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Hellgate: London
Developer(s)	Flagship Studios
Publisher(s)	Namco / HanbitSoft / EA / IAH
Engine	In-house developed
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	October 31, 2007 November 2, 2007 October 31, 2007 November 1, 2007
Genre(s)	Action-RPG
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Hellgate: London is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game developed by Flagship Studios and released on October 31st, 2007.

Set in post-apocalyptic London in the year 2038, Hellgate: London sets the player in the London Underground subway system to join forces with Templars, Cabals, and Hunters in a hack and slash crusade to overrun the invading forces of Hell. The game features both single player and multiplayer components, with the online component featuring many MMORPG-like elements such as subscription plans, player versus player combat, and guild formation.

Game Premise

Hellgate: London takes place in 2038, post-apocalyptic London. London has been invaded by demons from Hell. Up until recently, humans have had many champions looking to hold back the flood. Various real-world events are referenced in the background of the Hellgate story as averted crossover attempts. The Crusades were actually undertaken to fight back the minions of Hell, as was the charring of London in the Great Fire to wipe out the Plague. According to the story line, the famous Knights Templar were the keepers of knowledge on how to battle these demonic forces. Unfortunately, these heroes underwent a charring of their own at the hands of a jealous King Phillip IV, who hated the power they held in the world at large. While the Knights Templar survived as an organization, their numbers were severely diminished and were forced to remain in hiding to stay alive.

As time passed and technology progressed, the old ways began to fade from memory and the secrets of the arcane were lost. When the demons attacked again, they found their enemies unprepared. Ordinary weapons were no use against the demons, who could shrug off an RPG round. The Templars offered their special services to the military, but the leaders balked, refusing to believe in the old truths. Hellgate quickly took the victory in the battle for Earth. The Burn, a decades-long process of "hellforming", has begun.

However all is not lost, as various groups have been preparing for just such an eventuality. Freemasons built the London Underground to be demon resistant, and as such the stations now act as bases, "safe zones" for would-be defenders. These defenders are armed with a fusion of modern weaponry and arcane magic such as flamethrowers that throw Greek fire or swords covered in locusts. In the game, players get to be one of these defenders.

Gameplay

Hellgate: London is an action role-playing game that has many elements that set it apart.

• Randomization: Hellgate:London builds heavily upon the core design of roguelikes by using random generation of maps, monsters, and loot to allow for a high degree of replayability .

• Multi-Perspective: Hellgate:London can be played in either a third or first-person view. Melee classes default to a third-person view, whereas ranged classes default to a first-person view.

• Subscription: Hellgate: London can be played offline or online without a fee. Players can pay a monthly fee to gain additional content over time, including new areas, weapons, monsters, classes, quests, events, titles, game modes, and many other perks.

Multiplayer

Hellgate: London was designed to be primarily focused on solo and cooperative PvE combat, but players can duel and there is a free-for-all PvP Mode for subscribers. Dueling can only take place outside of Underground hubs. Players can also choose to enter into PvP mode which means they can be attacked and harmed outside of Underground hubs by anyone else that has chosen to enter PvP mode. That is, those in PvP mode, must always be ready for PvP. This is a way to have wide-ranging free-for-alls, or create your own “friendly-fire” way of playing the game. In multiplayer mode, players can meet and organize for team play and quests in safe zones - the old Underground stations, protected by the Freemasons' wards. The world will not be split in "shards" or servers, but rather play like a massively multiplayer online game with heavy instancing, such as Guild Wars. Every character is capable of soloing the entire game. Grouping with other players is optional, though grouping will bring benefits in terms of experience gain and items. Difficulty will be balanced where the opposition grows stronger as more players play in the instanced areas.

On April 29th, 2007, it was stated that the game would not feature LAN support, rendering offline multiplayer impossible .

Servers and Regional Support

Ping0 manages the US and EU regional servers for Hellgate: London, while IAHgames manages the SEA regional server along with the game support and user forums for SEA region players. Copies purchased in SEA are not able to be used on the US and EU servers and vice-versa.

