Being developed by Camden, Dropships premier appearance to the press was unsatisfying as the game was far below the standard many other PS2 games have set, especially in the graphics department. But recently at the ECTS show the game returned with a vengeance showing off amazing graphics and is now looking like a very interesting action/shooter based game.

In this game the players main goal is to navigate a dropship (among other vehicles) and deliver troops, tanks and other military units to the battle field while shooting down enemy aircraft and defending their ship. The missions seem to be quite varied as sometimes youll be transporting the goods and other times you may be assigned to take the offensive and destroy an enemy camp. The enemy in which you will be doing battle with has similar vehicles at their disposal but each side has specific differences but in the end both sides are well balanced. Most vehicles and aircraft have a primary and secondary weapon. Each of which are easy to use so they dont require players to learn much advanced targeting techniques. Its one experience when you are flying at supersonic speed over the terrain but when you get into some of the other vehicles like the truck, you will be able to feel every bump and grove in the terrain and be able to drive across the whole level!

The environments in Dropship are absolutely huge! Possibly the largest polygonal worlds yet seen in a videogame. Were talking 1,600 square miles of terrain and its all being generated simultaneously thanks to the brute force of the ps2. Although it may not be the most efficient way to generate the levels, the ps2 doesnt seem to mind at all as the framerates are very high and the advantage is that there is no use whatsoever for fog or draw-in because the entire level is always visible. In addition to this, the levels also have a two mile high vertical ceiling. Players will be able to fly straight up, high into the air and see the entire level down below. Now that sounds cool. The terrain itself looks truly amazing and makes great use of highly detailed textures as well as in the sky but the aircrafts and vehicles still look a bit blurry. For some reason the textures detail on those is a significant step down from the terrain.

If the physics models for the vehicles in Dropship are on target, then this could be a very cool game. Also, be on the lookout for more information on the actual story line and gameplay elements soon. I will be keeping an eye on this title so expect an update soon. Dropship is scheduled for a September 2001 release and will use a DVD format disc.