First Look – E3 2002
Magic has destroyed the
world and now it is up to you to rebuild it.
Phenomic and JoWood have
teamed up to bring gamers a real-time strategy game that combines elements of
role playing for an immersive game that will delight players with its visual
dynamics.
Spellforce is slated for
release in the first quarter of 2003, but GameZone was able to get a quick
preview of the build at the E3 2002 in Los Angeles.
The game sports a free
character system, multiplayer cooperative play and an evolving storyline that
will entice fans of both RTS and RPG games.
As the storyline goes, the
world has been destroyed by magic, and only a few islands remain, floating above
the planet. Your avatar enters the world, must rebuild cities, and recruit
heroes to help join his cause to stop the coming evil.
The game world is
persistent, and the game features a movable camera that will allow players to
zoom in on the action, or view it from above.
Controls have been kept
simple, allowing both the novice and experienced gamer the opportunity to jump
right in and play. Combat is a mixture of strategy and magic. You can use a
spell to neutralize the strongest of the enemy units, and then attack the
underlings before rejoining the battle against the tougher foe. Graphically the
game is lush, with rich environments and solid character animation.
Spellforce is geared for
minimum system specifications of a GeForce 1 video card, and a Pentium II 500
MHz machine.
This is a program that
should appeal to a broad range of players, having successfully integrated
elements of RTS and RPG in a fluid, immersive game.
