Project H.A.M.M.E.R

By Mathew Kumar Published 24 May, 2006

Bangin' on.

There came a point during Nintendo's E3 conference - somewhere between the time Reggie was banging on about "innovation" and "feel" and "change" and "it's hot if it's disruptive" and "the next leap" and "inclusion, not exclusion" and the time we tried to fashion a noose out of our laptop keyboard only to realise it was over and we could go home - that it dawned on us there wasn't really a lot of time spent discussing the new new things.

Project H.A.M.M.E.R., for example, was up on screen for no time at all. Disaster: Day of Crisis disappeared before we'd even typed the name. Why is this? Goodness knows. Here's what I know: the main fellows in both are big, angry and bearded. Like Brian Blessed in Terminator - one of those rare occasions that buying crap knock-off Hong Kong DVDs with the sound mixed up pays for itself.

Once away from Reggie's bullish belt-up-to-his-chinning, we settled into the playable E3 demo of H.A.M.M.E.R. - surely a cipher worthy of Dan Brown - and discovered it tasks you with guiding impressively hirsute cyborgs around short, linear levels smashing the bejesus out of everything. With a hammer. This usually amounts to evil robots, but you've also got cars and, of course, crates. The next leap in crates, obviously.

But let's talk setting. After all, stroppy half-man half-machine all-beard lead characters aren't something you come across every day. So far, Nintendo's been disappointingly tight with the details, but what we know is that our hammer-wielding protagonist is mankind's last hope against an invading army of robots, and that the player will be battling his way across the United States. So we can, at least, hope we'll get to smash up lots of famous bits of American cities. Knock down the Alamo, try and ring the Liberty Bell, or crush the LA Convention Centre during the middle of May, perhaps? If only. Not that you're going to have a lot of time to appreciate the local attractions, with Star Wars-style droid dispensers spitting out robots with no end in dystopian sight.

'Project H.A.M.M.E.R' Screenshot 1

Still, despite the promise of frantic, smashing nunchuck violence, it was slightly deflating to find H.A.M.M.E.R. straddling the divide between old and new like so much of its Wii brethren. Controlling the main character with the nunchuck is fair enough, as he's perfectly responsive and stomps about in a blind rage (you should see the size of his neck muscles), but you have to question the official blurb's, "Players use the Wii Remote just like a real hammer to control the hero's weapon." That's not really the case.

Having seen how well suited the Wii remote is to both Wii Sports: Tennis and Wii Sports: Baseball, we expected to be slapping enemies with it like a kind of demented Arnie whack-a-mole, but it's far more constrained than that. Waving the controller from side to side activates a spin attack, and slamming the controller down activates a heavy attack that stuns any enemies in the blast radius. Pressing A activates the normal attack. Pressing A? Man!

Yep, even when you are moving the Wii controller to perform (exciting looking) attacks, you're only triggering pre-scripted animations and this robs it of a potentially delightful immediacy. The fact that you're really not doing anything that couldn't be done with the buttons is disappointing.

On the bright side, it's already a very polished and accomplished third-person title, featuring some suitably handsome cityscapes and glowing effects when you're performing hammer attacks, and reasonably voluminous swarms of robots exploding in pleasing showers of scrap metal.

It's frustratingly hard to know what to make of Project H.A.M.M.E.R, though. Of all the E3 demos, it's the one with the least to offer above what's possible on a joypad. Then again, there's every chance, too, that they're simply testing the water. With a hammer. And that a splash, of some sort, may fellow. Along - you'll be hoping - with some better puns. More on H.A.M.M.E.R. when we hear it.

Nintendo has not announced a release date for Project H.A.M.M.E.R.

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About Mathew Kumar

Read more articles from Mathew by visiting the Mathew Kumar archive page.

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Comments (49) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • abeit2 #1 6 years ago

    Oh well

  • elvenearth #2 6 years ago

    I think that I would be more interested in Day of Diaster, but it could be good as a demo game in a shop.

