Armies of Exigo Preview

In a whirlpool of countless projects coming from software giant Electronic Arts, it's quite possible to overlook certain games now and then. Well, here's one you may have missed. About several weeks back, EA made an announcement regarding the development of a brand new PC real-time strategy, as part of the company's alliance with Cinegri Interactive and big-time Hollywood producer Andrew G. Vajna. Cinergi Interactive is actually a subsidiary of the award-winning movie production company Cinergi Pictures Entertainment. Some of you may not be aware of Mr. Vajna's reputation. He produced box office hits such as Total Recall, The Rambo series, Tombstone, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Evita, Nixon, Judge Dredd, and others. After such an admirable career in Hollywood, his next goal will be to take a big step into the gaming industry with Armies of Exigo (working title) which is currently being created by Budapest-based development house, Black Hole Games. Apart from featuring several classic RTS elements, the game also brings a variety of appreciated features that sets it apart from the crowd. (Ah, the famous 15 second pitch; let's hear it. - 2Lions)

Seems like a perfect spot for an ambush!

Where did all these spideys come from?

Armies of Exigo pins three major races in a conflict of epic proportions (oh yeah, that's the only way it could happen!) - The Empire, The Beasts, and the Fallen. Humans (the Empire) and The Beasts fought each other for ages... until they were both beset by a powerful and unforeseen foe called the Fallen (it all sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it? WarCraft III, Halo, and similar games come to mind). At any rate, the Fallen is a mysterious and dangerous opponent (That will lose steam and basically falter under your mighty army by the time you reach mission five. Hey, I'm just guessing... - 2Lions), mostly living in vast underground layers, silently waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike. (Like cold germs basically. - 2Lions) This makes them an extremely dodgy adversary. (I recommend lots of vitamins. - 2Lions) These guys are well-organized and are led by a sinister creature from another dimension. (Oh my dear God! I knew there was something odd about my cold germs! So that's how they plan to invade us! ALIEN SCUM!! - 2Lions) Their main objective is to get their nasty mitts on the Heart of Void, a potent crystal guarded by the Empire. Should they manage to get hold of the crystal, both Human and Beast races will perish. Well, for the time being we don't know what magic lies behind this crystal thingy (there's probably more to its purpose than we're led to believe) - it's clearly a source of incredible power. (Whenever someone mentions a source of incredible power I think of "Starbucks." Why is that? - 2Lions)

At the beginning of the game players will be able to choose one of the three aforementioned races. Each race relies on its own tactics and warfare, so you'll have to decide which style of fighting you prefer. The Empire is the right choice for gamers keen on elvish bows, sharp dwarven axes, and shiny knight armor. This race is disciplined and predominantly defensive, with exceptional skill in constructing defense structures and fortifications (strong shield-walls, huge defensive towers, gates, etc.). On the other hand, for those who are out for a more aggressive approach in their war efforts, the Beasts will come in most handy. (Beasts usually come in very handy when you're trying to prove a point. - 2Lions) Mostly comprised of bulky creatures like trolls, ogres and demons, the Beasts are a violent and exceedingly efficient in assaults and sieges. Let me give you an example: creatures like ogres have the ability to knock back enemies and send them flying into the air with one blow of a hammer (an apparent mark of respect to Lord of the Rings, yes?). The third choice, of course, comes down to the Fallen. Appropriately named "The Fallen," this nasty bunch consists of dark elves, fallen knights and warriors, swarming insects and, merciless beings who are after nothing but total annihilation and destruction. (And there I thought we were talking about Justin Timberlake fans. They don't get any more fallen than that. - 2Lions)

So what's this brilliant twist in the game the publisher keeps bragging about in the press release? Apart from being able to fight on land and in the air, players get a chance to battle underground. With a praiseworthy effort to make the game more interesting and challenging, the developers wanted to broaden the gameplay by taking the focus of worn-out strategy standards. In addition to conventional battle tactics, players must also do their best to outsmart the enemy using multi-level strategy, leading their armies forth to battle through caves and catacombs. The tunneling units, included for every race, end up being the most gratifying addition to your ranks. At this point we know that the Humans have a miner unit, the Beasts use a Deamon unit, whereas the Fallen rely on a worm unit which is extremely hard to discern. (I hope they're talking about a more elaborate concept than what we saw in C&C: Generals. GLA tunnel network anyone? - 2Lions) These units can also prove very useful for scouting nearby areas and glancing deep into enemy territory. Anyhow, it's good to know that the entire game was designed with straightforwardness and intuitiveness in mind. For example, switching between underground and the surface will be quite easy to pull off during battle with a simple press of the TAB key (or with a quick click on the designated icon on the interface). (OK, so it is a bit more elaborate. My bad. Am I annoying the piss out of you with my edits yet? Good. - 2Lions)

Next to incorporating all these delightful features the developers also decided to maintain an epic feel throughout the entire game. For that reason, they pushed their proprietary engine to the limit by allowing each race to produce more than 200 units at once. This makes for some serious large-scale confrontations, so let's hope they mean to keep that promise. To blend in with the whole concept of clashing above and below land, the programming team optimized the physics to ensure a few nifty gameplay elements. If you don't want to attack your opponents directly, you'll always be able to use something in the environment. (FINALLY! STONING! YAAAAAY! The most effective assault tactic of the Old Testament! - 2Lions) A rather graceful move by the development team is that you can destroy damns so as to flood the underground tunnels. Why chase enemies through caverns when you can hose 'em down? (Bah, that's silly. Build huge smoke machines! Smoke the bastards out! - 2Lions) Avalanches may be used to crush foes, bridges can be blown up, and so on. (If you're really mad and shaking you can make butter out of your fruit yogurt. I just thought I'd let you know. - 2Lions) All in all, it's quite an impressive example of elegant modern-day in-game physics. Judging from what we've seen of the game so for, it's obvious that a creative group of artists was hired for envisioning characters and races. (Oh God! Be honest about it! Stealing shit from Blizzard. - 2Lions) An equal amount of attention was poured into 3D modeling and animation.