Captain Scarlet and the Batfish

Oxfordshire-based indie Batfish Studios is busy working on a new Captain Scarlet title in the "tactical strategy" vein, we've been told. Based on Gerry Anderson's popular TV series, players will have to control Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue and other Spectrum agents as they rescue crashed Angel Interceptors, investigate Egyptian tombs, halt the destruction of an underwater base and so on in the battle to defeat Captain Black and the Mysterons - whose mysterious powers of retro-metabolism allow them to control people on Earth and carry out all sorts of atrocities.

As you can see from these screenshots, the graphics are genuinely highly detailed overhead shots from a sort of Commandos-esque viewpoint, and players are promised control of vehicles from Spectrum Saloon Cars and Angel Interceptors to the legendary Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle.

"Captain Scarlet is as entertaining and relevant now as it was when it was first broadcast 35 years ago," says lead developer Philip Harris, although we'd fancy him to be a bit biased. "With such a strong background to work from we've been able to design a game which will appeal to gamers of all ages, whether they are familiar with Captain Scarlet or not," which is good news.

Captain Scarlet is currently being developed for PC, and the press release makes no mention of other platforms. It's due out during the summer from Digital Workshop.