By:
Rebel Act studios
Is it possible to rest one bum on two chairs? At Sharky Extreme it's a question that we three little slappers (Amer, Craig and I) often ponder about. We've stayed up long hours debating it. But we don't have the definitive answer just yet. Still, no matter how hard developers have tried in the past, most have failed and ended up with egg on their faces when yearning to mix 'n match two very successful tired and tested formulas. But they keep trying and games, such as, Daikatana, Thief and now Blade are striving to mesh superb 3D visuals with a deeper RPG approach to gameplay and then rolling the whole caboodle into one tasty delicacy. In earnest (wow a new stock phrase eh?), think of Blade as a marriage between Quake's 3D engine and Diablo's RPG gameplay- you'll be on the right track. Intriguingly, it will be possible to play Blade from either a first or third person viewpoint reminiscent of Tomb Raider.
Blade's developers, Rebel Act Studios, do NOT hail from Dallas. Neither are they residents of Seattle. Actually they're not even American- they're Spanish. But don't let those facts dissuade you though. In development now for over two years, Blade's 3D engine should pack the beef where it matters. It harbours all the right moves too and is capable of pumping out a full 3D polygonal world with 3D polygonal characters in 16-bit colours and resolutions as high as 1024x768. Games such as Blade further enhance the argument that a 3D accelerator is verging on the essential. I mean the days of rubbing a mouse wheel in software are truly over. It's not just a case of keeping up with the Jones' anymore. Rebel Act Studios has still indicated that they will be prepared to code a software version should there be demand for one. But I'm not going to ponder at all on the software renderer, since all I've seen are a few shots from that version and as adequate as they look, I've not actually seen the game move in software.
However, I have seen Blade move in hardware. And as far as dynamic lighting goes (how does it go?), Blade's comes across well and seems atmospheric. Torches that cast shadows allow a player to spot foes as they draw closer down a dark corridor. Blade's 3D engine, also seems to be on the right track in its attempt at meshing 'corridor' type environments with outdoor environments. With no noticeable pop-ups the 3D engine does its job, whether recreating a valley, forest, town, volcano or an Aztec temple. The various environments are not just pretty; you can interact with them too. Some three hundred objects will be scattered around the various 17 levels, which can not only be picked up but as a player you'll be able use them too. For example, you can pick up a chair but you can also then throw it. Certain objects also need to interact with eachother in order to solve various puzzles. We reckon that this is where the RPG roots will firmly lie. So within the environments expect to spend time not only puzzle solving but also roaming around levels. Still at least it'll most likely look pretty eh?
