E3 Preview: Project H.A.M.M.E.R.

Another unique feature that a lot of people might not have noticed was Project H.A.M.M.E.R.'s leveling system. Under your health bar in the lower left was a small yellow "Level" bar. Every time you destroyed an enemy, or car, or anything, the bar would fill a bit more. I actually got all the way to level 4 in just the short five minute demo. I think I might have killed somewhere around fifty or so robots total. I'm not positive exactly how points are awarded, but I did notice that more proficient players who killed groups of robots and used special attacks gained level faster than others. However, more interesting is what the leveling does.

I never gained any abilities from the new levels, but each time my character's appearance changed and all of my attacks escalated in range, intensity, and damage. I noticed this first right as I made it to level 3. The mechanical left arm of my character grew larger and glowed more. By the time I neared the end of the demo and reached level four, the shockwave from my Charged Power Slam seemed to be roughly double its original size. While it took several hits to take out each robot at the beginning of the demo, by the end I was destroying them with a single hit. I believe the range of my dash attacks increased as well. It was really quite cool, once I noticed the changes.

This leads me to wonder if the actual game will have players level this quickly. Perhaps the speed of leveling was increased for the demo, just for show. I mean, at the current rate, I'd be at roughly level 50 in about an hour of play (assuming higher levels took the same amount of time to attain). How much larger can these attacks get? How much cooler and bigger can my character look? Will I gain new abilities? Is M-09 powered by rage? Why does simply destroying robots make him more powerful? This aspect of the game has me very excited. Without even having to think about it, you're constantly becoming more and more powerful with each robot you destroy.


The demo of Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was set in what appeared to be the streets of a modern city. The game ran at a steady frame rate and definitely was one of the best looking Wii titles on the show floor. I noticed what appeared to be some bump mapping as well. However, the particle effects are where the game shines. Every robot you destroy breaks into several pieces, which fly around. The same goes for some of the destructible objects in the game. It's quite cool. You can bash off enemy arms and some will even walk around, broken and smoking, trying aimlessly to get at you before they die. Also, in a nod to Metroid Prime, sometimes oil will get on the "camera" screen if you take out a few baddies in a particularly brutal fashion.


I particularly like the art direction for the robot designs. They all have a very retro 1950s robot look to them, but manage to still appear threatening and semi-modern at the same time. The design of the mech walker at the end was also very impressive. For some reason it reminded me of what a mech walker would look like in a 3D Advance Wars game (or Battalion Wars for those who've played it). The design of the main character, and his evolution through leveling, is also fairly unique and intriguing.

Overall, sure, the game isn't on par with some of the PS3 and Xbox 360 offerings, but no one is expecting it to be. It still looked very impressive and a noticeable step up from the GameCube. Aside from the overall muted color scheme (common in games of its type) I was pleasantly surprised by the visuals.


At first I was very skeptical. The game comes off as yet another generic third-person beat-em-up when you first glance at it. But once you actually play the game, it's quite addictive. It grows on you immensely. Every day that I'd think about it while writing this article, I'd get the desire to play it again.

Story-wise, the game has its work cut out. I'm not going to hold my breath for an in-depth story. However, at the same time, what was there has the potential to become more than a simple "Robots are attacking the U.S., save the world!" The sparks are there. It's now up to NST to ignite them. They're definitely on the right track though.

This is the first game of its kind I can recall Nintendo actually developing itself. NST has been kind of hit or miss during the GameCube generation, but recent titles like Metroid Prime Hunters for the DS have shown that the developer is capable of developing a best seller. I suppose we'll just have to see how capable they are at developing an original IP.

Keep your eye on Project H.A.M.M.E.R.. This one has potential.