E3 2010: Jumpgate Evolution

Jumpgate Evolution is a game being developed by NetDevil that will see players assuming the roles of fighter pilots in a galaxy where three different factions battle for dominance.

Although not all details are available at this point, it is clear that this space-themed MMO will play nothing like EVE Online. In this game, the emphasis is squarely on dogfighting in nimble (and highly upgradeable) starfighters. In the hands-on time that we had, we didn’t see much in the way of possible upgrades, roles, or more than one faction (the highly Romanesque Octavius faction), but we did get to engage in some basic, yet exciting fighting in an early-game area.

Fighting in this game almost totally uses the mouse to pitch and dive, with the left button being the basic shoot button. Although we were told ships will be upgradeable with a number of different extra systems, like missile launchers, we were not able to test this today. What we got were a couple of basic training levels that showcased some very nice graphics and non-stop action, shooting, and beautiful explosions! The keyboard is used to roll and adjust speed, although for the most part, this was not that necessary.

With a simple, yet exciting combat system in place, we were told that the player will always feel front and center in the evolving, epic plot that features plenty of opportunity to earn experience and loot through combat in different intergalactic locales that feature a variety of different mission types and opponent ship types, hopefully avoiding the usual grind of MMOs altogether! We were also informed that the standard MMO “fetch quests” will be missing in action as well, which personally piqued my interest further due to how much I hate fetch quests in MMOs!

Despite promising low system requirements, the game was very nice to look at as well as listen too, with all manner of pretty lights, rockets, and explosions going off at once, accompanied by the screech of lasers, booms of missiles exploding, and full-voice overs for all the in-mission dialogue! Additionally, we were told that nothing would be instanced in the game, with every area being open to players exploring the world. Additionally, all players from different factions will be considered fair game for PVP from the beginning, but due to a very small death-penalty, players will come back into the action almost immediately. For areas that feature fewer players, competent AI controlled ships will fill-out the battle-lines to make combat more intense for the few players participating.

All things considered, we are all eagerly looking forward to the launch of this game sometime in the Fall of this year. Even with my usual hatred of MMOs, I can’t help but find myself wanting to follow the development of this game and see where it leads!

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