Kotaku
I've been hearing rumors about LucasArts new shooter lately, the one that isn't Star Wars Battlefront 3. Instead of revisiting a long, long time ago, the company is looking to the future with their American civil war game.
Yes, the future. The game won't feature a North and South divided, brother versus brother, musket battles, or soldiers decked out in wool uniforms. Instead, the title will recount an all too familiar East Coast versus West Coast battle, thankfully sans hip-hop soundtrack.
Further unlike our nation's previous civil war, points of contention will focus less on slavery and taxation, but more on the evolution of the human race. In a nation separated by a midwestern wasteland, one side will focus more on nano-machinery and cybernetic development, the other on genetic manipulation and man-made evolution that will help create a race of super soldiers. This means characters will be stronger, faster, and heavily armored, whether by futuristic combat gear or thick biological shells.
But the game's real draw is its weapon system.
The first- and third-person shooter features some nifty land deformation schtick courtesy of an advancement in weapons technology. Players will be armed with grenades that can transform the landscape to their advantage, whether it be to establish cover or to reach new heights on a particular level, you'll literally reshape the battlefield. Each splintered faction will also have access to firearms that deploy mines that travel beneath the surface at rocket speeds to take out enemies and carve out craters. Expect plenty of flying rocks.
From what I've heard, LucasArts is readying a massive undertaking to ensure that their newest original shooter becomes a franchise hit. The game is slated to come to the latest generation of consoles, but a PC version may also be in the works.
We'll update when we hear more on LucasArts upcoming project.
Comments
Awesome sounding, but what's the source?
HUuUUUUUUUUh!! DO WANT!
You had me at "nano". Sounds like something I'd play.
so like Red Faction only you can blow up everything? I loved Red Faction but i hated how it was limited in what you could be blown up. Was still fun as hell to play that glass house training thing and build tunnels and stuff.
so is this going to be like an MMO type thingy, or a Quake Wars/Battlefield type thingy, or a single player thingy?
Dang! I was looking forward to choosing the side of General Lee or General Grant and dual-wielding muskets, stuff like that.
I like how you said it was the newest original shooter when most shooters are the same in nature. Hopefully this has alterable terran like you mentioned.
Concept art caught my eye. With the new "Force" game coming out, it'll be interesting to see what directions they take their game engine.
So yet again America = All humanity. *Sigh*
Although it is nice to see Lucasarts branching out like they said they would.
West Coast FTW!
But will it have a Hoth level?
East Coast ROXORZ!!
Red vs. Blue states! that's great
lucasarts is so hit or miss with their stuff that i wish them the best with this.
tie fighter was the shit.
@noneother:
TIE Fighter (and X-Wing and X-Wing Alliance) were back when Totally Games developed the space-sim games and LA published them.
LucasArts hasn't really put out a good game in a longtime (longer if you disregard a lot of the point and click adventures).
Sounds pretty cool. The one thing I don't get is why have the option of first or third person. You could do that in Battlefront 2, but you can't really use first person if others are using third. It's like handicapping yourself.
@kikuchiyo: ah, well, bust.
i had a good time with Republic Commando though, i guess, except for the shitty ending and repetetive gameplay.
EAST SIDE- REPReSENT!1
This sounds really cool-- hopefully they'll beusing that physics engine they were showing off earlier this year (with the Artoo tossing)!
It's too bad that they aren't doing an American Civil War shooter. That would, after all, be pretty original. The only particular antecedents I can think of are certain bits of TimeSplitters and one add-on level from Lucasarts' own Outlaws. It's virgin territory, people -- exploit it!
Machines vs. Clones? Sounds like Total Annihilation (and Earth 2140 for that matter, for anyone who remembers that one) to me.
@Jawajoey: There are various sources at work here. It took some investigation to sort out the details.
@beukema: Someone else is already doing that. :)
"In a nation separated by a midwestern wasteland"
So it'll be just like it is today?
Be funny if there was a third party in the game, like in Dune II. Those crazy Canadians, sittin' up there... just PLOTTING. We'll paste you with snowballs, then hide in our igloos.
Sound like it's got potential. At least it's not another me too shooter based on WWII.
