Long known solely as the Final Fantasy company, Square Enix has been exploring the notion of games that appeal games outside of their hardcore RPG constituency. They acquired Eidos (home of Tomb Raider heroine Lara Craft) last year and have had recent hits with the adrenaline-filled explosion fest Just Cause 2. They’ll also be releasing Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days later this week. They’ve announced Gun Loco, their latest non-FF game today and it looks to ramp up the crazy by several notches. Here’s a snippet of the release:
At the farthest reaches of the solar system, a collection of the craziest criminals in the universe are incarcerated on a remote prison planet with no walls and forgotten by society. In this long-abandoned world, the only rule is anarchy, as each faction fights in a bloodthirsty race for survival, power and freedom. Through several seven climate zones and numerous stylized maps, players must fight through the ruins of the world’s previous civilizations, taking on each region’s inmates in a frantic and frenetic struggle to survive.
Featuring third-person, sprint-action shooter gameplay, players can assume the roles of unique and memorable characters in a game that redefines the run-and-gun shooter. While pursuing enemies and being chased by their opponents, players must make use of the sprint-action play by running, jumping, ducking and vaulting, using the environments to their advantage. With a powerful arsenal of weapons at their disposal, each character comes complete with their own kill move, coupled with a mocking take-down taunt to ridicule their victims. The frenzied and furious comic style gameplay comes into its own with full 12-player online multiplayer matches across the planet, with a range of game modes and multiplayer arenas.
GUN LOCO’s characters feature a unique visual style with each created from the original design concepts of respected designer and toy maker Kenny Wong. Founder of kennyswork, Co-founder of Hong Kong-based Brothersfree and co-creator of the cult Brothersworker series of collectible action figures, Kenny’s incredible design style and unique characterization are a perfect fit for the bizarre world of GUN LOCO. Painstakingly crafted by hand, each comic caricature has been designed from scratch as a real, posable action figure in the Brothersworker vein before being digitally scanned into the game. GUN LOCO brings these memorable misfits and surreal sociopaths to life through animation, audio and unforgettable action gameplay.
The game sounds like it’s taking the focus on parkour-esque seamless movement of upcoming first-person games Brink and Bulletstorm and bringing it into the third-person. That distinctive art style looks like a Looney Tunes acid trip; hopefully, the gameplay mechanics will enable a bunch of zany multiplayer mayhem.
Square Enix also has one of the most robust merchandising divisions of any game publisher, so it’s a safe bet that you’ll be seeing those Brothersworker actions figure for sale along with the Gun Loco game. It’ll only be available on Xbox 360 which is probably another move to make inroads to non-Japanese sensibilities, as Sony tends to rule the console business in Japan.
The official Gun Loco site launches later this week and we’ll have more info about this crazy cartoon shooter as it becomes available.