EA and Hasbro reveal G.I. Joe game

By Robert Purchese Published 11 February, 2009

To complement film this summer.

EA and Hasbro have unveiled a G.I. Joe videogame to complement the Hollywood film that launches across cinemas from 7th August.

The game - developed by Double Helix (Silent Hill: Homecoming) - will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS and mobiles.

Flashy-named lead designer Dax Berg described G.I. Joe to Eurogamer as a "modernised classic arcade shooter". It blends third-person blasting with drivable vehicles, melee combos, launcher attacks and even co-op satellite strike mini-games.

The story will pick-up after the events of the film, which stars Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller and will be directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, Van Helsing).

"Fortunately for us, Hasbro was very open to our ideas, so they opened the vaults for us when it came time to decide what content we wanted for the game - we weren't restricted to just what was presented in the film, although we did try to match the look and feel wherever it made sense," G.I. Joe game senior producer Matt Marsala told us.

"Instead, they allowed us to pull from the last four decades of G.I. Joe history, which included some of the coolest characters and vehicles, many of which have never been seen in a game before." Cool, probably.

Split-screen co-op for you and a friend will be present, and there's 12 familiar characters to choose from - each equipped with a unique move.

That playable dozen will be broken down into three classes: Commando, Heavy Soldier and Combat Soldier. And Matt Marsala told us picking the right people for the job will "be key", as Commandos are better at close range, while the latter pair favour big guns and serious long-range firepower.

But won't this just be a game for children who still play with plastic G.I. Joe toys? Apparently not.

"No matter what the franchise is, you still have to make sure that all of the core mechanics are in place and feeling really good - things like controller responsiveness, character, vehicle, and weapon variety and tuning, combat systems, AI, and encounter pacing are all things that we've put a lot of focus on in order to satisfy those core gamers," said Marsala.

The exact release date for the G.I. Joe videogame has yet to be set in stone.

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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