The weapons almost sound like Scorched Earth. God, those dirt bombs always caused hell.
Now do i side with my birthplace of San Diego California or where i currently live in the Hampton Roads area of VA?
@criminallyinane: Dued, it's all about Iowa and Omaha! the East and West Coasts are nothing but necropolises waiting to be swallowed by the sea!
Kidding. Don't kill me.
This games shaping up to be pretty cool looking; hopefully it won't bomb.
@Tybee: Dude, don't even joke. With such classics as the Stormtrooper chorus line, the Sam & Max cave in "Dark Forces", the X-Wing and Tie-Fighter in "Secret Weapons Over Normandy" and other little surprises in a long history of Easter Eggs *insert pointless link to archive page with only the story its linked from here* there's a decent chance it'll end up somewhere in there. And if not, there's always DLC.
@noneother: "Republic Commando" was tons of fun, here's hoping for a sequal.
@crazyspoonhead: Or "Republic Commando":P
@McWhertor: That's a pretty sweet looking Icon:)
It looks like there is a cropped out logo in the bottom left corner by the gun that isn't lucasarts. A long yellow horizontal swish?
@beukema: Seroiusly .. someone else on this planet earth played Outlaws??!! that was possibly my favorite game when i was the tender age of .. what .. 13.. 14? don't even remember now.
Never played the civil war level .. i can only imagine that it rocked as hard as the rest of that game.
Anyways.. I am a little upset that it is America's historical Civil War ... that would be brutal on current systems... Someone mentioned there was a Civil war game in the works... any info on that? would love to read up..
* nerd alert!
It's 'long time ago' not a 'long, long time ago'.
Which side is which?
And West Coast FTW!
@Camperton: Gah! Good point! Noted, but not edited. :)
@Roguestriker: That's a good question. I dunno! But I'll be a player divided, as I love both coasts.
I'm too disillusioned with LucasArts to care. I'm still out 50 bucks for a buggy patchless StarWars Battlefront 1. LucasArts has yet to respond to my emails.
@PaulSoth: Hell yeah - I was hoping Worms XBLA would fill my wanton lust for Scorched Earth - but alas - it was not the same. A 3D reimagining of Scorched Earth this is.
See what I did there? Yoda? Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda.
I'll stop now.
@silkysm00th: It came out for the 360. It didn't get very good reviews.
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/strategy/historychannelciv...
That last game I posted about also came out for PS2 and PC. Apparently the guys who made Advent Rising are also making a future American civil war game.
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/empire/index.html?q...
but but but.... what about hawaii? wait! i know! we are the west coast's nuclear missile base and the east coast cant hit us~!
@Zod-like:
the rest of the world is no fun to fight. they whine when they get blowed up
Too bad. We already have more than enough futuristic shooters, but I would gladly play a shooter set during the historical Civil War. I don't care how long it takes to reload those old guns, there's ways to make the concept interesting and fun without sacrificing too much realism.
@Zod-like:
sigh... once again a non-American whines about the story in a fictional game-related fairytale created by Americans.
Make your own game and leave the Americans out entirely! That will show those self-important Yanks.
Actually, being friends with many Americans, I'm sure they wouldn't give a toss.
There's at least one thing you can learn from them.
I gave up caring about anything LucasArts were doing a long time ago. O how the mighty have fallen.
I think a PC version god-damn well better be in the works.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Gonna bag me some Hippies!
Any idea if they'll have conservation of mass in this game? That's all we need is another game where you can blow stuff up and gee, that grenade was really just a hunk of antimatter, 'cause all that dirt is just completely gone..
@Zod-like: Go play Battlefield 2142?
Sweet get to work damn it... I want to see 3d excution of concept art then i'll get excited.
"thankfully sans hip-hop soundtrack"
What?? Can't you imagine an Augustus "Cole Train" Cole type character putting someone down and screaming: "Thats why I f*cked your b*tch you fat mother f*cker."
p.s. Tupac FTW!!
Lucas Arts has given us quality in the past(Mercenaries, Battlefront) so hopefully they don't screw this original and interesting backstory up. They should totally exploit online multiplayer, like in Battlefront and Battlefield.
West Coast FTW!!!!
Wait for the Canadian & Mexican expansions.
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