  • UncleLou #3 6 years ago

    I could be wrong, but I am not sure the basic concept is enough to carry a whole game.

  • #4 6 years ago

    Hmmm, gestures, hmmm. Not inspiring.
    If I get a Wii, I'll be sticking to games where your actions are effectively mirrored. Also, I'll be sticking to "Party" games, seeing as I see the Wii as more of a "Party" console.
    /Please don't flame me - it's just an opinion!

  • Blerk #5 6 years ago

    U can't touch this!

  • AspLeaf #6 6 years ago

    Imagine this turning into a "Blast Corps - sort of thing". I miss Blast Corps.

  • Hog-lumps #7 6 years ago

    they are all just using wiimote gestures as button replacements right now, and that is basically

    I don't think that's totally true - What about the look movements in metroid? Doesn't that map to the position of the controller?
    Edited by 2 at 24/05/06 @ 11:54

  • The_Aardvark #8 6 years ago

    @MMUK

    To an extent I agree with you, there's not a lot of genuinely free-form control yet. Wii sports, maybe. But I suspect that we might find that what you consider 'long-winded' is actually quite fun and immersive in its own right.

    Time will tell, I guess.

  • Triggerhappytel #9 6 years ago

    "our hammer-wielding protagonist is mankind's last hope against an invading army of robots"

    Should there be some sort of post-E3 award for Fucking Shit Premise of the show?!

    @ Blerk - Stop! Hammer time.

  • Blerk #10 6 years ago

    Please Hammer, don't hurt 'em!

  • muck_savage #11 6 years ago

    Looks like a bit of a brain dead basher.

    Hey Sega...how about a gesture controlled Streets of Rage please?

  • Lagto_Soa #12 6 years ago

    My party, it's my party, I'll take it where I want to - a pump it up party! Anyone need a new mobile?
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 12:03

  • gth #13 6 years ago

    so you are saying this game could also be played with an eye toy camera...

  • drumbaby #14 6 years ago

    Should appeal to fans of hammers.

  • afray #15 6 years ago

    @manicminer

    Procedural animations would be slightly over the top! Just boned animations (which even the PSP can handle), where you can pivot part of the body around another (say, torso around the pelvis) would allow you to map the remote movements directly to the in-game model.

    And there are various E3 games which already map the movements directly without using gestures: The airplane game in Sports for instance.

    So although your concerns are valid (just chucking in a gesture does not a Revolution game make) I don't think you have to worry.

  • gizmo #16 6 years ago

    What a rubbish concept for a game. Its going backwards, not forwards. I suspect the Wii-Wii remote is going to be a HUGE disappointment for a lot of people.

  • IAmBatman #17 6 years ago

    Why does every Wii screenshot need an inset showing someone looking like a mong? We get it, you wave the controller around. We know what a slack-jawed idiot waving a controller looks like.

  • Tonka #18 6 years ago

    @blackdog

    You are confusing me. Did you like Dragons Lair despite being all graphics and no substance? If not, why do you keep slagging the Wii for it's weaker graphical abilities?

  • Satan #19 6 years ago

    This game is gonna RAWK. HAMMERTIME

  • ecureuil #20 6 years ago

    What is it with this stupid obsession of having Wii screenshots that show a picture-in-picture of some gormless twat sitting on a couch holding the controller? I don't get that with Halo - having a picture of Master Chief shooting with a close-up of the depressed R trigger of an Xbox controller. It's pointless.
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 13:14

  • Tonka #21 6 years ago

    I liked Dragons Lair as a spectator
    In that case I have a real treat for you.

    it looked just like a Walt Disney production.
    Don Bluth worked for Disney before he started his own studio.

    As with Project H.A.M.M.E.R, Dragons Lair had pre-scripted animations
    That is streaching it a bit isn't it? That could be said about any game. If I press the A button and my character fires a shot, isn't that just as pre-scripted?

    The games on the Wii look as impressive as those on the Cube and not as impressive as those on the Playstation 3 and X360.