Hellgate London was launched on 31st October (Singapore time) for the SEA region. IAHGames is the company distributing the game and hosting the regional server. From its launch from 31st October, IAHGames has received complaints for not being able to implement patch 0 in a timely fashion.

Areas

The game world of Hellgate: London is a massive set of perilous environments, featuring safe zones (disused Underground stations) connected by numerous demon-infested dungeons and city streets. The journey between zones is randomly generated, and the levels are fully 3D, rendered with the game's own proprietary graphics engine. Included in this randomization are randomly generated enemies,boss spawns,and items.While this has increased replayability some have criticised the way it generates the map due to odd flukes.For example it is possible for an item required to complete a quest to be in the first room you enter,while the bosses could be in a completely different location.

The game features London areas and buildings of interest, and indeed St Paul's Cathedral was featured in an early concept art drawing, hinting further at this. Another building that has been brought up in an interview is the Clock Tower which houses Big Ben.

The game consists of five acts to unify the areas a player travels through on a greater scale. All acts account for about 40 hours of singleplayer gameplay.

The safe zones scattered across the world act like safe havens to purchase and upgrade items at NPC merchants, interact with other people in the game world, and gather and complete quests.

Quests

The game will offer three different quest types:

• Storyline - Special "scripted" quests following the storyline tightly and moving it forward. Key quests will be shared here, Storyline quests will be highlighted in orange color in the quest window for clear identification. Storyline quest givers will also have a blue marker over their heads.
• Template - Straightforward, built off eight basic formulas: collect, explore, escort, infestation, hunt, travel/talk-and-do, use item, and operate object. Their primary function is to give players something to do while they undertake story quests.
• Task - Generic quests believed to have more random objectives, given by NPCs out in the game world. Completing these quests increases one's reputation to unlock class-specific quests, as well as revealing new items and giving experience for new levels. Many tasks are in fact randomized, and the NPC may or may not appear in a given game. Some tasks are harder to find than others.

Combat

Hellgate: London can be played in a first person perspective for guns and a third person perspective for both guns and melee weapons.

Although the game looks like a shooter, pinpoint aiming skills are not required. Most weapons track their targets, lock on, or simply carpet an area with explosives. However, not all weapons are so easy to use. The game will contain sniper rifles and other weapons that require accurate manual aiming, though most of said weapons are exclusive to the Hunter faction.

Weapons

The weapons will base their power on character stats more than a player's aiming skills, being more of an RPG than an FPS in this regard. For example, a player can place points in an Accuracy statistic that determines the randomness of the rounds they fire. The more points into Accuracy you have, the tighter the spread of the bullets will be.

Each weapon type does have a very different effect. For example, the Grizzly Rifle fires a stream of energy that causes splash damage on impact; the Rebounder fires elastic energy balls that ricochet off walls; and the Cabalist-only Locust Hive is a short ranged rifle that causes a swarm of insects to sting and damage the target over time. Melee weapons are less varied, but there are swords that can inflict toxic poison or explode with splash damage on striking.

Besides the behavior, the weapons, close and ranged combat alike, can do several different kinds of damage. Each damage type also imparts a special negative effect on a critical hit:

• Physical - Can cause enemies to get stunned.
• Ignite - Can set targets on fire, draining 5% of their total life per second.
• Spectral - Phase shifts targets, causing them to deal 50% less damage and take 50% more damage.
• Toxic - Poisons the targets, making them suffer damage over time and unable to be healed during the poison's duration.
• Electrical - Can make a target unable to use skills.

Items

Hellgate: London heavily uses a randomized item system of at least a hundred base weapon types and many armor types, with a pool of random special properties and bonuses (magical affixes) applied to them to achieve replayability and promote item collection.

Furthermore, unwanted weapons and armor can be freely disassembled to save space in one's inventory, often yielding standard or rare crafting materials. These components can be exchanged for special crafted weapons at an NPC vendor, or used to upgrade existing weapons or armor at the Nanoforge device in most safe zones. Additionally, random special properties can be added to weapons or armor at a similar device. Lastly, blueprints are available by which one can craft one's own ammo, given the raw materials.

