Four titles to take on the world.

The size of Take 2s booth might have shrunk dramatically from what it had been two years ago, but nothing’s been lost in style and substance.  The company opened with a quick demonstration of the PS3 version of BioShock, which already has the atmosphere of the 360 version well intact.  Those expecting to experience rapture without any of the unsightly frame hiccups that plague rushed PS3 ports can rest easy, while players of the original prepare to be intrigued by the addition of challenge rooms as downloadable content.  These exist as separate from the main storyline and feature more of a puzzle aspect to give players the chance to use plasmids and weapons they might have neglected.  The example showed off a Little Sister trapped at the summit of the Ferris Wheel and some of the tasks that can shock out a rescue, like making use of trap bolts and unleashing a static discharge close to the controls.  While you’re engaged in this puzzle solving, the clock is ticking.  Completing these challenges will set you at the top of the leaderboards, with your friends ready to knock you down with a well placed wrench.

Next came Borderlands, presented by Randy Pickford himself.  This is a vast, dynamic, co-op driven FPS where players chooses classes and level up as they complete missions to advance the story in a way reminiscent of Stranger’s Wrath.  Only here you’re not fighting with living ammo, but over a half-million possible armaments, generated on the fly by a new procedural system that might produce a revolver based sniper rifle or life-stealing grenades.  This system is also applied to the weapons your enemies will be toting, leaving the game full of surprises, even for the developers, with chunky explosions and body parts flying towards the camera.  There was something a little bland about the rocky world that was shown, with the enemies lurking in their cavernous homes waiting to be slaughtered, but the promise of a rich four player co-op experience with stats and loads of weaponry is too sweet to pass up.

In a more intimate setting, developers from Cryptic Games presented its successor to City of Heroes, Champions Online.  Really though, it’s CoH2.  Everything that worked in the original is making a reappearance, and everything that was problematic has been addressed.  The overall world is less focused on instances and more accessible with landmarks of the varied environments on the horizon, while the removal of the class system lets people build up their heroes (and villains) however they wish.  The cel-shaded aspect makes the game feel far more like a comic book brought to life, though the area shown did seem a little on the vacant side with only two active players.  This was a Westworld gone worse, with robotic cowpokes from an amusement park ready to stomp any stranger arriving in their prop town.  The combat is more direct and combat oriented, more suited to its 360/PC hybrid nature.  Minions and sub-bosses lead the way to a final boss needing skills and team work to take down.  Without having seen the rewards for victory and the depth of the customization, it’s too soon to say if gamers will be leaping over tall buildings to sign up for this one, however.

Colonization is an old computer game not well remembered by the masses, but endeared to strategy gamers eager to conquer the New World over and over again.  The hotseat multiplayer alone ensured it could never get old, and that’s one of many elements present in the total conversion of Civilization IV, entitled Civilization Colonization.  Fans of the original will feel a tinge of deja vu, with the old 2D of the original transformed into fluid 3D, complete with dramatic lighting and soft shadows, even putting Civ IV to shame.  The gameplay is very close to the original, which is great for how well it stands to this day, but there have been plenty of enhancements and improvements along the way.  For those unfamiliar, this is about founding your own little colony under the yoke of a ruthless king, eventually breaking away and waging war for the sake of your independence.  Along the way, there are towns to manage, resources to gather, natives to befriend or exploit, and other colonists after the same dream.  Crushing those dreams in multiplayer couldn’t be more satisfying.

There is life after GTA, as Take 2 well knows.  Its surprise hit, BioShock, is about to gain a whole console full of new converts, Borderlands will be beloved by gun nuts, Champions Online caters to the superhero set, and Civilization Colonization … heck, I just want that one for myself – though I pray many others make a purchase, so I can have no end of hopeful founders to drive out of existence online.