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Will Rock

We will, we will, rock you? Richard gives us a hands-on preview

Ubisoft where kind enough to send us preview code for their upcoming game 'Will Rock' that's being developed by Sabre Interactive. For those of you who are getting a little tired of sneaking around in first person shooters here is something to look forward to in this power chord of a game. Will Rock offers some old fashioned back to basics shooting gameplay. If you liked Serious Sam, you're going to love the frenzied action here.

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You take the title role of Will Rock, an archaeologist, who starts the adventure out on a dig with his mentor Professor Headstrong and his daughter Emma. Information leads you to the entrance of the lost city of Olympus where the gods have been imprisoned for thousands of years. Unknown to you though the Olympian Restoration Army wants to get back to the good old days and before you know it they kidnap the Professor's daughter, the father is then swiftly removed from the picture and you gain the powers of Prometheus. Off you must trot to save the girl and seek vengeance on Zeus. It's one of those great computer game stories that's regaled to you at the start of the game but once over with you are left to happily rock on with no interruptions.

The levels are thus obviously themed toward ancient greek mythology so expect to see big stone pillars and archways as well the odd catacomb. Like Serious Sam, the levels are big and bright with lots of room to maneuver, and maneuver you shall if you want to survive. If you've not been practicing your strafing technique this will certainly bring you up to speed. Most of the time you'll be running through a few corridors before entering some big arena at which point you'll have to survive waves of enemies before a door is unlocked. On the principle that 'more is more' they literally throw hordes of skeletal centurions, horned beasts, demonic archers and even lions at you. Most of they time they'll charge at you with suicidal glee but just so you don't get bored you'll often find yourself being attacked from the periphery by huge statues that come alive and start hurling boulders at you.

The enemies are all nicely modeled and well animated with some rather colourful effects to go alongside. Axes that are thrown at you leave a long colourful tails, while some creatures morph out of the ground from bloody remains. My favourite has to be the exploding rats that have little sparks coming from their tails like a fuse. Be warned, you'll want to keep your distance when you dispatch that particular foe. The developers have also created a so called 'shatter technology' which basically means when some objects are hit, like when you kill a statue, it breaks up into little pieces as it fall to the ground. It's a stretch to call it revolutionary but it's certainly a nice little effect. Of course where would any self respecting action game be without boss battles and you won't be short changed here with four massive bosses to fight against.

What can you fight them with? Well at the start you are equipped with a trusty shovel and pistol but pretty soon you pick up the ever vigilant shotgun. The weapons are spread out throughout the game and as you progress you start picking up more fantastical ones, like the flaming crossbow and the nuclear atomic gun. Ammo is everywhere but you'll be burning through it at some rate. Another small feature is the gold you pick up which allows you to buy three major powers at altars you encounter through the game. The powers are titan damage, invulnerability, and titan motion. The first two perform exactly as you'd expect. The last one is the ever popular trick off slowing down time that will give you a few seconds breathing room to snipe away. Your purchase your choice of power but you don't have to use it right away so you can save it for when you're in a bit of a fix. It's a nice addition to the formula.

Like Serious Sam, Will Rock isn't trying to push the boundaries of gaming. It is content to simply provide an old school shooter but to do it well, which is no small feat. A multiplayer mode is also included with support for eight players to add some replayability. Whether in single or multiplayer this is perhaps not the type of game you'll want to play for long periods of time as the pace is somewhat unrelenting, but if you fancy a break from something like Splinter Cell this looks set to be a worthy counter point. 'Will Rock' is due for release, with the very tempting price of £19.99, on the 6th of June. Oh and the soundtrack unsurprisingly rocks!

1. It's a little rusty, still I think. They're on the right lines though....

   Nick Monday, 6 January 2003, 11:21:53

2. You must have the played the unofficial demo - It is much prettier than Serious Sam

   Dave Sunday, 1 June 2003, 13:12:48

3. I agree with you, but 'prettier' does not mean better.

   There are some good bits in the demo, like when you get to use the catapult to launch yourself onto the ledges, but other then that it was very repetitive with very little innovation.

   The only thing that makes this stand out is the price

   Half Life need not worry.

   Mark Gilbertson Thursday, 6 February 2003, 09:01:47

4. I think its better too. I know this is Saber's first title - probably on a shoestring budget. For $20 bucks you get more action and better gameplay than Wolfenstein and at least as good as Serious Sam (where the environments are much more repetitive and the animations are really limited)

   Josh Phillips Sunday, 8 June 2003, 18:57:33

5. i like the game it rocks bud i got a copy of it so i cant go on the internet or get throug a door :( bud its worth buying it

   solid snake Wednesday, 23 July 2003, 09:46:13

6. I am having serious problems with the movement using my mouse(optical).

   Each time I move it either moves extremely slow or zips around too fast, any ideas, think it has a bug!!!

   Dave Saturday, 9 August 2003, 10:05:12