abrams.  Then you have your realistic games that only give you two weapons and four ammo clips, and can drop you in an instant with a well-placed shot.  Devastation actually gives you a choice in the matter, allowing you to select an arcade style game or a more sim-like experience.  The sim version is not as hyper-realistic as the Tom Clancy games, but it will force you to choose a limited weapon loadout based on your carrying capacity and make you a lot more vulnerable to enemy fire.

Bots and weapons »