E3 Preview 2005
What’s this
I be seein’? Another pirates game from Akella? Matey, and this one’s an RPG!
Swashbucklers: Blue & Grey looks to be the action/RPG version of Age of
Pirates. Set during the Civil War, Swashbucklers is an open-ended adventure
with multiple paths to take and multiple endings to achieve.
A huge
emphasis is being placed on the story, primarily the aspect of its
cinematographic movie sequences. At least some of the scenes are pre-rendered
(CGI). How the cinematographic style will be applied to them – your guess is
as good as mine. Bet on movie-based camera angles and scene-change techniques
that Hollywood has been using for over 50 years.
Next to The
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Swashbucklers had the best water at the
show. From realistic ripples and splashes to a texture job that’s out of this
world, Swashbucklers has buckets of H2O. In fact there’s a whole sea of that
stuff for you to see. Watching how the ships interact with it is the best
part.
Speaking of
interactivity, players can man the cannons while sailing the high seas. Enemy
ships and, if you’re foolish enough to get too close to shore, enemy castles
and/or fortresses will attack with fireballs. It’s all fun and games until
someone puts an eye out. Though I’m thinking that’s not much of a concern
considering the kind of game this is.
The ship
that you acquire is expected to last quite a while. Its size and strength may
not be able to get any better, but its arsenal most certainly can. Upgrade the
ship with cannonballs to give your enemies a taste of their own medicine.
Equip Gatling guns to blast open their barriers and to kill anyone who’s
attempting to board the ship. Or add a few powder rockets just for fun.
