Topic: Future Tactics Goes Gold

[Robert]

Tactical RPG action moves one step closer.

Future Tactics: The Uprising GOES GOLD

FOR       PlayStation®2, NINTENDO GAMECUBETM & Xbox

LOS ANGELES, CA       - April 22, 2004 - Crave Entertainment, a leading publisher of console       videogames, today announced that Future Tactics: The Uprising has reached gold       master status for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the       Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo       GameCubeTM.

Packed with action, Future Tactics is a turn-based tactical       RPG that looks and feels like an action/platform game. Built around a highly       complex turn-based battle engine, the adventure showcases a single-player Story       Mode, as well as a two-player Battle Mode. The plot is set in the not too       distant future, when Earth as we know it has succumbed to a race of       extra-dimensional creatures. Now the final hope for restoring order to the       planet rests on the shoulders of a young boy, his sister and a rag-tag assembly       of unlikely warriors.

Future Tactics: The Uprising features:

• 18 stylized and high-polygon characters interacting in rich, full 3D       environments
  
• Unique, number-free turn-based tactical combat system designed       to keep players immersed in the action, not the stats
  
• 19 action-packed,       highly intense levels waiting to be conquered
  
• Massively deformable terrain.       Landscape can be permanently destroyed, leaving behind craters and       canyons.
  
• Compelling storyline told through fully animated and voiced cut       scenes
  
• Two-player customizable battle mode lets gamers tweak handicaps,       power-ups and victory conditions
  
• Experience point system allows custom       building of team members, allocating upgrades as players see fit
  
• Boot Camp       tutorial mode allows novice players to learn good tactics right       away

Scheduled for release in Q2 2004, Future Tactics: The Uprising will       be available for the Xbox, Nintendo GameCubeTM and the PlayStation®2       computer entertainment system.

About Crave Entertainment:
Based in Los Angeles,       California, Crave Entertainment is a privately held publisher of videogame       entertainment products. Crave produces games for the major console platforms       including Game Boy® Advance, Nintendo GameCubeTM, the PlayStation® game       console, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox® video       game system from Microsoft, and for the PC. For more information about Crave       Entertainment, please visit http://www.cravegames.com.

[jasonditz]

Sounds like they made Freedom Fighters turn-based.

Incidentally, what the hell is wrong with being immersed in the stats instead of the action?

[The Omen]

I thought this was a budget title?   Which woul have forced me to check it out.

[couchmonkey]

Well, I'm excited.  If it does come out at a budget price, I'll buy it right away (I didn't see any denial that it's a budget title, but I didn't read in detail...)   Otherwise, I might wait to see a few reviews, but I'm a big fan of the Pickford brothers, who founded developer Zedtwo...and so presumably worked on this game.  Plok and Wetrix are real gems in my opinion, so I'm excited about any new game they release.  I hope some other people give Future Tactics a chance.

jasonditz: There's definitely nothing wrong with being immersed in stats, Crave is just flinging marketing at us, like little spitballs.  Pointing out what sets your product apart from similar ones is a tried and true marketing technique.    

[KDR_11k]

"number-freee" often is forced, meaning that they just won't show you the stats when you ask for them or be pretty vague (good, very good, bad, etc).

[couchmonkey]

Too true...you can't program anything without lots and lots of numbers.  I think they're just attempting to take the focus off of it...which is okay by me, I loved Ogre Battle 64, but I got tired of keeping track of stats for all of my dozens of soldiers.  Anyway, I guess I shouldn't judge until the game comes out.