Overclock3D.Net :: Print Page :: Cell Factor Revolution

Here's what Ageia, Immersion and Artificial Studios have to say about the game:

Set in a futuristic, industrial war-torn atmosphere, CellFactor: Revolution is an action-packed first-person
shooter with Psi-powered combat and true-to-life physics for the PC. It takes advantage of the capabilities
of the dedicated AGEIA™ PhysX™ processor to produce realistic physics effects and game play
elements including collisions, explosions, complex jointed geometries, fabrics that drape and tare, dense
smoke and liquids, multiple objects and particles, as well as other physical events that offer gamers an
exciting and immersive gaming experience. Gamers with a PhysX accelerator will have access to all five
levels (three utilize extreme PhysX game play) in the campaign mode as well as the multiplayer modes.
The game will automatically detect PCs without a PhysX processor; those players can explore the
multiplayer “skirmish” modes in two environments or choose to install the hardware for a complete game
experience.

In CellFactor: Revolution, gamers can manipulate an immense amount of objects simultaneously, control
vehicles and fight against AI-controlled enemies. Up to 8 players can play in the LAN game play modes.
The multiplayer modes – death match, team death match, assault and capture the flag – are also
playable with one human and up to 10 AI-controlled characters.

So what is the game all about then? Well it's got a number of gameplay modes:

• Assault - the objective is to take the bomb to the enemies’ base and arm it. When
detonated, the bomb emits Psi forces, transforming the area into a psionic vortex as it
pulls objects into a black hole.
• Capture the flag - to capture the flag, players must use Psi powers to move it. If the player
takes the role of the Guardian who does not possess such abilities, he/she needs to ram it
or use different tactics to manipulate the flag.
• Death match – each player fights for himself or herself in a kill or be-killed game. Players
must be aware of a dynamically changing environment and other players bouncing
around the environment due to psionic propulsion.
• Team death match – teams of 2-4

There are five maps in the game, although three of these are only available to those with an Ageia PhysX card. There are also three different characters to play as.

• Two industrial levels with minimal physics are available for all players in skirmish modes.
Proving Grounds is a Psi-power training area and the Fueling Station features a series of
platforms ideal for air vehicle landing in the middle of the ocean.
• Three “extreme PhysX” levels accessible for PhysX users in all modes include:
• Reactor Processing Core – built inside a rock, it features molten metal, bridges over lava
pools, and spider webs on a futuristic machine.
• Weapons System Control – an indoor map full of rooms with a huge cannon.
• Storage Facility – comprised of three huge structures, ideal for driving all the vehicles
available in the game in multiplayer games.

Master the abilities of three unique character classes:

• Bishop - genetically altered by L.I.M.B.O. to hypercharge her psionic powers, she can
manipulate any environmental object to deliver deathblows without weapons.
• Black Ops - this U.N. Soldier was L.I.M.B.O.’s first genetic alteration experiment using
psionic power; he offers a mix of psionic abilities, unique weapons and vehicle abilities.
• Guardian - L.I.M.B.O.’s ultimate mechanical soldier can wield two weapons and strike
his victims down with quick assault

The three characters are actually pretty different with differing abilities and strengths and the maps also all play differently.

Now let's get onto Gameplay...

A couple of the outdoor maps here. Left "Proving Grounds" centres on arena type gameplay with all the action coming to the fore around a central square. Right "Fuelling station" is probably the best map in the game with many levels and is suitable for all types of players.

Left is one of the indoor maps "Weapon Systems Control". The map itself isn't actually too bad, with a slight off-balance for one side. However once things start exploding and bouncing around (due to PhysX of course), then it gets impossible to play. Right "Storage Facility" is a rather large map peppered with lots of mechs and vehicles, discussed below.

All in all the maps aren't too bad and as said above, "Fuelling Station" is a map that is great fun to play on and really is my favourite.

Enjoyment and Longevity

The game can be fairly enjoyable and is fast paced and good fun at many points. The single player mission is very hard, but this is most likely a good thing if you have the patience and skill to play it through to conclusion.

Multi-player is pretty good fun too and I set up a quick LAN with a friend on my spare rig which was good fun. Again, though, we found ourselves favouring "Fuelling Station" as it was the most fun map.

As far as longevity is concerned I would not think this game would last you an enormous amount of time, even if you can get over the horrible performance. With only 5 maps and four modes of play there's a limit to how long it would last to be honest.

Now onto graphics...

Now I say the HDR looks good...well it does look good when there is anything for it to look good on. Mostly the maps are drab and grey, with the exception of Fuelling Station where everything is an orange-brown colour. That's not to say a game with less colour cannot be good: Gears of War lacks a huge amount of colour but is visually stunning and gritty at the same time.

Sadly, Cell Factor is not Gears of War and generally the graphics leave you wanting more.

The Physics in the game could make up for that though.

Physics

The Physics in Cell Factor are very impressive - in that they are on such a grand scale. You can lift a whole row of boxes and send them shooting forward, or divert a flow of liquid hot "Mag-Ma" (stop the Austin Powers - Ed) onto an opponent.

This makes for an impressive array of graphical delight where boxes bounce across the screen, "Mag-Ma" flows over and kills enemies and bridges are destroyed. Nothing on this scale has been seen before in games and it's a great step forward. Having said that, some of the physics feel a little too much like a Hollywood set. Boxes and huge pipes DO bounce across a room or arena like they are made of rubber, and steel bridges get destroyed and bounce all over the place like they are styrofoam.

Cloth effects are pretty cool and I felt myself fairly convinced by the movements against the wind or the odd gun blast.

Again, as I said in my PhysX review, the physics ARE a great move on and really the game would be very very bad had it not been for their inclusion, hence why I didn't even bother with the game without PhysX.

Sound

Well there isn't much to say about sound. I set it to maximum and played from there.

I have to say that the music was at best ignorable and at worst downright annoying, especially as loading times aren't the best so you can be listening to it for a period of time.

The in-game sound is ok with some decent effects, but nothing really immersive in all honesty. Explosions sounded pretty good though so it's not all bad.

Everything Else

Well I felt I had better mention the HUD first of all. It feels like the game designers have really taken a "futuristic" scheme and gone to town. The information is crowded and hard to read whilst gaming. At least when you're close to dying the screen blinks red and emits a beeping sound which gives an indication of your untimely demise before you expire. Also there are arrows that give you a visual indication of where you're being attacked from, although as enemies tend to be above you as well as in front, behind and side to side it's pretty hard to figure where exactly they are coming from.

Another visual plus is that the enemies health level is shown when you hover over them, though you can become a little wrapped up in this.

The game menu is pretty drab and feels like it's trying to be futuristic, while only managing awkward.

Hovering over one of the menu items brings a whole new meaning to the word "sliding menu's", and confusion tends to ensue. A pretty cool feature is that video is going on behind the menu items. A not-so-cool feature is that if you're in single player mode and you press escape (perhaps to turn the wonderful music down), the game continues without you, tending to lead onto death.

All in all the game shows that it is an extended demo. Lots of things are wrong but it feels like the game has a good foundation but fails to deliver overall.