Strident Preview

Developer	n/a
Publisher	Phantagram
Genre	Action
Release Date	TBA

Although recent news from Phantagram Interactive has told us that control of the company has shifted hands, this hasn’t stopped the development of one of their titles, Strident, from moving forward. While the bleak-future scenario that the game tells is nothing new to any media, Phantagram has a number of things planned for this action-adventure type game that should elevate it above and beyond a slew of similar titles set for release this year.

In Strident, the bleak future of choice is just after World War III, with very few resources available; the United Nations is trying desperately to keep world peace in the midst of numerous rising rebel factions throughout the world, and they do so with an undercover strike team known as FIST. The game opens with a botched campaign in the Middle East that presumably kills the FIST squadron on assignment there, but escalating political chaos in the area reveals that there is much more than meets the eye. From there, the player takes control of Strident, one of the members of the FIST team believed to be killed; her first task is escaping her captivity and investigating the traces of a conspiracy that she discovers.

The gameplay is similar to that of many other 3rd-Person action-adventure games, but Phantagram is promising a number of features and options that should help keep things from falling into monotony. Strident’s training includes all kinds of weapons and hand-to-hand combat. The game will utilize an auto-aim function, but it is possible to enter a first-person view in order to aim more precisely. Simply using hand-to-hand combat, Strident is extremely agile; she is able to jump several feet into the air, she can kick off of walls and enemies, and take human shields in order to take a more stealthy approach. Should the player decide they want to use firearms, the developers are saying that Strident’s mobility will be affected based on the size of the weapon - in addition, bonus points earned after a mission can be used to strengthen the character in various skills, also changing the potential ways of playing through a mission, offering plenty of potential replay value.

Strident will also incorporate vehicles efficiently into the game - while some levels will require the use of transports and powered suits, the developers are promising full freedom in the use of the latter. By default, Strident is equipped with a light power suit that increases her mobility and strength, but mid-sized and heavier ones can be stolen from defeated enemies and used throughout a level, provided the player has developed Strident in such a way that heavier powered suits could be beneficial. It’s said that a character based more around stealth and hand-to-hand combat would be more vulnerable if they were to rely on powered suits. It’s clear that the developers aren’t forgetting their premise, however, and the game will incorporate multiple mission types as well, from the solo missions, to small-team operations, to even full-scale battles of which Strident is only a small part. This latter option gives an enticing hint as to where the story might progress, and epic is only one word that comes to mind.

Using a proprietary engine is tricky stuff, but Phantagram’s Blue Engine 3.0, also seen in one of their other titles, Kingdom Under Fire 2: The Crusaders, looks to be up to task. Although no current real-world locations have been named as the game’s setting, the current screens show off some very inspired graphical work. The current character models are quite good as well, showing off a lot of nice details such as clothing and the like. Phantagram is promising to do good things with the camera system that should prevent common frustrations such as clipping and cornering from fudging with the gameplay.

From what we’ve seen, development seems to be progressing nicely on what could be a big sleeper hit for the X-Box this year. As more info breaks, we’ll bring it to you, but for the time being, look fondly forward to the projected Fall release date. I know I will.

Preview by Adam Matlock