As such, the gamut for item collection and customization includes:

• Weapon mods (ammo, batteries, and so on, which can be removed for a price and swapped)
• Upgradeable damage or armor values at the Nano Forge (using spare parts)
• The addition of random special properties to weapons and armor (for a price - properties can be Common, Rare or Legendary)
• Crafted weapons (using spare parts)
• Crafted items and mods (using spare parts and random-drop "recipes")

Item hunting is expected to be the most popular endgame activity, though the game should be less focused on endless boss runs as the sole means to acquire good items.

Items may have slots that a player can insert "mods" in to enhance their power. Mods can be technology that improves items, but also demonic artifacts and holy items, currently known as relics. Technology mods are more aimed at specific weaponry upgrades, while relics are more general in what bonuses they give, such as giving fire damage enhancements regardless of the wielded weapon; if the player adds a mod to their weapon, this change is shown ingame (if a scope is added, then the weapon will have a scope after). It is also believed that game characters may have their own physical slots for similar purposes, and that mods will be removable. Some types are listed below:

• Ammo Magazines - Modify the amount, type, range, or accuracy of weapons. Magazines can be magical or technological in nature.
• Battery Packs - Battery packs charge weapons with different types of damage, such as ice, fire, or physical.
• Fuel Tanks - Confer different damage types onto weapons.
• Relics - Often considered holy, relics may be part of a greater item or an item previously owned by someone of great ability.
• Rockets - Like ammo magazines rockets change the type of ammo a weapon uses while adding an explosive element, often making it more powerful.

Skills

Currently, there are about 27 skills per class. Leveling up rewards you with a skill point, which can be invested into any skill you have access to (assuming you meet the required level and have all required precursor skills.) Most skills max out at skill level 10.

Unlike Diablo II, where the best strategy was to choose as few skills as possible and put every available skill point into them, Hellgate: London will encourage more diversity by reducing the impact of additional skill points. Most attacks will use your weapon damage to determine their power; additional skill points will merely reduce the mana cost, increase the range, reduce the cooldown, or improve some other secondary property.

Factions & Classes

Three factions, Cabalists, Templars, and Hunters have banded together against the ever expanding demon dominion. Since the first invasion took place 18 years before the events of Hellgate:London, each faction has held different views on how the demon invasion should be handled. All factions are currently taking refuge beneath London in the tunnels, the only safe place away from the onslaught of chaos.

Templar

The Templar are a secret society descended from the original Knights Templar. They mix futuristic technology with magic and ancient artifacts to create armor and weapons for melee and short-ranged combat. Templars look for weaknesses of the demons in order to halt the invasion. Some Templar disagree with the majority view that " must hide and strike covertly against the demons." These Templar are viewed as anarchists whose true purposes are more those of King Arthur's fabled Knights of the Round Table, such as rescuing the innocent.

Templar classes are the only classes able to wield melee weapons, shields and use auras. While not limited to melee, their selection of ranged weaponry is severely limited. Auras in Hellgate: London only affect the player himself (party members are not affected), and grow in power with the amount of monsters nearby.

• Blademaster - A melee character whose skills focus extensively on offensive abilities and the use of auras. They are the only class in the game that can wield two offensive melee weapons at the same time.

• Guardian - A melee character whose skills focus on defensive abilities, the use of shields and the use of auras. Powerful close range area abilities combined with high defensive values make the Guardian able to fill the tank role in a party and encourage taking on multiple enemies at once.

Cabalist

The Cabalists are students of the dark arts and edges of science which often leaves them standing right on the line between good and evil. These untrained but powerful arcane casters seek knowledge about the demons, as well as how to achieve mastery over them. As spellcasters, they are suited for mid-range combat.

Cabalist classes use ranged weapons that have many unique effects.

• Evoker - An Evoker's skills include an extensive array of offensive abilities and includes some summoning abilities. Evokers can equip two focus devices at the same time.

• Summoner - A Summoner's skills include offensive abilities and many summoning abilities. Summoners can summon a main minion that can be enhanced over time and smaller minions for specialized use. Summoners cannot equip more than one focus device.

Hunter

The Hunters are mysterious, highly-trained ex-military operatives who lay waste to their foes with advanced weapons blending theoretical science with the latest in technology. They are able to hit their targets from long distances.

