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Disaster Report: Disaster Report Hands-on
Company: Agetec

Survival horror has always meant one of two things - zombies or dinosaurs. However, leave it to the guys at Agetec to once again bring us something that is the same thing, yet at the same time completely different; survival horror without zombies or dinosaurs. In Disaster Report you take the role of a young journalist trapped in a city in the aftermath of a massive earthquake. Making things worse, the bridge that once connected Capital City to Tokyo has also been submerged under water. This is where your adventure starts.

In truth, most of your time in Disaster Report is spent wandering around and collecting items. The usual mechanic of conserving ammo and blasting away at zombies has been replaced with more realistic dangers, such as collapsing walkways and hydration. So those who were hoping for the thrill of brandishing a shotgun and protecting their water supply from looters are in for a shock.

As you roam the ruins of Capital City, the environment will change with each aftershock that hits the city. Buildings will tumble and block paths and catwalks will fall. Blocked paths are the least of your worries, since each time an aftershock hits, you have to find a safe spot and assume a 'safe' posture. However, finding a safe spot is easier said than done. At first glance nearly anything could be considered a safe spot, but running under an overpass or into a building may not always be the smartest option. As you try to escape the city, you have to constantly be on the look out for water in order to maintain your health. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find an undamaged faucet, but most of the time you'll have to pillage and loot stores or find other sources. Adding to the game's more realistic tilt, the space in your backpack is limited - forcing you to pick and choose what you put in it. For example, you'll be very tempted to load that sucker down with water bottles, but then you're likely to not have space for other tools you'll find.

When it comes to tools, the game has a very McGyver-like quality to it. Everything you find can be used in some fashion, it's just up to you to figure out what that use is. Some will be obvious like rope, but others will require a little ingenuity to find their uses and may need to be combined with something else in order to do their job.


Character interaction also plays a big part in Disaster Report. With each person you meet, you'll be thrown into additional subplots. There are even times when your editor will ask you to do something!

While it's a very unusual take on the survival horror genre, Disaster Report is already looking like it will give players who are beginning to bore of zombies something different.



-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker
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