Anachronox Preview

Welcome to the world of Anachronox. We're still not there, but we will be soon...

"...Trek across the galaxy and the three dimensions, and look for both a long-dead alien race with secrets of advanced technology, and the mysterious forces bent on crushing the universe out of existence. Are they the same beings? Join 5 other characters in their quest to uncover the mystery of the Mystech devices, the plot to destroy our existence, and the evil chaos behind it all..."

I have a little confession to make. Although I've known a few things about Anachronox - the word has been buzzing around in my head for quite some time, I didn't really get all "undies sizzling" excited about it until I got a chance to see it at this year's E3. There I met Lead Designer Tom Hall, and had a chance to see, firsthand some of the beautiful in-game cut scenes. I knew it was done with Quake 2 code, but it really looked like something you'd expect from a next-gen game. The rest it history, sort to speak. I got excited, started browsing the net in search for more info, and finally decided to harass Tom into writing a few sentences for this preview.

Anachronox is deep people! As I continued to chart further into the universe, the more I've come to realize that Tom and the gang are really (as in really, really) on to something. The strangely named Anachronox is a city. A scarcely populated, ghostly city in which players begin their adventure. Get this; Anachronox actually rests inside an "empty shell planet" that functions as a sort of interplanetary hyperspace hub. The planet's surface is covered with huge spikes serving as hyperspace engines propelling it into different parts of the galaxy.

Anachronox was once inhabited by millions of aliens killed off by a nasty plague. Crime, corruption, violent individuals, and the usual dark, and soggy streets now infest what's left of the city. Not a particularly friendly place I would imagine... I mean not a perfect setting if you're this couch potato gamer, but if you're Sylvester 'Sly' Boots, an intergalactic mercenary/detective, then this might be just the place for ya. Let me tell you something, Sly's got more attitude than Ali in his early days, only he doesn't talk as much. And he's got that overcoat; you can buy them in any local "save the world from total chaos" accessory shops. Sly is right at home in the city of Anachronox (the poison from the ancient times) with his trusty side-kick, Fatima --- once Sly's real-life personal assistant, now (after she tragically passed away) a slightly resilient and feisty digitized user interface. No wonder, being cheated out of life like that... Tom explained that he tends to like to have things that are assumed lifeless to have life (and we sort of thought that was a great idea). In the Commander Keen series, you collected little creatures called Vivas to gain a new life. Tom thinks that having an interface that's angry with you is "pretty unique". The only thing any of us could remember that's sorta unique like that would be the old Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure, which actually lied to you...

So, we have the world, we have the protagonists, and the numerous supporting cast... Stiletto Anyway (a female mercenary, Sly's ex), Paco "El Puno" Estrella (a drunk superhero from Krapton), Dr. Rho Bowman (he figured out there was something wrong with the universe), Grumpos, and a robot. We have around 189 different types of enemies as well as 449 NPCs... With all that in mind, this preview looks to have all the makings of a movie trailer, rather than a game write-up... Which is kinda understandable. Anachronox is a 3rd person Quake 2 engined RPG that looks to capture all the amazing elements of the epochal Japanese adventures (think Final Fantasy kids), and blend it with a unique developers' western style of writing and game design. There's no two ways about it. Either you go all the way, and put your nuts in the grinder, or you simply give up on the whole thing. I hate to be the one to say this, but Tom, and the rest of the crew are a brave bunch (nuts in the grinder time). "...Well, we are defining a new universe, much like those games (Tom is referring to Outcast, Omikron -Ed.). One that feels right and makes sense. You sense the depth that's been put behind it, even if you never get to see all of it. All the environments feel alive, and even if you can't go over to something, it feels like you could, and that life is going on over there without you. Clearly an ostentatious aim, but one that Anachronox dev. team looks to be capable of handling.

As with any idea in life, Anachronox was influenced by many of its conceptual predecessors --- Chrono Trigger - a really fun, amazing SNES RPG with 13 different endings, than a whole assortment of sci-fi movies, including: Blade Runner, Star Wars, and Alien, and of course the Final Fantasy series, and Lucas' adventures. Although the game will incorporate flashes of humor, the main feeling prevailing in the game world is one of a growing ominous tone. It's all in the dialogue really... You can have flashes of comedy in the grimmest of tragedies and vice-versa... Anachronox's designers are definitely looking to achieve new levels of game immersion through rich and meaningful character interaction. The game world is left wide open. Apart from rich narrative background, players can interact with the environment, use World Skills, play minigames, solve mysteries, and fight monsters - all in an adventure that crosses six planets. Tom claims that the team is trying to do with 15 people what Square does with 80-100 people! Again, just another pointer putting Anachronox's general concept further into perspective.