E3 06: Coded Arms: Assault First Look

LOS ANGELES--Coded Arms was the original first-person shooter for Sony's PlayStation Portable system, and now the game is branching out into a series with Coded Arms: Assault for the PlayStation 3. Very little of the game was shown during Sony's E3 2006 press conference, but the scant bits shown gave a look at how the game's visuals might be upgraded for Sony's newest console. Generally speaking, the trailer simply showed a number of panning shots of what looked like the lead character from the original Coded Arms, complete with a more tricked-out version of his crazy future suit. This time, however, he seemed to be armed with an arm-mounted cannon, à la Samus or Mega Man. The one first-person shot of the trailer showed the lead guy pressing a number of buttons on his arm cannon, though sadly there was no actual combat.

The trailer also showed a number of shots of the environment transforming. A lot of computer code faded into a full city landscape as the camera panned around the lead character. This could be indicative of the game once again including randomly generated environments, though no information that specific was given during the rather brief trailer.

It was a fleeting but intriguing look at Coded Arms: Assault, and we're certainly curious to see more in the future. We'll bring you more on the game as it becomes available.

[UPDATE] Konami showed an extended trailer of Coded Arms: Assault at its E3 press conference, revealing more of the fancy tech suit donned by the main character, his amazing weaponry, and the massively destructible environments found in the game.

This game will take place in cyberspace, and you will assume the role of a kick-ass hacker who's set to take on an evil corporation from within the virtual world. Because of the virtual nature of the gameworld, practically everything has a certain "cybernetic" flair to it--from bright neon-orange highlights that outline enemies, to the small virtual impact craters made by the bullets flying from your automatic weapon.

The demo reel shown at the Konami event was almost entirely focused on the combat sequences in the game--loud, brash, and bold splashes of action that showed off the PS3's graphical horsepower to good effect. One particularly impressive segment focused on the main character configuring his massive arm cannon through a quick sequence of button presses. From there on, it's bullet time, with the main character ripping through menacing-looking enemies and the game's many destructible environments all at once. Columns ripped apart in the cross fire, and entire buildings went up in red and orange flames. In short: Stuff exploded good.

In terms of actual gameplay details, Konami producers said that the game will support four-player online co-op mode and multiplayer deathmatch support for up to 16 players online. At some points, you'll be diving into land- and air-based vehicles to deal maximum pain to your foes.

One final tantalizing detail was a first peek at a female character who was carrying quite possibly the largest gun we've ever seen. Practically as tall as she was, the extremely futuristic-looking gun looked like it could take out an entire city block without much trouble. We're not sure what role she will play in the game, but one thing's for sure, this lady means business.

We're hoping to get more hands-on time with Assault on the show floor here at E3, and we'll be bringing you more details on this futuristic PS3 game in the near future.