Duality Preview

All movies and video games we see being made nowadays, lack one thing - originality. In a world where almost any idea or premise has been exhausted a number of times, it is truly tough to come up with something new. This is why Phantagram Interactive and Trilobite Graphics have decided to create a game in a relatively novel cyber-punk setting (What about System Shock, Deus Ex, etc. - ed). Their latest project, Duality, mixes action-adventure elements with various cool RPG features. And with an original plot that takes you through a futuristic real world and virtual world, this game should engulf almost any PC and Xbox gamer out there.

Stop playing and come out!

Nice waistline there, honey!

In Duality, players will follow the lives of three unique characters. In a cruel and vicious ultra-modern world, where technology is exploited by greedy and squabbling corporations, these three individuals will all have difficult tasks set before them. Luckily, they are all skilled and well-equipped, which means they can handle just about anything. So, struggling to survive in a virtual and real world (hence the name Duality), you are going to have to complete many exciting missions and quests that lie before you.

The Laws Command that At Least Three Shall Begin a Quest...

Duality has three unique characters you'll get to play with. The Mercenary, Hacker, and Virtual Being. The Mercenary is a coldhearted and methodical killer, striving only to earn as much cash as possible. He is cunning and can deal with situations stealthily or otherwise. The good thing is that he's equipped with tons of pretty useful mercenary toys such as the firearm, sensors, jammers, optic camouflage, armors, implants for assault and infiltration, etc. The developers have described this gameplay as being very similar to Metal Gear Solid, although we still do not know for sure just how movements and combat will be handled. Well, it is obvious that some gameplay aspects were also taken from shooters like Resident Evil.

While playing as the Hacker (or rather Hackeress), you will be able to utilize your skills in order to access various security systems. What's interesting about this character is that she has the ability to set and disarm traps while easily infiltrating certain facilities. The Hacker has many different talents and skills that can help her increase her defenses and alertness, so she can avoid being caught while hacking high-security terminals and diverse net-systems. Placing traps and sensors around her position, is usually the best way she can protect herself from oncoming sentries.

Ah, but the punch-line is still to come. This lethal and sexy hacker can enter cyberspace where she demonstrates her "RPG skills." Combining different types of so-called function modules, the Hacker can use spells to take out enemies. After a while she will be more and more adept with magic, eventually leveling up - gaining more skills and stronger function modules. So far the only spell that was revealed was the Fireball (a pretty deadly sucker let me tell ya).

Another intriguing feature of this particular game mode, is that some hacking processes are demonstrated through alternate forms of puzzles, which the Hacker needs to solve in order to override security or access info. The best advantage of this enticing individual is that she's able to go in and out of the virtual world any time she deems fit.

Are they growing "Aliens" in here?

A whole lot of tubes...

And we finally come to the Virtual Being. Well, the name pretty much says it all. One of the greatest drawbacks of the Virtual Being is that it's completely useless in the real world; which is understandable since this unusual entity doesn't have a physical form. This dude was once a prominent scientist who somehow managed to trap his soul inside cyber-space (Cortana anyone? That virtual chick in Anachronox? - ed). Since he spent ages in the virtual world he was able to level up his skills and now he has almost god-like powers. The developers of the game have remained rather hush-hush on this character since he seems to be the key element of the game's plot.

Phantagram Interactive has already shown a bunch of extremely potential titles that are currently being created both for the PC and the Xbox. Their upcoming RTS, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders (Xbox) has displayed some of the best visuals we ever witnessed in an RTS. Duality is not far behind in terms of graphic qualities. From all the clips and screens we've seen, Duality promises to fully exploit the powers of the GeForce 3 card. According to the development team, the in-game characters are gonna be furnished with over 2,000 polys. On top of that, they have enhanced the models to look like they have about 8,000 polys (yeah, I don't know how they'll pull that off either). Apart from that, as can be seen in some of the gameplay movies (which you can d/l form this page - ed), these characters will feature a complex animation system, which includes highly advanced facial expressions (with stuff like separate upper and lower lip, eye-movement, and so on). Plus, the game has an AI controlled camera, which is going to pinpoint the important events and action that's taking place on screen (it'll be VERY interesting to see how that works - ed).

Well, that's quite a decent game coming our way. With lengthy quests (20-40 minutes), exciting RPG-style gameplay, various environments in the real world and virtual world, and following the plot through three different perspectives, I'd say this game will have something for everyone. Sadly, we haven't learned much about the multiplayer yet, except that it will include standard deatmatches with well-balanced player characters and a huge selection of equipment and skills.

That's all we have for now, even more updates and media will arrive shortly.