Apocalyptica Preview

Developer	Extreme FX
Publisher	Konami
Genre	Action
Release Date	11/11/03

The end of the world myth is nothing new to video gamers – a countless number of titles have been set either during or after an Armageddon event, all to varying degrees of success, so it takes a masterful execution of this type of storyline to pique a gamer’s interest in this type of game. Fortunately, Konami’s latest PC port Apocalyptica looks to have what it takes. Set in (what else but) a post-apocalyptic future in which the battle for good and evil has already been won, Apocalyptica’s story finds Satan being reborn, taking up a stronghold on the remnants of Earth, known only as Nu-Hades, and preparing (yet again) to attempt domination of the universe. Thankfully, epic is in fact a word in developer Extreme FX’s vocabulary, and Apocalyptica’s planet-spanning story shouldn’t have too hard a time making gamers feel that they’re caught up in the biggest conflict since trying to get tickets for The Matrix Revolutions on opening day.

Something of a throwback to the squad-based action of Brute Force (although E-FX promises better AI on all fronts), Apocalpytica has a lot of things going for it in the gameplay department that look to keep the game fresh throughout. Gamers will pick and control one of thirty-two (!) characters, with sixteen available for players choosing the side of good and the same for those playing evil. The characters on each side fall into four classes; playing as good offers gamers the opportunity to play as powered armor-equipped Templars, agile Nuns, miracle/magic-working Seraphs, as well as specially programmed Combat Droids. The evil characters have clear counterparts in their enemies – Black Knights (who were once former Templars), Vamps, Wraiths and Ripper Droids offer a marginally similar gaming experience on the opposite side.

Cello Metal?

While sharing nothing in common but the title, the Finnish group Apocalyptica is certainly worth checking out on their own merits – those being that using four cellos and a couple of distortion pedals as the lead instruments, they’ve produced four fantastic metal albums that run the gamut. From fantastic covers of great songs like Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Sepultura’s Inquisition Symphony, to upbeat arrangements of classical music like Edvard Grieg’s In The Hall of the Mountain King, to, more recently, original tunes that show off incredible amounts of skill, Apocalyptica’s discs are a worthwhile acquisition for anyone ready to be blown away.

The high-action design of the game means, of course, that it’ll be necessary to have plenty of over-the-top weapons as well – Extreme FX is catering to that as well, and while they are trying to keep certain aspects of the game hidden, we have been told a few of the weapons, which include the Bible Basher (a weapon that fires homing missiles powered by pages of scripture) and the Martyr Gun, which unleashes the souls of those slain in battle to, presumably, rip the opposing side a new one. The controls are designed to be as streamlined as possible, with separate buttons assigned for melee and ranged attacks, while magic-using characters will have an extra button for those attacks. But here’s an example of the epic game design in action – the A.I. is advanced enough to be able to accomplish certain objectives on their own that, if completed successfully, could totally end your progress in the mission. We haven’t been given any examples of this as of yet, but it should be interesting to see how this works in conjunction with the design of the rest of the game. The game will also offer X-Box Live support for up to 8 players, and Extreme FX is said to be working consummately on some multiplayer features in addition to the standard Deathmatch-oriented ones to add even more to an already complete-looking package.

The game is taking full advantage of the X-Box’s system specs, and any look at the currently available screens will show you that fact. Each of the game’s giant worlds, each of which serve the purpose of a multi-part level, are fully realized on Extreme FX’s proprietary engine; the levels, which range from the weird (Jerusalem V, a planet slowly overrun by the forces of evil, and The Ariziel, a human spacecraft) to the weirder (Nu-Hades, the remnants of earth and Hell itself). The graphics all have a slightly surreal tinge to them – the opening level, set at a desert outpost on Jerusalem V, is made even more vivid by the presence of palm trees amongst the various battles to the death, and from what we’ve seen, all the worlds are as well realized, using an amalgam of different influences in order to display a truly bleak future. And just try to ignore those clouds…

Although neither the PC nor X-Box versions have been released yet, the X-Box version will be shipping approximately three months later, which should allow for plenty of polish on an already solid-looking title between now and then. And while it remains to be seen whether Apocalyptica will be the end-of-days for the action genre, it should make this oft-used biblical conflict as fun and playable as it’s ever been; and that’s no sin.

Preview by Adam Matlock