Bodycount

Overview

Bodycount is a first-person shooter developed by Codemasters Guildford. The game focuses on fast-paced action where players aim to get the best score possible at the end of every level.

The game was released August 30, 2011, on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Development

Surprisingly, Stuart Black claims that he got the idea for Bodycount after seeing a Lady Gaga concert. He thought that the way she interpreted and sang her music revolutionized pop music. This made him want to do the same thing, but with shooters. He found modern day shooters too bland and wanted to make a game that was "simply about shooting."

What must be known about Bodycount is that it's not Black 2. Said game was cancelled by EA after being in development for three years. After leaving Criterion, Stuart Black and other members of the team formed Codemasters Studios Guildford. A 70-man team is working on Bodycount with most of them already having worked on other shooters. In addition, it is not the sequel to obscure, middling shooter Operation Body Count, the similarity of the titles being a coincidence.

This game is being designed using Codemasters' own EGO engine which was previously used to power games such as GRID and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. The engine helps create detailed destruction. For example, you'll be able to "peel off" different layers of a wall by shooting it. Each layer will have its own resistance to your bullets. This engine has also allowed for better A.I. All changes that the team will do on the EGO engine will be kept for future games.

Stuart Black left Codemasters in October 2010 for reasons unknown (rumors have it that he left following a poor showing at E3 2010). The game then went silent and was "rebooted" with a new art style.

Gameplay

The story is relatively straightforward. You are an agent in a secret government agency and must bring peace to Africa. Of course, you won't be signing any peace treaties, you'll be killing the two warring factions, as well as a third mysterious group who wear sophisticated suits.

The game is built as an arcade shooter. You're rewarded points for building up a combo by shooting people, similar to the system used by The Club. There are different classes that get you different amounts of points when you shoot them. For example, wound a soldier and a medic will come. Shooting the medic will net you more points than shooting just the soldier. By killing the entire enemy faction, you'll be able to draw out the faction's general, winning you loads of points. The game also rewards for blowing up the environment, which is fully destructible. Not only are you rewarded points for brutally murdering your opponents, but you also gain intel that can be used for OSBs (see below).

The game has an old fashioned health bar with health packs. The game also has a first person cover system, similar to that of Killzone 2's. The game also lets you lean out of the way of bullets and peak around cover.

The game features an Operative Support Button (OSB) which is mapped to one of 4 directions on the D-pad. Using one of these four assets empties your intel bar, which can be refilled by killing more people. Each OSB can be upgraded. The four OSBs are:

• The adrenaline shot, which grants invincibility for a few secondes and can be upgraded to last longer.
• The explosive rounds, which tear through enemy armor and inflict splash damage.
• The radar, which gives away enemy positions and can be upgraded to emit an EMP shockwave which kills certain enemies.
• The airstrike, which rains death upon enemies and can only be used outside.

Levels

• Enter Tesanga City Streets
• Locate the Militia Warlord
• Investigate Power Signature
• Gather Intelligence on Hidden Bunker
• Contact Major of Local Platoon
• Assassinate the General
• Infiltrate Target Nexus Facility
• Destroy the Target's African Operation
• Escape Africa
• Investigate Connection With the Target
• Find Target Bunker Entrance
• Deactivate Termination Chip
• Locate Target Nexus
• Retrieve Datacore
• Assault Target Weapons Facility
• Locate Datacore/Destroy Target Base
• Final Objective

Bodycount Mode

Bodycount mode is a score attack mode where players replay previous levels and try to get a highscore to compete against others on online leaderboards. This mode focuses on keeping a combo going by executing skillshots and depending on how skillfully you murder enemy bots, you will get a grade at the end of the level.

It should be noted that levels played in Bodycount mode are exactly the same as the ones played in the campaign and that you can only use weapons that had been unlocked at that stage in the campaign.

Multiplayer

Bodycount has a 12 player online competitive multiplayer mode which ranges from standard deathmatch games to more objective based games.

The mode lets you customize your class as well as use OSBs. Here, you earn intel by killing opponents, but also by dying, meaning that less skilled players can still be competitive.