The Nakatomi Tower helicopter pad is just one of the areas in the game. When Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza was first shown, FPS fans and fans of the original Die Hard film had reason to be dubious, as the trailer showed very little promise for the upcoming game. By E3, the developer--Piranha Games--surprised visitors to the Sierra booth with a version of the game that looked surprisingly better than the one displayed in the video, piquing the interest of those fans who might have already dismissed the game. At a recent Sierra press event, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza was once again on display, and it looks as though the game is steadily progressing and shaping up to be a respectable first-person shooter with a couple of interesting gameplay elements. However, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza still has some rough edges, but the development team hopes to smooth out any problems before the game's release later this year.

　　As you might have guessed from the title, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza is based on the first film in the Die Hard series in which a cop named John McClane tries to save hostages--and his wife--from a group of terrorists attempting to break into the Nakatomi vault. There are some slight differences between what you see in the movie and what you see in the game. In fact, Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza is only based on a portion of the movie because the development team wanted to show what was happening to John McClane when the camera wasn't on him. The result is a mix of the old floors seen in the movie with new floors completely devised and constructed by Piranha Games, and though they've taken some liberty with what appears on those new floors--everyone involved with the project likes to consider Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza the director's cut of the original Die Hard film.

　　Many of the levels feature destructable objects, such as glass windows. Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza has 40 levels to match the number of floors of the Nakatomi Tower from the movie, and as John McClane, you progress through each floor in a linear fashion, so you can't jump from the second floor to the eighth floor whenever you want. While that may not seem true to the movie, Piranha Games wanted to design a game that would appeal to fans of the movie as well as casual fans who may not know or remember which floors John McClane went to in the movie. This design choice is obvious in other aspects of the game: For example, you can use a radio to stay in constant contact with police officer Powell on the outside of the building. He gives you indirect hints that you can use in case it isn't clear what you're suppose to do in a particular area. Fans of the movie probably won't have to use this feature as much since many of the puzzles are actually stripped from the film, but Piranha feels that it's a necessary tool for an audience that may not know the film quite as well.

Welcome to the Party

　　You'll have a few weapons at your disposal. In addition to the radio, you have access to the more prominent items from the film such as the lighter, which is used for lighting up dark areas, as well as a 9mm semiautomatic, an MP5 submachine gun, and a police badge--a very important item in the game since you show it to the hostages to prove you're not one of the terrorists. As far as healing items are concerned, the only way you can heal yourself in the game is by finding an area on a particular floor that has a first-aid station. If you run off into a gun battle and receive a substantial amount of damage, then you have to run back to that area to heal yourself. This might seem a little inconvenient at first, but making the healing process somewhat difficult only gives you the incentive to use the game's morale and stamina features a little more effectively.

　　Morale and stamina have a huge impact on gameplay. With each terrorist you kill, a small part of your morale meter increases, and as it reaches higher levels, the terrorists become a little more hesitant and try to avoid a confrontation with you unless it's absolutely necessary. Conversely, you can lower your morale by firing your weapon wildly around a room or by consistently missing an enemy target. In either case, if your morale level is low, then the terrorists become much more aggressive, making it difficult to progress through each of the levels because it's more difficult to avoid a shootout with the terrorists. Stamina is another function of gameplay that can determine whether or not you're successful in a heated gunfight. Constantly running around a room or running up and down the hallways of Nakatomi Tower causes your stamina to decrease rapidly, forcing you to slow down and stop as your stamina recharges. It isn't exactly the best strategy to use, but if you're pinned down behind a wall or some other object in the environment, you can lean in and out of corners so that you can fire quickly and duck back behind cover.

　　Terrorist models and AI are still incomplete at this stage. Die Hard still has some progress to make before its final release. Placeholders are still being used for the terrorist models and their animations, and there is the usual assortment of visual glitches associated with a game in early development. But fans of the movies should be happy to know that Piranha has included even the smallest details from the film, so some areas within the Nakatomi Tower are immediately recognizable. The AI, which relies heavily on the morale system, is still incomplete at this stage, but terrorists will be able to hear shots fired from other rooms and will attack based on what your morale level is. Also, we weren't able to see any of the level-boss confrontations, but in the final release, you'll have to use your brains as well as your ammunition to win these battles. Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza is currently scheduled for a Q4 2001 release.