Giving the H.A.M.M.E.R. its due
Throughout gaming history, we have all loved a game where the violence is both mindless and challenging. Great games like God of War have recently reminded us of how much we love to unleash giant combos with cool fighting moves and relentless button mashing. Even games like Hunter the Reckoning have aided us in quenching our thirst for quick bursts of destruction. Having been out of the “adult” market for a while, Nintendo seems to be taking advantage of the innovative Wii to continue bringing games that will synchronize player interaction with their games. Now they will be treating us with a giant hammer.
The basic story behind Project H.A.M.M.E.R. is that an unknown force is attacking America. The unknown force is using advanced machine weapons known as automons. You will take control of a new prototype of Project H.A.M.M.E.R., called M-09, which is half machine and half man. You will control an ultimate weapon that has the power to save the world. That weapon is a giant machine-crushing hammer. Fitting huh? The marauding army of automons will attack in seemingly never ending droves and you will do everything to stop them no matter the cost.
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. will utilize both the Wii-mote and the Nunchuk attachment for some intuitive gameplay controls. You will maneuver M-09 with the Nunchuk’s analog stick. The environment will be easy to navigate through making it easier for the maneuverability of the hammer to deal massive damage. The trailer for the game showed that the environments consisted entirely of urban city backdrops overrun with menacing, deadly robots. The Z1 and Z2 buttons on the Nunchuk will be used to enable M-09 to thrust forward or backward, respectively. This will surely come in handy during chaotic battles.
However, what will the Wii-mote do? Well, simply put, it smashes and it pounds. Moreover, it swings the previously noted gargantuan hammer around for massive damage. You will be able to do this by simply motioning with the Wii-mote. If you want to hammer-pound an enemy or object, you pull back on the Wii-mote and then make a hammering gesture resembling Thor. The longer you hold back, the greater the charge and, ultimately, the destructive force of your blow. In addition to this primary functionality, you can swing the controller side to side in order to make the hammer take out enemies left and right. In addition, if you hold the A button while moving the Wii-mote, M-09 will do a series of flurried attacks.
The mechanics are easily executed, but they are nevertheless powerfully represented on-screen with ground-shaking smashes and some impressive particle effects. When your hammer connects with a robot, it bashes it apart and crumbles to the ground in pieces like an aluminum can. You can also destroy random objects, like cars, which are precariously placed along the streets. They erupt into broken parts and fiery particles when obliterated for that awesome effect every time you destroy them. Even the polygonal civilians cower in the distance when the carnage ensues. Some of the world textures appear to have a bumped look to them and some areas seem to feature specular highlighting. The game will run in 16×9 progressive scan mode and moves along at a steady 30 frames per second.
For what appears to be a straight beat’em up game, the graphics look really nice. With smooth backgrounds that appear to be destructible, Project H.A.M.M.E.R. looks to please even the diehard next-gen graphic fan. M-09 looks equally impressive. The only harmful side effect of a game consisting of mostly machines is that it appears M-09 might get lost in the constant sea of gray and mechanical villainy. Equally impressive, according to the trailer, the sounds of crunching metal and solid hits from your hammer will be spot on. Your local car crushing junkyard or recycling plant can only hope to rival the countless hours of chaotic sounds.
Project H.A.M.M.E.R. has been a game that was revealed and then suddenly quieted. This has hindered the amount of information available about the game and, as most of us know, once a brief taste of a game is given and then we are denied anything else, our taste buds salivate for anything we can find. As the release draws near, it can only be expected that we will see and hear more about this sure to be classic game. So keep your fingers primed to find the latest information here as it becomes available.
Features:
May 10, 2006
As the song goes, “If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning…I’d hammer in the evening…”
by Vaughn Smith
Half man / half cyborgs are rarely found vegging in front of the TV. In fact, if you ever wake up one day and realize you’ve been transformed into a half man / half cyborg, you can kiss those lazy days watching MXC on Spike TV goodbye; there’s work to be done big fella.
Case in point: Our hammer-wielding protagonist in Nintendo’s upcoming Project H.A.M.M.E.R. You see, there is a bunch of killer robots hellbent on destroying the world and our extremely large playable dude has to try and stop them. Perhaps you could Tivo MXC for later.
Players will use the wii-mote to smash in the heads of rogue robots, actually swinging the device in their bid to rid the world of those shiftless automatons. Swinging the wii-mote from side to side will send packs of bots flying, while lifting it into the air and then bringing it down will blast them to smithereens. The A button can be used for quick hammer flurries. Hammer flurries? I didn’t see them in the forecast…
The game seems a little light on plot. In Nintendo’s own words “Enter a world of nonstop action, excitement, and relentless destruction. Players will reduce rampaging robots to scrap metal as they battle their way across the United States. If they see an enemy, they smash it. And they continue to smash it until every city in America is saved.” That’s a lot of swinging that hammer. Please tell us there will at least be a kidnapped princess to save or some other Nintendo-esque crisis….
Stay tuned for more.