"Being different is beautiful"

By Robert Purchese Published 2 November, 2007

Says Legendary Box designer.

Spark Unlimited lead designer John Garcia-Shelton believes taking on market-leading games by imitating them is a mistake.

For him and his Pandora's Box-themed shooter Legendary: The Box, the key to success is offering you something unique.

"If I felt I was making a game like BioShock or Halo I would feel pressure to outdo them," John Carcia-Shelton told us. "But we bring something different to the table that they don't and it's that energy and intensity and experience for the player that we believe will make us stand out in our own way."

"You can't out-Halo Halo, and the same goes for BioShock, but being different is a beautiful thing that gamers want and appreciate."

Legendary: The Box lets loose all sorts of mythical nasties in modern locations like New York and London, and has you tussling with the razor-sharp talons of beasts like Griffins as you get your bus back from work.

It is built on Unreal Engine 3 and all looks very nice, and apparently enemy brains will mean you have meaningful and lasting encounters rather than hordes of extras to wipe-out.

Garcia-Shelton is also keen to point out that while first-person shooters have enjoyed wide critical success lately on consoles, the best way to enjoy them is still on PC.

"In the first-person shooter genre, the PC is very important. The point can be argued, but I still think the best first-person shooter experience is with a keyboard and mouse," continued Garcia-Shelton.

"For a decade now people have been predicting consoles doing away with PCs as a gaming platform. It hasn't happened, and I don't see it occurring any time soon."

Spark Unlimited is also making Turning Point: Fall of Liberty for Codemasters, and both games will be out on PC, PS3 and 360.

Legendary: The Box will be out early next year from Atari, with a demo expected before release.

Look out for our full interview with John Garcia-Shelton soon.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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