Last week we broke news about how the PlayStation 3's downloadable game "The Last Guy" will involve saving crowds of people on maps based on 14 cities of the world. The same day that news came out a demo level was released in Japan, set in part of Tokyo.
The American version is set for release "soon," according to Sony representatives. And where the American demo will begin is San Francisco.
Earlier this week I tried the American version's first level, set in SF's Fisherman's Wharf. The game uses an aerial photograph of the region for the level (not a Google map, despite frequent mis-reporting). I controlled a zombie from the Himalayas who runs through the streets and alleyways of the region, absorbing a train of people from any nearby buildings. The more people you collect, the longer the crowd trails -- and the more likely that city-roaming enemies will intercept and kill your crowd. I had to collect 1000 people under a few-minute time limit and then I unlocked a second map.
Players can make their zombie dash, activate a thermal view that shows where un-rescued people are hiding and draw their trail of people into a smaller, safer cluster. There are power-ups available, but I didn't use any.
The game was fun, if slight. For the right price, I think people will enjoy running the maps, saving people.
Earlier today we posted the first comprehensive description about the U.S. version of Sony's strange upcoming downloadable PS3 game "The Last Guy." It's not out yet -- merely "coming soon," according to Sony reps. But could we interest you in playing a watered down version that uses this website or any other as its terrain?
Last night I went to a Japanese website for "The Last Guy" and inputted "multiplayer.mtv.com". Suddenly I was using my mouse to control a little guy who was walking all over our blog. He could run through the lanes and into the nooks of our front page, rescuing people while avoiding spiders. The goal was to bring a parade of people to a safety zone near our top banner ad.
You can do play a rough version of the game using Multiplayer's front page as the game's level at this direct link, but first, take a look at what I did and note the instructions for the game (which you can only find here at Multiplayer, I believe)... Read more...
No game design concept is too bizarre for the PlayStation 3's downloadable game service, PSN, it seems. Today Sony has revealed to Multiplayer full details for the U.S. version of another strange one: "The Last Guy."
Word broke several weeks ago about a mad concept being hatched by developers at Sony's Japan Studio about a game that uses real aerial maps of major cities as its levels. "The Last Guy" populates those maps with digital characters -- a hero, people to be rescued, and rampaging spider and blob monsters. The goal is to run the hero past the people who need rescuing, absorb those people into a parade of followers and then lead that trail of people to safety zones without getting attacked by monsters. It's a melding of the mechanics of old-school games "Choplifter" and "Snake" -- sort of.
A demo version of the game was released today in Japan, according to a Sony rep who gave me a heads-up about the title
What's going to be in the full game, which is "coming soon" to the U.S.? There will be 14 different cities, including L.A. and Tokyo for starters…
The full fact sheet is below. Read more...
