GamesCom 2019 has just kicked off and Geoff Keighley took to the stage for the Opening Night celebrations where he was joined by IllFonic CEO Charles Brungardt to give the world its first look at Predator: Hunting Grounds!
Though Charles wasn’t able to divulge much information, we did get our first look at some gameplay in the new gameplay trailer which you can check out below!
After opening up with a cool throwback to Predator’s “Long Tall Sally” sequence, we watch as a fireteam deploys to take on the opfor (and named dropped Stargazer) before we got our first look at some of the combat. It looks like the Predator will be played in a third person perspective similar to Predator: Concrete Jungle while the fireteam will be played in first person.
Update: To go along with an upload of the proper trailer, Sony have also posted a pretty hefty blog post with a brand new screenshot in which they talk in some detail about Predator: Hunting Grounds. As suggested by the jungle setting in both trailers so far, Hunting Grounds will be pulling the majority of its influence from the first movie.
We used Predator ’87 for a majority of our inspiration for the game. Which we hope the gamers can see from the jungle environment, but also in the lengths we went to behind the scenes. We researched the original weapons and actually recorded them being fired in heavily wooded areas to make sure the sound and reverberation of bounding around trees and leaves was as accurate as possible in-game.
We of course take ’87 and evolve with current day weapons and technology; we want the Fire Team to be able to be at the top of their game against the universe’s deadliest hunter. In addition, we actually tracked down the synthesizers used in the original score.
These are just a few examples of the level of detail the team is aiming for as we create Predator: Hunting Grounds. It’s been a childhood dream to work on a Predator game. The little kid in me that would play Predator in the woods with friends is beyond stoked!
Though Illfonic is looking back to the original, Predator: Hunting Grounds is set decades after the first film so they were conscious to ensure it tied into the wider Predator lore, including (as I mentioned above) Stargazer!
Gamers will see this in little reveals. For example, we have tied Stargazer from the most recent film, then added some interesting backstory between the two factions. We cannot wait for the community to get into the game and see how we have brought it all together!
The article also talked a little about the decision for the different perspectives, saying that it was intentional to give Predator: Hunting Grounds the feel of two distinct games. They also talked a little about Predkour, their name for the Predator’s movement system in the game!
We created a system for the Predator that we call “Predkour” in the studios; think parkour meets Predator. The Predator has the ability to attack from above as well as on the ground, just like in the films. This meant we needed to create a system for the Predator to climb into the trees and move limb from limb, or structure. The Predkour system has really been the most challenging element to the game. We wanted the Predator’s movement from tree-to-tree to feel effortless and make you feel inhuman with your ability to bound around the map.
This also lends to why the Predator is in third person, versus the Fire Team’s first person. The third person view for Predator really allows the player to see not only the Predator, but also the paths available for the Predator to take; as well as hunt at the same time.
Head on over to Sony’s blog to check out the entire article! Predator: Hunting Grounds is currently in pre-Alpha and is expected to return to GamesCom next year!
Make sure you stick with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest news on Predator: Hunting Grounds! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums!
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And a hidden one -
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I disagree with their reasoning behind it as well. 3rd person may give you a more omniscient view around you, but they shouldn't remove the 1st person view just for that, AvP 2010's FPS Predator was my favourite part of that game. This is just an immersion breaker for me.
Just pray its not another gearbox fiasco. I think itll do decently well overall but will require the community to keep it akive if it doesnt come and go too quickly.
It wont be a blockbuster hit but will probably be average to slightly above average.
Games with these muliplayer designs dont tend to do well long term (evolve died fairky quick if i remember correctly and this is following its format mostly). But im hppeful and interested to see what will come of it.
I think it's only fair to give it time before casting judgment.
Another soulless competitive multiplayer game. Another nail in the coffin for the Predator franchise. This not the type of game the series needs.
I think the Predator is just there for a good time. Equal opportunity killer for sure.
Emissary 2.0?
I can't think of any other organizations out of the gate that would want to take down Stargazer or know of its existence, and I'd imagine the Predator Hunters would much rather work with them.
Gonna be honest and say I didn't catch that the first two times around. Pretty interesting though that you're fighting Stargazer forces...maybe they've "gone rogue" and are acting on their own in this games story?
I would prefer nods to even the AVP movies rather than The Predator.
Well The Predator showed that even a drugged and groggy Predator can make for a decent scene so I imagine it shouldn't be too hard to turn into a level. Otherwise they could use the exterior of a compound.
There's also the capacity to balance it with the Emissary. If the Emissary are with Stargazer then the A.I could act as teammates to the Predator. It'd be a roundabout way of bringing them back and balance a match but it could work.
Yes, me too. I'm holding out hope for a Los Angeles or City map and a Hunting Reserve Planet map - which is just another modified Jungle map so it should be relatively easy to do.
An OWLF/Stargazer base might be cool, but that may be tricky because the low ceilings would severely limit the Predator.
I do hope we're going to see some none jungle maps, though. Give me some Stargazer bases, a Predator ship, etc.
Also...
Well that's very cool for die-hard fans. Not just Predator, but Predator 2, Predators and The Predator.
https://blog.eu.playstation.com/2019/08/19/first-gameplay-footage-of-predator-hunting-grounds-unveiled/
A few select quotes while I skim read:
Bit of a clearer look at the mask:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ECW0bBAWsAAEfGR?format=jpg&name=small
I'm getting kind of Ahab vibes.
Yes! They have to "Upload the malware to Stargazer's network". Could that be shade thrown towards The Predator maybe?
Also the Ain't got time to Bleed cassette tape.
https://media.giphy.com/media/5gw0VWGbgNm8w/giphy.gif
The plasmacaster I think might also be the 2018 model. It looks smaller and the mount is wrong.
I think they just low-key revealed customization here
Agreed. I'm not worried about it the weapon situation. It's coming out next year sometime, which is a long time away.
Dammit, you know I don't perform well under pressure!
Then why are you even here?
It's what we're expecting even if it doesn't have every reveal we want. Sometimes we do have to temper expectations for what is a smaller title on a smaller studio. Hunting Grounds is out of place at Gamescom, but it looks to play just fine. There's nothing wrong with that, but there is something wrong with jumping into a thread to shit on something when you don't know what you're talking about.
I agree I would have liked to see more, 5 minutes worth of footage would have been perfect imo.
The game doesn't come out till next year though and it's still in its pre-alpha stages so I'm not going to knock the footage for having an emphasis on the plasma cannon. There's still plenty of time for them to add more weapons for the predator.
NONE OF YOU EVER WANT TO BELIEVE
YOU WILL WHEN THIS BOMBS THOUGH
HAHAHAHA!
It looks fine from what we can see but everything went by so fast that I can hardly say that it looks alright. Only thing that really bugs me is the emphasis on the shoulder canon. Yeah it seems to pull more from the original film as the Predator only had two weapons in that, but there's just so much more to work with. There's the Smart-Disk, mines, the whip and even the noose. This would benefit from even including the dogs which would be an added danger to the human players.
It's otherwise fine, but I don't know why they even came out if it was just going to show some choppy footage and leave.
Well they got the music right. And I like having third person for the Predator.
Well I would do if the recording had worked properly.