Dozens of new projects appear every day. Thousands of programmers,
game-designers and 3D-modellers realize their brand new ideas, apply textures,
unit models, scripts and soundtracks to games. The game market that became so
popular only a decade ago, is growing prolifically, while dynamics of industry
development and PC game market volume increase greatly exceed other industry
indicators.
The thought that with such a grand scale and globality of game industry activity
any direction hasn't been included seems to be absurd. However, we won't be in a
hurry and jump to conclusions because if you scrutinize the situation, you'll
make sure that everything is not so easy as it may seem from the first sight.
Let's speak to the point now. There are too few representatives of
Action/Shooter genre which are not post-apoplectically-based or devoted to a
futuristic saga.
We come across a combination of breakneck dynamics and vividness and brightness
of the game world, and also a unique coloring of characters more seldom than
tiger-albinos in animate nature. The stagnation in this gamedev segment is
obvious even to an amateur.
At this conjuncture a new project of GFI Russia company "Gluk'Oza: Action!"
can liquidate the existing vacuum. How will it happen? Let's talk about it now.
Gluk'Oza: Action is an action shooter from the third person, with a free camera
and a plain plot that is a distillation of the genre. Gluk'Oza is a Russian
pop-singer whose clips are made in a style of a PC game. The singer herself,
however, didn't take part in the action. Only her virtual image is taken to
create the project. From the very first level you understand that there is no
any vagueness, spare elements - all of them are liquidated by a game-designer to
pursue the main goal - to add dynamics, animate every single character, fulfill
every minute of the gameplay with a non-stop, captivating action that will keep
you glued to the monitor till the game is over. You won't be pressed with an
epic pathos and play a role of a hero-wrecker at the time of WWII. There is no
any conspiracy that could threaten mankind with its dreadful consequences. There
is neither intricate plot nor arcane dialogues about the civilization destiny
and NPS, who keep on trying to flood you with accessory quests.
To estimate project Gluk'Oza: Action with the help of current criteria is like
to judge a tank man for reckless driving. You won't take the project too
seriously thanks to the game world with scattered giant pumpkins and lop-sided
country houses. You can describe the opposing forces with two notions which are
as old as the hills. It's Good that is personified by Gluk'Oza herself and Evil
that is represented by numerous malicious pigs, vampires and other devil
creatures. The reasons caused the dispute are left aside, however, they are not
so important. You'll forget about suchlike aroused problems in about 5 minutes
after the beginning. It's not surprising, though. The sun is shining and
highlighting apple-trees with branches bending under the weight of their fruits;
wicker fences, a group of enemies that appears in a few minutes after you left
the previous one behind. The events in Gluk'Oza's world develop in high gear,
the eyes can't track the change of decorations. The game process, a banal
shooting at mice and men at a level from various kinds of weapons, is simple to
the limit what makes the game more charming and it is the feature we lack after
(or during) a hard workday.
A plain but rather dynamic gameplay is based on bright and rich graphics and
rather acceptable physics, provided by Warfare Engine. The firm technological
basis makes us believe that the project won't appear in a list of trash
shooters, created according to plain methods.
There is always a barrel with honey that changes into a tar-barrel. The same we
can say about Gluk'Oza. Among negative features we can single out an arcade
gameplay that makes the project a casual game. It is greatly praised dynamics
and simplicity that can play a mean joke: these features have already provoked
smiles on the faces of Alien Shooter fans.
No doubt, the closer the release the more dangerous turns and places ahead which
can damage to the game's potential. A weak balance, bugs, instability of the
final version and, as a result, constant Windows system errors are destructive
for any action. We hope, that the game will find its fans and GFI Company won't
spare itself and means to create a qualitative ultimate product.
genre: 3rd person action platform: PC release: 2007/Q3 developer:GFI Russia publisher:GFI