very year, members of the gaming industry converge at E3--the Electronic Entertainment Expo--to present the new games that will be hitting store shelves over the next 12 months and beyond. This year Science Fiction Weekly journeyed to E3 to check out the hot SF titles our readers can look forward to playing, and below we've previewed 10 of the most promising we saw. The list ranges from real-time strategy games to first-person shooters to economic simulators, and is arranged in no particular order.
In Startopia, players rebuild a network of space stations that once served the commerce and communication of an older empire. There are nine character races with which to interact, each with a unique look and function. Each inhabitant is an individual character with its own moods, desires and personal history. The simulation of alien societies includes racial animosity, and players will deal with crime and punishment, leisure and entertainment and a functioning economy. This simulation game requires the player to manage many elements in order to rebuild the space station network, including the ecosystem, security forces, the construction of more than 40 facilities, auctions and trading of goods and even espionage against rival space station managers.
Project Eden
Core Design Q3 2000
Project Eden is an action-adventure game along the lines of Tomb Raider. Earth's severe overpopulation has fostered the growth of towering mega-cities, each inhabited by millions of humans. In these giant human hives, only the rich feel the rays of the sun and breathe the cleanest air. The city's condition declines as its levels descend. Below the slums is an underworld of criminals, cultists and worse. Players control a team of four members of the UPA (Urban Protection Agency). The team investigates problems at the "Real Meat" factory, where technicians sent to repair the machinery are missing....
Halo
Bungie Software Early 2000
Halo is a third-person action epic that takes place indoors, outdoors, in the sky and beneath the surface of a world. Its hallmark is a fantastic graphics engine that provides the game with a level of visual detail that hasn't been seen before. Players become a military recon unit of a human planetary empire. Alien warships chase the unit to a massive and ancient ring construct in space. Game play requires players to improvise a guerrilla war over land, sea and air, using the weapons and vehicles of three distinct cultures, and will include weapons as diverse as composite swords and orbital bombardment.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--Dominion Wars
Simon and Schuster Interactive TBA
Dominion Wars follows the story arc from the last two seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the Federation and the Klingons battle against the Cardassians and the Dominion for control of the Alpha Quadrant. Play as the Federation, Klingons, Cardassians or JemHad'ar and control up to six ships at once in real-time space combat. The game's 30 missions are spread across three campaigns, and players will play as all four species in the game. Also look forward to 20 classes of starships, including favorites like the Defiant, Galaxy and Sovereign classes, and some new designs created exclusively for Dominion Wars.
Freelancer
Microsoft Early 2001
In the 30th century, the First Solar War has ended. The Four Houses of Humanity vie with one another for control of the frontier worlds on the edge of civilized space. Players become freelance pilots, selling their services to the highest bidder. Missions vary from cargo runs to escort missions, and more. Players can play as merchants, mercenaries or pirates. A very nice 3-D graphics engine powers this epic game, which features a dynamic, AI-driven universe that will unfold differently every time it is played.
Obi-Wan
LucasArts Fall 2000
In this first-person shooter, which is similar to Dark Forces and Jedi Knight, players assume the role of a young Padawan, Obi-Wan, who attempts to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi Knight. Players combat battle-droids, Tusken raiders, destroyer-droids, and Sith mercenaries in more than a dozen single-player levels. The game, which also supports multiplayer play, includes a final battle with the Sith Lord Darth Maul. Events from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace inspire many of the levels.
The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge
Bethesda Softworks Q4 2000
The aliens have invaded once again. It's the near future, and after a 70-day war, humanity has been herded into reservations. The player controls the underground Terran Liberation Army in this 3-D turn-based game of tactical combat and strategy. Players raid abandoned military bases as they search for weapons. Area 51 plays a key role. Expect a visit from the men in black, too. Made by the creators of X-COM, Freedom Ridge could be called the spiritual sequel to the popular X-COM series.
O.R.B.
Strategy First September 2000
O.R.B. (Off-World Resource Base) is a 3-D real-time strategy game. Players control one of two races, the Malus or the Alyssians, exploring and mining an asteroid belt while clashing in space. O.R.B. will include commandos, fighters, destroyers, battle cruisers, and space stations. Some ancient technology may surface as players explore the asteroids. The game's interface is designed to make playing with multiple units in 3-D space quite easy, with multiplayer support for up to eight players.
Giants: Citizen Kabuto
Interplay Sometime 2000
We looked at Giants: Citizen Kabuto at E3 in 1999, and the game has come a long way in a year. It's a strategy/action game that lets players take control of one of three quite different species. Choose Kabuto and play a creature that stands at more than 10 times the height of any other race, or play as the Sea Reapers, who can foresee attacks, travel the seas and conjure up destructive tornadoes. The science fiction twist comes with the Meccaryns, basic space-suited technocrats with rayguns. The game allows players to create their own weapons, vehicles and traps, and also manipulate the landscape. Mark Snow of The X-Files fame provides the music.
Freedom: First Resistance
Red Storm Entertainment Winter 2000
Freedom: First Resistance is a third-person, single-player action-adventure game based on Anne McCaffrey's Freedom trilogy of novels. The game is set nine months after the alien Catteni race completes its invasion and colonization of Earth. All resistance has been squelched and only the Underground remains active. Players attempt to overthrow Catteni rule as Angel Sanchez and other freedom fighters. The missions combine stealth, combat, puzzle-solving and discussion.
very year, members of the gaming industry converge at E3--the Electronic Entertainment Expo--to present the new games that will be hitting store shelves over the next 12 months and beyond. This year Science Fiction Weekly journeyed to E3 to check out the hot SF titles our readers can look forward to playing, and below we've previewed 10 of the most promising we saw. The list ranges from real-time strategy games to first-person shooters to economic simulators, and is arranged in no particular order.
