LucasArts goes to Mars

LucasArts have announced a barmy new third person action-adventure game for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Titled RTX Red Rock, but having nothing to do with the eponymous brand of cider, it pits you as a Radical Tactics Expert [don't ask - Ed] going by the unlikely name of Eugene Zeno Wheeler. Geddit? EZ Wheeler. Ho ho. I bet it took them hours to come up with that gem. The plot goes rapidly downhill from here, involving an alien invasion of Mars and a "young and beautiful" officer called Cimmeria Rajan to rescue from the nasties. Along the way you will be fighting aliens (inexplicably known as LEDs) across the surface of Mars, taking in underground waterways, frozen deserts, alien ships and a ruined human colony.

Throw in a selection of cybernetic implants for Mr Wheeler (whose right arm must be a serious hazard in everyday life, with not only a grappling hook but also a taser and grenade launcher built in) and claims that "state-of-the-art computer techniques allow LucasArts to blend realism and fantasy, bringing players to planet Mars in a way never before possible", and the cliché quota appears to have been generously filled. "We know players will quickly welcome E.Z. Wheeler into the LucasArts family of heroes", LucasArts marketing drone Tom Byron intoned. "This game perfectly blends them with a rich, compelling story and gripping game play."

With a spring 2003 launch on the cards and the E3 trade show looming large on the horizon, we should know soon whether the game is as daft as it sounds...

Source - press release