Bodycount E3 Hands-On Impressions

As a shooter focused purely on action, Bodycount is Codemasters latest attempt to get a foothold in the genre. All about the guns and the effects they have when players pull the trigger, Bodycount is a glossy techno-thriller that is midway through its development cycle with about a year already in the making.

Playing as a young hothead who is impetuous as they come named Jackson, players are plucked out of their everyday life and dropped into a war-torn African hot-zone that is ravaged by the villainous group, The Target. On the opposite side of the tracks is The Organization, the group that decided to take Jackson and give him the adventure of a lifetime.

Delivering beautiful menus to wade through to play Bodycount, Codemasters is incorporating a cover/lean system that provides fluidity in its combat. The fights aren’t predetermined and avoid the typical “whack-a-mole” situations that players often find in modern shooters that sticky players to barricades and walls. Unfortunately though, there are no moments to go from cover to cover as the action wasn’t implemented in the build. But by simply pulling in the left trigger and using the left stick to control the direction, players will gain the advantage on the enemies who aren’t lucky enough to get out of Jackson’s way.

Shooting within Bodycount is more about accuracy and precision rather than going in John Rambo style guns a blazing. Whether players are standing up or kneeling down, the accuracies change to keep players on the toes. Once bullets are fired, the reticule widens making it more challenging to shoot, so it’s best to have controlled fire.

Another aspect that is being exploited in a good way is environmental destruction. Players are able to shoot almost every single thing before them and make new paths for themselves through the levels; the only exception would be anything metal or concrete looking that would require demolitions to blast their way through.

Changing up the cooperative mode from the single-player, the co-op will have an entirely different campaign and narrative that doesn’t involve Jackson. In addition, there’ll be competitive multiplayer modes that’ll be revealed before its release later this year.