3DO go to hell
Post-apocalyptic adventure a far cry from Army Men
3DO are taking a break from their usual output of fluffy family-friendly Army Men games to produce the ominously titled Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse, a futuristic dark fantasy game with adults themes, mature content, and lashings of blood. Co-created by comic book artist Simon Bisley of 2000AD and FAKK2 fame, it's loosely based on the Biblical tale of armageddon and is being pitched by 3DO as "The Matrix meets Hellraiser". Certainly an interesting mix of inspirations, then. Taking on the role of Abaddon, players must track down three Chosen ones to do battle with Pestilence, War, Famine and Death. Lovely. Aside from the darker subject matter, the game will also feature "incredible gore and destruction", varying from simple dismemberment to realistic exit wounds, with the necessary mayhem caused by weapons including swords, magic and projectile weapons. There's also the promise of "adult themes" and even some "brief nudity" as players progress through the game and its graphic novel style cutscenes (which, thanks to the involvement of Bisley and friends, should look a lot better than the ludicrous Photoshopped abominations found in Max Payne). 3DO are obviously trying to establish a more serious reputation for themselves with this game, and they're certainly not sparing any expense in the process. As well as Simon Bisley, Marvel and DC Comics veteran Dave DeVries will also have a hand in the game, Smashcut Action Team (who apparently worked on Fight Club and The Matrix) will be choreographing and performing fight moves and death scenes, voice acting will come courtesy of cult actors such as Tim Curry (Charlie's Angels, Legend) and Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Millenium), and even porn star Traci Lords is getting in on the act. Four Horsemen is due out on PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and even the GameCube some time next autumn. A mature big budget game that's actually worth playing. From 3DO? Shurely shome mishtake.