Earth No More unveiled
New game from 3D Realms.
Freshly formed Recoil Games - made up of former Max Payne developers - is working on a collaboration with old pals 3D Realms. It's called Earth No More.
Since you've shown an interest, it's a shooter in the old 'science-gone-wrong' mould for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is currently slated for a 2009 release.
ENM sees a man-made virus spread throughout the land, with the main character a young chap caught in the middle of it. As you attempt to unearth its origins you'll meet and group with other characters. But Recoil is keen to point out it will be neither a squad-based affair nor a solitary experience - a bit like the waiting room at a sexual health clinic.
Instead it seems we'll be treated to a Half-Life-type grouping, where we assume you won't have direct control over your pals. The interaction between characters is also going to play a large part in the story, and the level of depth is likened to BioWare's vast role-playing title Mass Effect
Cut-scenes will be done away with, too, in order to keep the cinematic feel and immersion as persistent as possible.
Co-operative play will feature throughout the entire campaign, and Recoil has suggested we may even be able to take on the role of enemies to spice things up. Other nifty features include collaborative weapons "like a reverse proton pack from Ghostbusters". You know - cross the streams rather than don't cross the streams.
Incidentally, 3D Realms insists that work on its other game Duke Nukem Forever is still going ahead. It also told us to expect another big announcement soon, although it will be one completely unrelated to DNF.