Gore: Ultimate Soldier

Overview

Gore is a fast-paced 3D first-person shooter for Microsoft Windows that managed to make it onto the shelves after more than 5 years of development. Although the game features a single player campaign, the main focus of Gore is its multiplayer component.

Developed on the AMP Game Engine, Gore bears many similarities to contemporary first-person shooters like Serious Sam, Quake and Unreal Tournament but was also one of the few games of its time to implement full body awareness and both first-person and third-person camera angles. However, Gore was not received very well by critics, and garnered middling scores; in a review for Gamespot, Erik Wolpaw called its campaign "largely forgettable".

On July 4, 2008, a Special Edition of Gore was released as a free download, including minor changes and an automatic patch updater.

Gameplay

Single Player

Gore's single-player mode is largely linear and plot-free, acting as more of a 5 to 6 hour long tutorial that helps familiarize the player with the game before they jump into the multiplayer. The story is based around a battle between two conflicting sides, the UMC and MOB, and the player takes the role of a UMC rookie undertaking a training mission. The story moves the player through variants of the game's multiplayer maps that include classic environments such as a space station, warehouse and dungeon. The campaign is comprised of three episodes, taking place in post-apocalyptic Earth, medieval Earth and an alien homeworld. Although each environment has unique levels and differing content such as weapons, the enemies AI is limited as their behavior is entirely scripted. As a result, the player is usually faced with a small mob of enemies who will either run at the player or stay still and shoot.

Multiplayer

Gore features an up to 16 player class based multiplayer system with 19 maps and 6 game types which include:

• Deathmatch - players work individually to get the highest kill count
• Team Deathmatch - players work in teams to get the highest kill count
• Capture the Flag - teams must simultaneously try to defend their flag while attempting to capture the enemy flag
  • Tactical - teams spawn with a set amount of pickups and one life and must eliminate the enemy team or complete an objective which include:

1. 1. Extermination - eliminate enemy team
   2. Assault - bomb a target, similar to setting and defusing a bomb in Counter Strike
   3. Escape and Infiltration - eliminate VIP if on enemy team or escort VIP to safety if on friendly team

• Co-operative - players work as a team to play through the single player campaign
• Duel - a one-on-one deathmatch after which the loser is sent to the end of a queue and the next player in line takes on the winner

Although Gore is strikingly similar to other fast-paced first-person shooters, it also has some significant gameplay differences. One being a stamina system that has been introduced which controls the player's speed and ability to jump. Stamina is lost obviously by running, jumping and taking damage, but is also dependent on the class being played and the weapon being carried. When low on stamina, the character shows signs of fatigue such as heavy breathing and slow speed before passing out for a short time and leaving the player vulnerable when stamina reaches zero. Stamina is recovered by resting, getting certain pickups, and getting healed, adding a whole new element to the game as it not only effects the class and weapons chosen by the player, but also how the player moves around the level.

Another difference that Gore implements is the armor system. Instead of protecting the whole body like in most games, the part that is protected is location specific, forcing the player to think about where to shoot to maximize damage. Body armor parts include head, chest, and leg armor, as well as a gas mask. Each piece of armor is visible on the body and can be destroyed, with different weapons being more effective as usual. Furthermore, most item pickups are destroyable in Gore and can be shot and used to prevent enemies from getting the pickup. When destroyed, an explosion is created that is directly proportionate to the how good the pick up is. This mechanic both makes camping for pick ups harder and provides a new way to damage enemies. The pickups include:

• Health
• Stamina
• Boost - restores a small amount of both health and stamina
• Armor
• Ammo
• MAD Damage - makes the player glow and deal more damage
• Invulnerability - makes the player invulnerable to damage

Gore also has classes for the player to choose from. There are five in total including support, scout (sniper), medium infantry, heavy infantry and mechanized infantry, with speed being sacrificed for damage resistance going from light to heavy. Each class has different characteristics and exist on both the UMC and MOB teams. The result is that depending on the team the player chooses, the same class can have different starting weapons and models.

Despite the above differences, Gore is so fast-paced that it almost makes these new mechanics redundant as there isn't time to worry about stamina and armor. Apart from the class based characters to play as, the rest of Gore's gameplay is standard, the player navigates the levels by running with the occasional teleporter, jump pad or lift while shooting anything that moves.

Weapons

	Meatsaw Although not available in all levels, this melee weapon is an effective stamina drainer once in contact with an enemy, making escape improbable. Perfect for tight spaces.
	UMC Pistol This 15 round pistol allows for relatively fast and accurate fire and is the starting secondary weapon for most classes whether they be UMC or MOB.
	Frag Grenades The average grenade, when thrown correctly the resulting explosion can do some damage.
	UMC Shotgun This 8 round shotgun, like most shotguns, is more effective at close range. However unlike most shotguns, its secondary fire generates a force field that guards the face.
	UMC Riotgun This 50 round weapon is Gore's equivalent of a machine gun. Its secondary fire shoots gas grenades that drain stamina.
	Dual Ingrams This weapon can only be used by MOB medium infantry. This MOB alternative of the UMC Riotgun has a faster fire rate but lower accuracy. Its secondary fire is dual firing instead of gas grenades.
	Quad Barrel The quad barrel shotgun is a powerful close quarters weapon similar to the UMC Shotgun. Although it only has 4 rounds, the secondary fire enables all 4 to be shot at once.
	UMC Sniper Rifle This 5 round scoped sniper fires green beams that deal more damage the longer the trigger is held down. The secondary fire shoots ricocheting plasma balls that can drain enemies of health and stamina.
	Assassin Rifle This is MOB's alternative to the UMC Sniper Rifle. It has 15 round clips and shoots high damage dealing bullets. The secondary fire deals less damage but fires faster.
	Minigun This weapon has a 125 round clip and like most miniguns, fires fast and relatively accurate. The secondary fire shoots even faster but as a heavy weapon, it drains stamina faster.
	Flamethrower This weapon sets enemies on fire with flames that do damage over time. The secondary fire shoots a fireball.
	The HAW 90 UMC Rocket Launcher This weapon holds 4 rockets that after exploding, sometimes leave a little flame that can damage enemies who step in it. The secondary fire shoots bouncing grenades that explode on contact with an enemy or after a small amount of time.
	Healing Gas This weapon sprays gas that can heal both the user and their teammates. It restores both health and stamina.
	Molotov Cocktail After impact, creates a fire that damages enemies, much like the HAW 90 rockets effect.
	C4 & G4 Remote Bombs Explosives that can only be used by the scout classes. UMC scouts have the C4 while MOB scouts have the G4.
	Remote Mini Nuclear Bomb This weapon is only available in the Tactical Assault gametype. It sticks to any surface and is thrown with primary fire while secondary fire triggers a 30 second countdown which is canceled if switched to another weapon or die.