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SEGA’s futuristic squad based shooter Binary Domain has been handed a 15 certificate age rating from the British Board of Film Classification due to it’s depictions of “strong violence”.The listing also reveals that game will feature 255 minutes of cut-scenes (that breaks down to 4 hours and 15 minutes). Earlier this week, the BBFC rating for Capcom’s Resident Evil themed squad shooter Operation Raccoon City unearthed that the game will feature just 19 minutes of cut-scenes by comparison to Binary Domain’s 255. Either Capcom don’t have much of a story to tell or they plan on telling it in-game while you’re actually playing.Binary Domain and RE: Operation Raccoon City are scheduled for release in Q1 2012.
There's no doubt that Binary Domain faces stiff competition in this genre, and from the opening 45 minutes or so of play, it's clear that its third-person shooting mechanics aren't exceptional in themselves. What's going to make this game stand out, then, is the very thing that could have been in danger of being compromised: its distinctive identity. Here's hoping that the Yakuza developers' talent for characterisation and detailed, engrossing settings shines through in the end.
Even without the multiplayer component, though, Binary Domain definitely looks like it'll bring the Yakuza series' storytelling style to bear here in impressive ways. If nothing else, having something that feels innately like a cyberpunk storyline with echoes of Philip K. Dick is more than enough to get us excited, and we eagerly look forward to checking out more of Binary Domain before it hits on February 14th. For now, enjoy all the screens we were able to cobble together for you, and check back soon for more updates as we get 'em.
Thankfully, that’s broken up by the levity among the five squad members. Each of them has their own personalities and agendas and players can build relationships with them. Like characters in a BioWare game, they react to choices and responses that players make. For example, Dan ends up being asked on a date by a young teenage girl. Players can take up the offer, possibly get arrested and earn the disapproval of all the teammates or he can just say no and avoid that moral minefield. (I was just joking about the arresting part by the way. The girl will just make fun of you anyway if you take up her offer.)
Binary Domain might be one of those games next year to save your holiday money for. Certainly with the hype over Yakuza’s very own Kazuma Kiryu making an appearance. Binary Domain will be out in stores starting February 17th for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
"Looking back at my career, I've worked on so many different genres, I've pretty much covered all the popular genres," he says, "Even though it wasn't the intention, Binary Domain is becoming something of a best of Nagoshi." Having peeked beneath its initially off-putting exterior, it's certainly set to be one of his more intriguing.