Hunter classes rely on high-powered rifles and cannons, but have weaker armor.

• Marksman - The proverbial first-person shooter character, with many skills to enhance his or her weaponry. Example: Sniper Stance locks the character in place but provides a range bonus and sniper scope.

• Engineer - A minion class similar to the Summoner, with expendable minions as well as combat drones that can wield weapons. Example: Assault Drone summons a hovering bot that can use two-handed rifles.

Subscription

During CES 2007, it was announced that the game will support a single player mode as well as some form of free online gaming, but also a paid online mode, where it is still to be decided exactly which method of payment that will be used. Bill Roper, founder and CEO of Flagship Studios, confirmed this in later interviews.

The US subscription plan, costing $9.95 (USD) a month, was announced in the Games for Windows magazine. Shacknews also reported a price of $9.95 per month and an offer to pay a one time fee of $149.99 will be available for up to 100,000 people who pre-ordered the game. The UK subscription will cost £6.99 and EU subscription is €9.99.

There are two types of multiplayer accounts: free and subscription accounts. Subscribers will have access to ongoing content updates, expected to be released every two or three months. The initial content updates will include more monsters, more weapons, additional item sets and special quests for ultimate items.

Additionally, subscribers will be allowed 24 character slots instead of 3, access to a Hardcore mode, special PvP arenas and a PvP ladder, the ability to bypass server queues, a shared storage space with room for 40 items instead of 20, the ability to create guilds, the ability to achieve officer status in guilds, and 24-hour customer support.

Subscribers and non-subscribers will be able to interact in all ways in the game. Non-subscribers can join guilds, but not create them.

The level cap is set to 50 for both subscribers and non-subscribers.

Development History

Flagship Studios has proposed regular additions to Hellgate: London throughout the life of the game.

• Monthly Events - All Hallow's Eve in October/November and Guy Fawkes Week in November.

• Content Patches - Released every 3-4 months for subscribers, although the first content patch, Patch 1, will be released earlier than normal, in December.

• Broad Content - Broad content includes new features, rebalancing, and bug fixes. New features like auction houses and a mail system will be added to the game as soon as they are finished and will not go into the standard patch cycle. Broad content will be available to everyone.

Monthly Events

Monthly events add several items to the game that require many different levels of involvement to obtain. Some of these events reoccur and some of them happen only once.

• All Hallow's Eve - Takes place on the week of Halloween. Included in All Hallow's Eve is candy with random effects, both cosmetic and beneficial, a buildable cyborg made from various parts, and a rare visage mask that gives its wearer a flaming skull for a head.

• Guy Fawkes Week - Guy Fawkes week begins on the 5th of November. Included in Guy Fawkes Week is items with flaming abilities and new instances that have a fiery theme, collectible candy is expanded upon from All Hallow's Eve, and many new recipes are added.

Content Patches

• Patch 0 - Patch 0 was released on launch day and includes an extensive recalibration of content from beta.

• Patch 0.1 - Patch 0.1 was released on November 5th, 2007, and included improved memory management code for stability as well as the first themed event for subscribers.

• Patch 1 - Patch 1 is slated for release in December, 2007 and includes a new hub, Stonehenge, located outside of the normal urban areas present in the game.

Reception

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Metacritic.com currently has Hellgate at 72 out of 100. Metacritic.com currently lists 14 Reviews by "Critics" to compute the currently rating of 72. Users of Metacritic Forums, meanwhile give it a 6.5 rating out of 10 points possible. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/hellgatelondon

PC Gamer recently gave Hellgate: London a 89 out of 100 in an exclusive review. Its cited reasons for the score were its solid and fresh take on the Diablo gameplay style. The review also pointed out the lack of a solid single player or story and the murky future of the subscription service.

The UK edition of PC Gamer found Hellgate: London to be a disappointment, giving the game 73% and citing unsatisfying combat and stilted movement as the main reasons for the lower mark. However, it did point out the surprising level of depth in the game's loot, equipment customisation and character development.

gave Hellgate London a 7 out of 10 ranking, and concluded in its review: "Hellgate: London has plenty of neat ideas, but many of them aren't executed as well as you'd like."