    I agree that Wii games will not look as good as 360 and PS3 games. But IMO they look better than Cube games. Have you seen any decent SMG footage and compared it to Sunshine vids? Don't you think that SMG looks better than Sunshine?


  • JetSetWilly #22 6 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK

    I see where you're coming from and to an extent I share your concerns. I think if you look at it from the perspective of accessibility using Wiimote gestures makes more sense.

    To a seasoned gamer there is nothing more simple than pressing one of the many buttons on the control pad. You're used to that interface and find it intuitive. However, using gestures may be a way of getting someone to play H.A.M.M.E.R who otherwise would not play it.

    As a very simple case in point: my missus is hooked on Zoo Keeper on my DS. Playing using the stylus is simple and intuitive for her. Yes she could achieve the same results with the D-Pad and buttons but if that had been the only control scheme available there's no way on this earth she'd have tried the game.

    I'm not saying that this is necessarily better than a control pad, but I do at least think there's logic behind it in terms of what Nintendo want to achieve.

  • Carrybagma #23 6 years ago

    /bonk

    No points.

  • jimmyboo #24 6 years ago

    I think what everyone's forgetting is that this is very like still in the "concept" stage of development. Considering it's a "Nintendo Original", does anyone really doubt they will deliver an engaging game?... though, it might take them several years to actually release it.

    As for scipted vs. "natural" motions, I imagine this is more to do with the fact that the control mechanism is (almost) entirely new, rather than any limitation of the Wii hardware. Developers are still figuring out how best to utilise it, Nintendo included. I think, in the fullness of time, we will see more and more successfully implemented control mechanics where the movement of the Wiimote more accurately maps to what you see on screen.

  • Genji #25 6 years ago

    I don't think Nintendo are stupid. I think they'd be very aware of all the potential problems raised by sites like this. It's still early days yet.

    Anyway, I think this acronym beats F.E.A.R.

  • foxy2006 #26 6 years ago

    why does every Wii screenie have to be pictured with a couple of pop idol rejects throwing shapes in an ikea showroom?

    Is that what gamers are supposed to look like? LMFAO

  • SirScratchalot #27 6 years ago

    " - the more I think about it, the more convinced I become that this is the ONLY way the wiimote can ever be used. The alternative (reproducing your motions ingame) would require huge procedural animation systems, and I can't see the Wii having anywhere near the kind of processing power it would need to do that sort of stuff in real time... hell, I think the 360 and PS3 would struggle"

    This is completely wrong, it was done fairly easily back in the day of 486:es with the likes of Die by the sword, etc. So no biggie there, it just needs som simple ragdoll for most of it.

  • tiddles #28 6 years ago

    What does the HAMMER bit stand for, anyway?

  • Gradthrawn #29 6 years ago

    "I'm not saying that this is necessarily better than a control pad, but I do at least think there's logic behind it in terms of what Nintendo want to achieve. "

    I think that's exactly what Nintendo hopes to achieve. I believe you hit then nail on the head when you said:

    "To a seasoned gamer there is nothing more simple than pressing one of the many buttons on the control pad. You're used to that interface and find it intuitive. However, using gestures may be a way of getting someone to play H.A.M.M.E.R who otherwise would not play it."

    I believe their goal is to do exactly that, to attract people to games who would otherwise not play them. I think their official statement is something along the lines of "attracting hardcore gamers, people who use to play games, and people who've never played games before." But, I think as ManicMiner's concerns illustrate, will they actually be able to attract the hardcore gamer? In their strategy to attract the "non-gamer" will they alienate the core gamer (the seasoned gamer, as you put it)? Come this Holliday season, is the core gaming community going to spring for the Revolution or maybe opt to spend that money on 3 PS3/360 games instead, feeling the Re-mote is too gimmicky?

