Area 51 update

Midway has released some new information on its upcoming game Area 51. The game, which is being developed by Inevitable Entertainment, takes the franchise that was originally released as a fairly basic light-gun game and turns it into a first-person shooter. From the looks of the video we've seen, it seems like Area 51 might draw some inspiration from Halo. But will the game turn out to be as solid as Bungie's classic Xbox game? We'll find out later this year.

In Area 51, players will take on the role of Ethan Cole, a HAZMAT (hazard material) specialist who is leading a small Special Forces unit into the Groom Lake Research Facility, better known as Area 51, the supposedly "secret" military base where all sorts of black ops research into UFO landings and other classified stuff goes down. In the game, the rest of the military has lost contact with the Area 51 crew, and Cole and company are going in to find out what happened to them. As you might imagine, the Area 51 base is overrun with all sorts of nasty stuff. For starters, a viral outbreak has turned the existing Area 51 crew into crazed alien enemies who are bent on taking you out. On top of that--literally--an ancient alien civilization is buried beneath the base, so as you might expect, you'll be taking on aliens at some point as well.

The aim of the game is to stop the virus from spreading outside of the base, and along the way, the game's story will touch on a lot of different government conspiracies--from the Roswell UFO crash and subsequent alien autopsy to the possibility that astronauts never actually set foot on the moon.

There will be more than 10 weapon types in the game, covering both human military and alien technology. You'll have access to a Desert Eagle, a shotgun, an assault rifle, and various other types of weapons. You can also toss grenades.

In addition to the single-player campaign, Area 51 will also have a multiplayer mode. Both the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox versions of the game will have support for four-player split-screen. The Xbox version will also allow for system link LAN play. In addition, both versions will have online multiplayer support, though details such as how many players can play simultaneously and what modes will be offered, aren't available at this time.

Area 51 is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox sometime during the fourth quarter of 2004. We'll have more information as it becomes available.