NZGamer.com stated that "Hellgate: London presents a wonderful story set against an artfully designed world but never goes that extra mile to separate it from the masses." scoring it 8.6/10.

1Up.com gave the game a low rating of 4.0 out of 10.0 with their review stating that Hellgate is "...not all bad. Underneath the frustrating instability, behind the graceless chat window, and beyond the procession of NPC dialog boxes, you tickled that deep primordial need to gather more stuff and get stronger. Loot and leveling are the essence of any RPG, and you're equipped to satisfy that jones. Now, if only you could straighten up the rest of your act, you might be more than a partner in whatever dysfunctional need you meet for those unfortunate players willing to put up with you. You might be an actual good game. But for now, get help. Patches, add-ons, reboots...whatever. If that happens, give me a call."

 gives Hellgate London the following ratings: GRAPHICS: 4.00 out of 5; 
                                                           SOUND: 3.00 out of 5; 
                                                           CONTROL: 3.50 out of 5;
                                                           FUN FACTOR: 3.00 out of 5.
 Pros: "Class variety is interesting. Loot drops will keep obsessive gamers occupied."
 Cons: "Randomized levels, endless combat and quest repetition, locked progression choices,
          lack of atmosphere."
 Summary: "What's unfortunate about Hellgate is that it's neither as fun nor as memorable as its spiritual predecessor." 

Bit-tech.net gave the game a 7 out of 10, citing poor graphics and uninspired gameplay as major faults, but praising the modification system and multi-player side of the game.

, gave the game 3 stars out of 5 possible & gave the "Multiplayer" a Fair Rating. PC GameSpy 
summarized Hellgate London in these words:
Pros: "Enjoyable combat; varied classes; tons of fun randomized loot; decent storyline; fun
       single-player campaign." 
Cons: "Badly implemented multiplayer component; bugs, slowdowns and crashes; randomized levels;
       boring quests."
Summary: "If the development team had poured half the creativity and personality into the setting, character, content or
story as they did into the fighting and looting, the game might have become a modern-day classic. Instead, what comes out of 
this Hellgate often feels a little underwhelming."
The Full Review can be found at: 

recently assigned the game a 6.8 "Passable" rating.

Pros:  The excessive amount of items and item customization were considered highpoints, as well
       as the overall "look" of the game. 
Cons: The game's primary weaknesses were cited as being overly repetitive gameplay and lack of 
      overall story/immersion, not to mention underdeveloped combat animations and abilities. 
Summary: The most common score given to Hellgate has been a 70, with repetitive gameplay
         and a lack of depth cited as the most common grievances.
The Full Review can be found at: 

Controversy

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There has been controversy about the buggy state in which the game was released, in contrast to games from the team's previous employer Blizzard Entertainment, who are famed for their "it will be released when it is ready". A possible reason for the apparently rushed release date is the extra content made available for Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes Night, thus necessitating a release date in time for these events. Due to problems with the subscription service, this extra content was made available to all players, both fee-paying and free-playing.

Delay of Patch 0 and Complaints of Poor Support for South East Asia (SEA) Server

While the EU and US servers have received recent patches and additional content since launch, support and patching of the SEA server has been delayed. IAHGames, the distributor of Hellgate London and the company providing the "Alliance" server for the SEA region, promised patch 0 on launch day itself . However, this was not followed through and there was no official date of implementation of patch 0 besides a tentative "soon". By 13th November, there is still no official word on the implementation of patch 0. On 14th November, a joint statement by the CEOs of IAHGames and Flagship Studios announced that the both Patch 0 and Patch 0.1 will be implemented on 22nd November and that they are considering some compensation for the early adopters.

Other Media

Comic

A comic book adaptation of Hellgate: London has also been released. Spanning a series of four issues, it is written by Ian Edginton, illustrated by Steve Pugh, and published by Dark Horse Comics. The issues will be collected into a trade paperback to be published in June 2007 (ISBN 1-59307-681-9). The collected comic was also included in the Collector's Edition of the game.

