Armed and Dangerous Updated Impressions

At a LucasArts press event today, we met with Planet Moon's Aaron Loeb to see more of Armed and Dangerous, the developer's upcoming PC and Xbox action game. The Sausalito-based studio, which created Giants: Citizens Kabuto, has been working on the game for the past two years. The result of the small team's work is a game that attempts to combine Monty Python-esque humor (with a dash of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) with tight, mission-based gameplay. The unlikely combination, similar in spirit to Giants, is shaping up into an extremely promising, original game.

In the game, you play as Roman, the leader of a motley band of thieves called the Lionhearts. Q is a prim and proper robot who speaks with a British accent and has an unhealthy love of tea. Jonesy is a Scottish mole with a rotten disposition and a sharp tongue. Raxis is Roman's foster father, a short, balding man with telekinetic powers. You guide your group through 21 missions across five different environments, ranging from snowy areas to forests and mountains. The missions alternate between playing as Roman alone or being joined by Jonesy and Q. The game's includes standard run-and-gun action as well as objective-based missions. You can give simple directions to Q and Jonesy, such as attacking a target or defending you from enemies. You'll also find pubs on many of the levels, which let you stop in for a breather and to swap out weapons--you'll find 17 in the game to choose from.

Loeb showed off several different levels set in different environments. The game will feature a total of five major environments that feature radically different appearances. In the mountains, we saw impressively detailed farmhouses and windmills. A windy cliff area showcased the game's slick particle-effect system, which creates sheets of rain and gorgeously detailed water that slams against the bottom of the cliffs. We also had a chance to see some new weapons, which seem just as useful, and funny, as those we've already seen. For example, the world's smallest black hole is just that: a tiny black hole that sucks in just about anything near it. The knockout is an enormous red punching bag that pulls enemies toward you, then lets you slam them back to their deaths. The weapons seem very cool and quite amusing to use, and they fit in well with the game's other over-the-top weapons, like the topsy-turvy bomb and the land shark gun.

In addition to new weapons, we got a chance to check out some of the game's new boss characters. The colossus is a giant robot that resembles the AT-ST walkers from The Empire Strikes Back and requires some hefty firepower to take out. We also encountered the Q1-12, an upgraded robot version of your buddy Q--though the Q1-12 seems slightly more insane, and better armed.

One of the highlights of the demonstration was undoubtedly the new cinematic sequences we were able to watch. Loeb showed off several, which showcased Armed and Dangerous' inspired lunacy. Thanks to excellent voice acting and strong writing, the game features some of the funniest sequences we've seen in a game in a long time.

In terms of graphics, the PC version. which we played on a fairly high-end PC, seems to have a better frame rate and cleaner textures than the Xbox version, as you might expect. However, the Xbox version also seems quite solid, and while its frame rate wasn't quite as consistent as that of the PC version, it didn't seem to affect the gameplay. Overall, the game's visual presentation seems like a combination of excellent technical features and inspired designs.

From what we've seen so far, Armed and Dangerous is looking good. The jokes seem downright hilarious, and better still, the game seems to offer solid gameplay to match its humor. Armed and Dangerous is currently scheduled to ship later this year for the Xbox and PC.