    Then again, maybe Nintendo's not concerned with "that" type of gamer this Holliday season. Maybe they want to appeal to the mass market, first, a complete departure from the normal approach, then pull the normal gamer's back in later on, because they know damn well we can't resist Samus and Link. lol It will be interesting to see how things play out.

    P.S. Yes, I called it the Revolution and not… not that ”other” name. :p
    Edited by 2 at 24/05/06 @ 14:23

  • Genji #30 6 years ago

    "What does the HAMMER bit stand for, anyway?"

    Heavily Armored Mech Mallet Emergency Response

    (I don't know)

  • JetSetWilly #31 6 years ago

    LOL I'm debating with my sequel!

    If only Matthew Smith had ever finished "At the foot of the MegaTree" there could be three of us!

    The thing with gestures is that they have to have some context, however tenuous, within the game world. And ideally the gesture that accomplishes a particular action should be reasonably obvious within that game world without the need for lengthy tutorials. If you look at Nintendo's E3 trailers how many of the gestures for the games don't fit the requirement I've just described? (I don't know the answer to that btw).

    What concerns me most is if Wiimote gestures, like often happens with the DS stylus and touch screen, are used for the sake of it rather than because it's more natural or enhances the game experience.

  • jack_klugman #32 6 years ago

    Stop! Hammer time.

    H.A.M.M.E.R. time.

  • Rambaldi #33 6 years ago

    Surely I'm not alone in being put off by every single picture of people playing with Wii - I WANT TO CHILL MAN!!!!

  • kangarootoo #34 6 years ago

    @ManicMinerUK

    "it used the number pad as an input device, which meant they only needed eight keyframes and could just blend between the frames"

    No no no no no no no. Playing DbtS using the keypad is like playing EAs Fight Night using the controller buttons. You could play DbtS using a mouse, and waving the mouse in any direction would move the hero's arm in any direction.

    ANY DIRECTION! It was (and still is) awesome. The speed with which you swipe the mouse contributes directly to the power of your blow. Easy to grasp, hard to master.

    Plus as a bonus, you could put your sword away and pick up other stuff to smack enemies with. There is nothing quite like bashing an Orc with his own severed arm, that is still holding his own sword in its hand!

    First thing I did before posting was search for Die by the Sword references. SirScratchalot is spot on with the comparison, frankly its a ludicrous oversight to limit the game in the way it has been. I can only assume/hope that no-one on the project had seen DbtS before. Because if they had, I don't quite see what the excuse is...
    Edited by 1 at 24/05/06 @ 15:04

  • JetSetWilly #35 6 years ago

    I don't quite see what the excuse is...

    I would expect that you can gesture much faster with the Wiimote.

    I think the Red Steel developers remarked of their sword fighting that if you made the sword mimic exact movements the player can reduce the swordfight to a farce by endlessly repeating the same gesture really fast. In which case you may as well be button mashing.

    I'm not saying that's a good thing, just trying to think what the reasoning behind it may be.

  • kangarootoo #36 6 years ago

    Well OK, I think in hidsight I was perhaps a little harsh. But with DbtS, jiggling your mouse about wouldn't result in super fast attacks, as some momentum was still factored into the sword on screen. It was something you had to get used to if you wanted to make positive progress through the tougher parts of the game.

    I am well aware that developing a good game mechanic is far more difficult than simply writing high level ideas on a bit of paper. But Nintendo are really good at this sort of thing, and going by the preview (which is of course of an unfinished product, so taking that into account) it seems disappointing that they apear to have taken the line of least resistance in this case.

  • BraveArse #37 6 years ago

    "What does the HAMMER bit stand for, anyway?"

    I think it stands for Hammer.

