Highlander: The Game First Look

We cannot speak for the rest of you guys, but in all fairness, as far as the Highlander franchise is concerned almost anything that went beyond the first movie sucked big time. Looking at the original Highlander, the story was perfect in every way and it kind of makes the subsequent movies seem dreary and rather pointless. Besides, whoever decided to clone more Highlander films left precious little meaning to the phrases such as "There can be only one!"

In any case, here we are, more than twenty years passed since the first movie and they're still determined to milk the franchise. This time though, they're bringing the Highlander brand to PC and next-gen consoles. Judging from the initial details, however, the game may offer a solid interpretation of the popular movie series.

Unlike the movies, which tell the tale of a male protagonist Connor MacLeod, a.k.a. Russell Nash, Highlander: The Game features a different Immortal character by the name of Owen MacLeod. Although Owen carries the same surname as Connor, at this point, no relation between the two characters was mentioned.

Owen was born over 2000 years ago in Gaul, as son of the tribal chieftain whose village had been destroyed by the Roman Empire. Sent to the gladiatorial arena in Pompeii, Owen faces his destiny in battle. At first, his fighting days seemed numbered when he got killed in the Coliseum. His miraculous and unexpected recovery gave new meaning to his existence, thus he returned to the life of combat, now with an all-new purpose. Bearing the burden of an Immortal, he must prevail against other Immortals and face them in sword fights, which can only result in death by beheading. Centuries pass and our hero now comes up against a powerful and mysterious nemesis who is hunting him down in New York City. Fighting this mighty new opponent, Owen MacLeod is also going to have to find and piece together three fragments of an ancient stone. The stone gives ultimate power to the Immortal who wields it. With the help of his mentor, Methos, he will discover that possessing the stone could be the only way to defeat his new enemy.

That about sums up a segment of the story in Highlander: The Game, as uncovered by Eidos Interactive. As we've learned, David Abramowitz, Highlander TV series' writer and show runner, has returned to pen the story in the video game as well.

Eidos hasn't revealed much about the game itself, while they did offer a few hints on where the development team is going with the gameplay mechanics. Preserving the general Highlander motif, the game will mostly revolve around the unique powers and abilities of Immortal characters. To kick things off, the UK based publisher/developer said they plan to deliver an "advanced sword fighting combat system," along with a range of features that promise to make this game a solid addition to the gaming scene.

Making your way through numerous deadly opponents won't be easy. To handle them, the main character gets to brandish a selection of blades, including the Claymore, Katana, Twin Gladius and more. Passing through each century means you'll master different skills and fighting techniques, thus improving your overall combat abilities. Those of you familiar with the movies and TV series should know how this works. Essentially, two opponents fight in a sword duel, until one of them gets their head sliced clean off. This is what MacLeod must do, each time he engages in one-on-one combat against an Immortal. If he succeeds in decapitating his adversary, the Quickening ensues. Experiencing the Quickening, MacLeod gains all the knowledge and strength from the opponent he beheaded. Each sliced head means your character upgrades his Quickening Technique and unlocks new powers, most of which are usable in combat.

Swordplay will, of course, represent the very heart of the game, but your immortality stands as another cool addition, which gamers are bound to find more than useful. While Immortal powers continue to delay old age, he also has a great advantage in various situations. MacLeod can disarm enemies by allowing himself to be stabbed. Sweet. For MacLeod, it's easy to survive a lethal leap from a building if that is the only way he can avoid being caught by the enemy. On occasion, he may even use his body as a conduit for electricity and fire. Even the more serious wounds heal quickly thanks to his Immortal powers. Progressing through the game, gives you access to more and more Immortal powers. Each of these helps you overcome obstacles and different challenges in the surroundings. Immortal skills include Freefall, Traverse climbing, Swan dive, Cannonball, Beams, Dagger climbing, etc.

Again, sensing the Quickening, MacLeod absorbs power and abilities from other Immortals, which eventually grants him skills such as Weapon Mastery (Fireblade, Wind Fury, Stone Armor), Channelling the Source (charge up for powerful attacks), Resurrection, Chi balance (stamina) and so on.

Like many titles nowadays, this one relies on the power of the Unreal Engine 3. You'll move through destructible environments, which, of course, plays an important part in the gameplay too. According to Eidos, the technology proved very handy for generating and rendering in great detail a choice of unique locations. Just so you know MacLeod will be fighting in four distinct environments, in a journey that spans some 2000 years. From 1st Century Pompeii, to 9th Century Highlands of Scotland, to 14th Century Feudal Japan and near-future New York City.

For now, we know that Highlander is likely to arrive this year for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms. The media we've received up to now has given us a sneak peek at some of the environments players will get to explore. No actual in-game action has been shown yet.

We hope this little glimpse will be good enough to get you going until we get more goodies from Eidos.

Patience. "And don't lose your head."