Novels

There will also be a trilogy of novels based on Hellgate: London written by Mel Odom. The first novel, called Exodus was released in June 2007. The second novel, called Goetia is scheduled for release in February of 2008.

Playboy Magazine

An issue of Playboy magazine featured an image of a female Templar named Avalon posing topless.

References

• "Hellgate: London Exclusive Interview". Blizzplanet. 2005-07-27. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
• GameSpot News EA added as new partner.
• NZGamer.com Review Review by NZGamer.com.
• Bit-tech.net review by Joe Martin.

Footnotes

1. ^ "EA AND NAMCO BANDAI GAMES ANNOUNCE NOVEMBER 2nd RELEASE DATE FOR HELLGATE: LONDON". Retrieved 2007-10-17.
2. ^ "South East Asia release date confirmed". Retrieved 2007-11-14.
3. "Hellgate London system requirements". Retrieved 2007-11-14.
4. Schiesel, Seth. "A Game Seeks Success Through Random Rewards". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
5. http://hellgatelondon.com/underground/subscribers-and-patch-0
6. http://hellgateguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3756
7. http://hellgate.iahgames.com/common/content.aspx?templateId=121b9a7b-90fa-48f2-b460-4040bf9ae29d&itemId=a2cb9cd9-7f1b-4fc8-a55e-176e385d345e&parentTemplateId=2e85be49-6a8b-4b67-8ae5-b3047663fade
8. http://hellgate.iahgames.com/common/content.aspx?templateId=121b9a7b-90fa-48f2-b460-4040bf9ae29d&itemId=2469435e-68de-467c-ae22-7a306a32edf1&parentTemplateId=2e85be49-6a8b-4b67-8ae5-b3047663fade
9. http://www.hellgatelondon.com/about
10. remo, Chris (2007-01-10). "Hellgate: London Online Scheme to be Determined, Includes Free Mode". Shacknews. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
11. Dobson, Jason (2007-01-22). "Flagship's Roper On Hellgate: London's Online Plans". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2007-05-10. Ocampo, Jason (2007-01-17). "Q&A: Bill Roper opens up about Hellgate: London". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
12. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=170702
13. http://www.hellgatelondon.com/underground/subscription-details
14. Remo, Chris (2007-05-08). "Hellgate: London Subscription Details Released". Shacknews. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
15. remo, Chris (2007-10-29). "Flagship's Roper on Hellgate: London's Future". Shacknews. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
16. 1Up.com - Hellgate: London - It's not the end of the world. Our review.
17. http://hellgate.iahgames.com/common/content.aspx?templateId=121b9a7b-90fa-48f2-b460-4040bf9ae29d&itemId=3db3a12f-3a15-4280-ac8f-235f7f165652&parentTemplateId=2e85be49-6a8b-4b67-8ae5-b3047663fade
18. http://hellgate.iahgames.com/common/content.aspx?templateId=121b9a7b-90fa-48f2-b460-4040bf9ae29d&itemId=29e260a9-277a-43c0-9361-17bf4e008e59&parentTemplateId=2e85be49-6a8b-4b67-8ae5-b3047663fade
19. "Hellgate: London TPB". Retrieved 2007-05-10.
20. Page for Hellgate: London: Exodus at the publishers website
21. Page for Hellgate: London: Goetia at the publishers website
22. These sites all report that a hellgate character appears topless in Playboy: , , ,

External links

• Official Hellgate: London site
• Official Hellgate: London community site for South East Asia
• Hellgate: London Demo
• Unofficial Hellgate Wiki
• HellgateDB Wikia Hellgate: London Wikia community information database
• Hellgate London Guru FAQ Frequently Asked Questions on Hellgate: London
• Hellgate London MMO DB Hellgate: London MMODB
• Ask Murmur Dedicated Hellgate: London information database
• Metacritic reviews

• Hellgate London Source German database with quests, items, zones, monsters and more
• Basin Hellgate Wiki Unofficial Wiki of Hellgate London, with information on "Factions, Demons, Items, Questing, Class Guides, Play Guides & Useful Links".

• Articles needing cleanup from November 2007
• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from November 2007
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from November 2007
• Windows games
• Role-playing video games
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