Virgin unleashes Maelstrom
Unreal engined shooter confirmed for Xbox and PS2
Virgin Interactive have announced that they are working on a new science fiction action game called Maelstrom, powered by the latest version of the Unreal Warfare engine, boasting a plot penned by Judge Dredd writer Robbie Morrison, and featuring a range of new characters designed by Judge Dredd and Batman artist Jim Murray. No expense spare then for the first new game to come out of Virgin's revamped in-house development team.
Maelstrom should appear on PlayStation 2 this Christmas, with an Xbox version already confirmed for some time next year and (reading between the lines) a GameCube version is apparently a possibility as well. The game will feature an unusual mixture of first person shooting and space combat, and judging from the early screenshots and character art we've seen so far it's certainly looking promising. Players will join one of two warring pirate groups as they battle for control of deep space, "dogfighting around massive convoys of dreadnoughts in their own combat fighters" before breaching their security systems and entering the stricken ship with a boarding party to loot its cargo. The PlayStation 2 version will also allow two players to go head-to-head via a split screen mode, while the Xbox port will feature online support. Expect to hear a lot more about this one over the coming months...