  • SirScratchalot #38 6 years ago

    @ManicMiner:
    No worries, we can´t all play every single game in the world :)
    This is what I´m really interested in discussing actually I really think that gesturing will be superior to button mashing. As an example Blerk once asked me how one could play a football game with the wiimote and I thought that really making an upward motion to lob the ball high, or a curving motion to curve the ball in exactly the way you want it seemed miles more intuitive and eventually powerfull than the "pass" and "Hold button to shoot harder" techniques I´ve seen in footy games.
    Same for fighting games, making a circle in the air and hitting A just feels, intuitively when I think about it far, far easier than using the d-pad to make said circle.
    I have mounds of stuff that just makes ME as in me personally feel, yes, this is how I want to play games. As always there will be personal preferences though. The Swedish Quake championship was once on by a man playing with keyboard only.
    Edited by 2 at 24/05/06 @ 19:03

  • Carrybagma #39 6 years ago

    Oh - I completely forgot:

    What about the queues for this one then, Mathew?

    :o)

  • Roamer #40 6 years ago

    I've said it in another thread, but here goes;

    The Wiimote, by nature, is a much more intuitive device for replicating movements in 3D, simply because you can wave it around and the Wii sensor will tell whether you're holding it high or low; close or far away; left or right.

    A D-Pad or an analog stick, in contrast, can only map movements in 2D, and needs to be used in conjunction with another analog stick or d-pad to portray 3D movements. This is, of course, more cumbersome and less intuitive - especially for a non-gamer.

  • dk_rare #41 6 years ago

    Hehe, that boy playing H.A.M.M.E.R is cute

  • Bidermaier #42 6 years ago

    The problem is that you only need 0.01 s to locate a button and press it. Doing a gesture with the controller takes a lot longer. If most of the games are going to use a gesture layout instead of directly controling de action using the remote like an extension of the hand a LOT of the actractive will be gone.

    sorry for my engrish

  • 3william56 #43 6 years ago

    There's also the issue that if you did map the wiimote to every hammer motion, it'd be knackering! Dunno about the rest of you, but it gets to be a pain holding up the gun for a whole game on House of the Dead or Time Crisis, let alone waving the damn thing around to bop a couple of hundred droids on the noggin. Unless Ninty are going to be handing out carbon fibre forearm replacements, full gesture-vision will be limited to short mini game type affairs or beat-em-ups. A half life type with pointy biz... ow! Metroid with wiimote sounds like a guaranteed FPS RSI.

  • SirScratchalot #44 6 years ago

    I dunno about knackering, I would love to see the wiimote applied to ninja gaiden for example - a small swipe with the wrist and a small upward motion dosen't take a lot more than hitting a button. Watching the 1up show they actually discuss this with one guy resting it on his leg and playing with his wrist and another standing doing big motions. The wii-mote seems to be able to handle both just fine.

  • Juriel #45 6 years ago

    You...press A for an attack...?
    Gah. Devs don't get the possibilities of the gimmick...

  • gizmo #46 6 years ago

    "using gestures may be a way of getting someone to play H.A.M.M.E.R who otherwise would not play it."

    And they say, "So this is what gaming is all about, hitting an endless stream of robots with hammers. I'll pass thanks, thought I might have been missing out on something"

  • #47 6 years ago

    I don't think this game is targetted at non-gamers. There's a taskforce that Nintendo have created to develop specific games for the Wii - which I think wii be the equivalent of the 'touch generation' games for the DS.

    Bear in mind also that Nintendo themselves, in keeping with making games accessible for non-gamers, have said that the Wii is designed for short-ish pick-up-and-play experiences. Hence, the desire for fast system start-up (like GC) and quick loading times (also like GC).

    Nintendo have probably long conceded that those long, FMV-laden epic-type games (like the forthcoming FF13) are Sony's fort. Nintendo can't really compete in that space and even if they could they probably wouldn't wish to.

    Like the DS, which had it's fair share of problems before and after launch, I'd be fairly confident that Nintendo do know what they're doing.

    Edited by 1 at 25/05/06 @ 10:14

  • kangarootoo #48 6 years ago

    @gizmo

    I'm sure if you oversimplify, you will always find a way to make something look bad.
    Edited by 1 at 25/05/06 @ 10:25

  • urban #49 6 years ago

    that really was a terrible pun