Armies of Exigo Preview

Recently, we've discovered that the game will be released with support for massive online and multiplayer matches. The developers vowed to include four different multiplayer modes: Melee, Arena, Mission, and Free-for-all. (Free-for-all sounds a bit confusing. Are they actually considering letting every man fight for himself. That would be so cool! 400 units in a FFA brawl! - 2Lions) Playing the Melee mode puts you in a match against several CPU-controlled opponents who have teamed up to counter your forces. We were most intrigued by the Arena mode where players are tossed into a vast battlefield where, next to your adversary, you also have to avoid numerous traps and barriers like water-ditches, defense towers, various monsters, and so on. Details about the Mission mode weren't uncovered for the time being, but it's probably safe to assume it features some sort of objective-based gameplay. And, as you'd expect, in the Free-for-all mode every player (AI or player-operated) has to fight for himself... Yep, that about sums it up for the multiplayer.

Fight, fight, fight to the last man!!

Alright men! Take ‘em out one by one!

Strategy fans should be happy to know that there's a beta and a demo planned for this one, and it will most likely be launched later this year, so it's safe to assume we'll be able to taste some of the action before the final version hits stores. For the present, EA is targeting the project for a Fall 2004 release - sadly, no additional info on a more precise release date was given. Keep your eyes open for more details soon. (I'd just like to take this opportunity (now that you've read the preview) to tell you about an interesting thing that happened to me the other day. Our offices are in this building which is not exactly a true-and-true office building because it has a few residential flats. Anyhow, as I walked out of the office to grab a sandwich I came face to face with an unbelievably old lady that must've been at least two hundred years old if not more. It happened right as I spun around to head for the staircase, right next to the old elevator. She was hanging on to the railing and I kind of just stumbled on her. I was honestly startled and I went "oh shit!" but she didn't seem to understand me. She just kept on staring at me and blinking. Blink, blink... I'd be lying to you if it didn't occur to me for a second that she was a ghost, and that I was having my first paranormal experience. Ghosts freak me out mostly because they're real. I say this because another middle-aged woman walked by us and up the stairs leading to the second floor, but she seemed to pay no attention to the old lady. It was as if she wasn't there at all. But the old lady was there! I could see her! She kept on staring at me and blinking like a lost lamb (blink, blink). I felt hypnotized by her gaze. Eventually, I kind of recuperated from the initial shock and these semi-rational thoughts started forming in my brain; that she was maybe lost, and couldn't find her way back to her flat or something. That lasted for about a second though because I was met by her empty, wanting gaze again. Blink, blink... I felt like I was a soft, hairy mouse and she was a powerful cobra fixing her eyes on her helpless pray. I am man enough to admit I panicked! Yes, I panicked! The blinking got me all messed up! Now that I look back at that situation I think I may've overreacted a bit, but the next thing you know I was speeding down the dark hallway and heading for the blessed light that was coming from the door in the lobby marked with the sign "EXIT." I felt her stare upon me. Blink, blink... I knew she was standing there behind me, asking without asking, wanting without articulating what she wants. I was scared, I panicked and I wanted to escape, to flee! I kind of figured if I run away maybe she won't be there when I come back. And sure enough, half an hour later, she wasn't there! That, however, made me panic even more, as I was then sure she was not real, but a ghost of a three hundred year-old lady that died a century before we moved in the building. There, I feel much better now... Thanks for listening. I think this was the longest edit in a preview ever. - 2Lions)