Fallout Tactics, Sacrifice

Publisher: Interplay
Developer: 14 Degrees East
Release Date: ?

Squad Combat

Anyone who has ever played either of the two excellent Fallout games knows of the awesome turn-based combat system available. Interplay has decided to try and bring it into multiplayer in the form of squad combat. The game is still early in development, but the idea of the highly-detailed Fallout combat engine used for multiplayer squad warfare is intriguing.

Here's a snip from the Fallout Tactics website:

Fallout: Tactics is a turn-based, third person tactical combat game with RPG character development and depth of story line.

Fallout: Tactics will feature a robust phase-based multiplayer engine.

Fallout: Tactics takes place in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the middle of North America. The player controls the main character as the leader of a squad of Brotherhood of Steel warriors. The squad consists of a maximum of six characters, including the main character.

Of course, the use of the Fallout engine means the slightly dated graphics associated with it, but even those are being improved, and we'll trade graphical quality for gameplay anytime. We'll be following the development of this game very closely.

Quick correction from Interplay: -ed

Sacrifice

Publisher: Interplay
Developer: Shiny
Release Date: Q3 2000

OMG	Rumble, rumble, boom!

Shiny Entertainment has made quite a name for itself since the company always experiments with games that have a different feel. MDK, Messiah and now Sacrifice are totally new takes on old genres. While the first two were swift kicks in the rear of the 3rd person games, Shiny has decided to try its hand in the RTS market with Sacrifice. Wow. Sacrifice isn't as radically different from other RTS games as MDK and Messiah were from 3rd person action games, but the differences are noticeable and will likely have a major design impact on future titles.

Hello

Circle of something

Much like Total Annihilation, your persona actually has an embodiment in the game. You are the wizard, the one who constructs things and casts all sorts of cool spells. Unlike TA's commander unit however, you build everything, and death (well, real death) means seeing a goodbye CGI movie. Before you win or die, however, there is a lot to do. You must build up your army and have your area secured. Most important are the mana replenishing zones, especially once your character gets killed. You see, you are almost immortal - if you die, you become a ghost, unable to command or attack in any fashion. You must find yourself a mana replenishing area and there you will be resurrected.

The wizard character can also gain levels - up to 10 - which allow him more mana, more hitpoints and a lot more powerful spells. You can conjure up huge volcanoes, which in turn will spew lava onto the ground and gas into the air. By the time the volcano goes out, there's a big old crater in the ground, showing off the engine's terrain deformation ability.

Beautiful colors

Nice background

More impressive, however, was the field of view available to you. Sacrifice's engine is remarkably powerful and can easily display wide areas of terrain, as wide as those found in Tribes, for example. The fog which normally obscures viewing distance is here actually only as a cosmetic effect, to reflect the deterioration of detail we see in the real world when looking at distant buildings, mountains and the like. It appears to us that Shiny's entry into the RPG/RTS arena is going to be very, very impressive.