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Capcom unveils Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance

Comedy title aside, it sounds like a criminal blend of 3D Final Fight and Grand Theft Also with corruption and double-cross seeping from every pore.

Capcom is preparing to launch a vicious-sounding action-adventure set in a GTA-style city this autumn on PS2 and Xbox. Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance will drop you into the role of five different mercenaries for the leading Zanetti cartel in Las Sombras who, having been double-crossed by forces unknown, are forced to try and build up an empire to unmask and strike back at their unknown adversaries.

The world of Las Sombras is portrayed as a seedy crime-fuelled land of power, greed and corruption, and at the outset your five mercenaries are sent along to a rival gang's drug deal to sort them out - only to realise once they get there that they've been set up by forces unknown. With the rivals already murdered and members of their own cartel firing at them, they realise they've been set up to appear as traitors out to nab both the drugs and money. They split up and reconvene elsewhere in Las Sombras, where they attempt to rebuild, all the while wondering who was responsible for their plight. Capcom promises a twisting storyline full of betrayal, warring cartels and combat.

As the game unfolds you get to control one of the five fugitives at a time, using a low-key downtown bar as a hideout and scouring the streets for information and potential allies. As well as getting involved in brutal street combat - it ain't called Fists of Vengeance for nothing, it would appear - the five will also have to negotiate with potential gang-members, infiltrate various areas in disguise and generally work hard to increase their influence on the streets in order to hit back.

It all sounds a bit Grand Theft Auto, which is probably no coincidence, but the idea of a Capcom-made Grand Theft Also certainly fills us with interest. Whether it will play out that way remains to be seen anyway; the shots distributed by Capcom on Friday focus more on the combat than anything else, which looks... violent... And in addition to the single-player mode, Capcom's also touting a multiplayer offering, which will surely focus on that side of the game. Whatever the outcome, it looks like it could be worth keeping an eye on.