Not only did Illfonic take a gameplay reveal trailer to GamesCom last week, they also took an early build of the game for gaming journalists to get hands-on with. Early impressions are pretty good, with emphasize on how authentic the game feels to playing as the Predator itself.
GameRadar’s Leon Hurley was one of the lucky few to experience the game at GamesCom where he got to have some fun with the game’s cloaking device!
Playing as the Predator is a fine balance of restraint and excessive power. When invisible, for example it's hard to see a moving Predator, and impossible to be seen while stationary – during one of my matches, when I'd taken a lot of damage and been chased down by the soldier team, I was able to evade them just by turning a corner and freezing. It led to an unbearably tense few seconds as three of them circled around me, almost elbow to elbow and then walking on without realising. I don't think I've ever struggled as hard to hold my nerves and not panic.
Hurley also went into detail around the victory conditions of the matches, stating they shared an understandable similarity with Illfonic’s Friday the 13th.
The average game's push and pull comes from the fact that if anyone does actually [Arnie voice] get to the chopper, the Predator loses. So as the alien you have to constantly push your luck and take risks to stop that happening. Like Friday the 13th, the usual endgame is some people die, some get away and it's a mixed victory on both sides. Eventualities like killing the Predator outright, or everyone escaping alive are more of a rare occurrence and all the more exhilarating for it.
Also on hand was Polygon’s Colin Campbell who was able to get an early play of Predator: Hunting Grounds and he spoke a little about the map, confirming a variety of map upon the game’s release.
The map I recently played was set in an ancient forest, but I'm told to expect a variety of maps and modes in the final release. Various installations are manned by hostile AI warriors. In the demo mode I played (which is available at PAX West this week), the soldiers are tasked with various missions which generally involve infiltrating buildings and killing swarms of AI enemies. They must survive the Predator, or kill it. The Predator's only concern is hunting the human players, though it is also viewed by the AI as an enemy.
PlayStation Access has also posted up a nice video detailing the “7 Things I Learned” while playing Predator: Hunting Grounds. The video also contains new gameplay footage that demonstrates how the game’s Predkour system works, highlighting the path that the Predator is able to take through the top of the trees!
PlayStation Access also confirmed that there would be multiple classes of Predator. The Predator we’ve seen so far is called the “Hunter” class which has the Plasma Caster, wrist-blades and cloaking device.
We’ll be sure to keep this forum thread updated with new hands-on reports or footage as they come in!
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QuoteJoys and sorrows that are reflected both in the gameplay and in the technical sector, the real weak point of the build tested in Cologne. It was a pre-alpha, it is true, but we cannot fail to point out that the stability of this version was at historic lows and that even in terms of frame-rate the game often left something to be desired, creating in the marines some problems in too much target phase. Even at a merely graphic level, the title of IllFonic is far from the sacred monsters of the genre: the glance is good, but it takes little to realize that the level of details, animations and textures are not up to the rest of the exclusive first-party from Sony.
QuoteIf we find mud, we can keep a button to cover ourselves with that substance and, thus, lower the temperature of our skin. In this way, the Predator will have it more complicated to see us when he uses his special ability, and if we do that, and play as a team, the Predator will really have it raw.
QuoteThe first impressions of Predator Hunting Grounds are good, although as we say, there is work to be done . Both Charles Brungardt (CEO of IllFonic) and those responsible for the study present during the demo, reminded us repeatedly that we are facing a pre-alpha version .
And, certainly, it is something that shows. Although character modeling is what it is, as well as most animations, it is technically not at the level it will be when it arrives sometime in 2020. Also, as seen in the videos, the performance is also nothing from the other world, with a very fair frame rate per second.
Despite that, the visual section promises and is quite interesting, more when we handle one of the soldiers than the Predator himself. Of course, Predator modeling is perfect and we can not wait to see it with great detail in the final version.
QuoteAs a Predator, you also fall back on the well-known thermal image view. This highlights guards and soldiers in color from the environment and thus facilitates the spying of prey. The Marines counter this, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, by smearing themselves with mud. This makes them harder to recognize for the Predator. Illfonic is working on further interaction possibilities and is even considering building traps. But also on demand, one did not want to confirm these gameplay ideas.
QuoteIn terms of equipment, neither the Predator nor the Marines have the last word. The basis for the long-term motivation should be an experience system and an individualization system. In plain language, you will be able to customize and assemble your soldiers and probably the Predator itself. How these systems work is not yet known. Similar to the Predator's Wrist Computer. Once the hunter goes down, he can still salty the soup and blow himself and everything around him. Illfonic wants to turn self-destruction into a kind of optional escape sequence to complete a game. How that will look exactly is still unclear.
Quote from: JokersWarPig on Aug 29, 2019, 06:48:20 PM
Different Predator classes eh?
Quote from: magical_boy on Sep 04, 2019, 06:10:28 AM
Hope this has a variety of predator skins
Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Sep 04, 2019, 03:27:23 PM
The mud was an initial big want for me. I am extremely thrilled it will be realized in-game.
Quote from: Playstation blog"When the Predator cloaks, he makes a clicking sound. When you're playing as the Fire Team, focused on the objectives and you hear that click, you'll start freaking out," Jared says. "My favourite moments are when the Predator is hunting you but you're mudded up so he can't see you, and he's directly overhead, moving through the trees. That's when the tension really gets you."
Quote from: Playstation blog"Mudding up is a mechanic that we pulled in from the first movie," Jared explains. "It covers your heat signature so the Predator can't spot you as easily. But then, when you do mud up, you'll be vulnerable for a little while you're looking down — and that's when the Predator can pounce."
In one of the games we played, that's exactly what happened. Towards the end of a match, in a desperate race to reach the chopper, one of the IllFonic guys stopped to cover himself — but it was too late. The Predator was quickly on top and liberating his spinal cord from his body.
Quote from: Playstation blog"His helmet can get blown off which makes him even more vulnerable as he won't have heat vision any more, and you won't be able to aim the Plasma Caster, so the shots will be a little off."
Quote from: Kailem on Sep 15, 2019, 12:50:24 PM
And this definitely hasn't been shown or talked about before:Quote from: Playstation blog"His helmet can get blown off which makes him even more vulnerable as he won't have heat vision any more, and you won't be able to aim the Plasma Caster, so the shots will be a little off."
That's a really cool detail, similar to how you can knock Jason's mask off in F13, only here it actually has negative gameplay effects for the Predator! Granted I guess you could say it did in F13 too since it was one of the things you had to do if you wanted to try and kill Jason, but this sounds like it'll affect more matches in a more noticeable way.
QuoteAlso, humans potentially stealing a Predator's mask? Wonder if we might get a The Predator-themed trophy for that? :D