E3 2001 Preshow Report: Farscape

On January 30, 2001, Simon & Schuster Interactive announced that it will publish a Farscape game in early 2002. At the time of the announcement, Farscape was described as a third-person action-adventure game based on the hit sci-fi television series Farscape. If you're not familiar with the show, Farscape airs on the cable Sci-Fi Channel, and since its debut three seasons ago, it has become the channel's number-one-rated original series and has garnered quite a large fan following. It's not hard to understand why: The series features an interesting story and some very high-quality special effects, as well as innovative creature designs from Jim Henson's award-winning Creature Shop. Farscape, which is being developed by Scotland-based Red Lemon Studios, promises fans more of this in PC game format.

The story begins with the heroes stranded on a desolate planet in a remote corner of the universe, where they are caught in an ongoing war between native factions and the Peacekeepers, an organized military body. You'll get to play as the series' human protagonist and lost astronaut, John Crichton, as well as the following alien characters: the short but royal sovereign Rygel, the outcast peacekeeper Aeryn Sun, the roguish and clever Chiana, the exotic blue-skinned high priestess Zhaan, and the headstrong Luxan warrior Ka D'Argo. These characters form a motley crew, indeed, but add to their ranks a living leviathan spacecraft, Moya, and you've got a crew searching for a new corner of space to call home. But they've got to solve a mystery that threatens galactic stability if they'll ever realize their goal.

The game will feature extensive character interaction and plenty of combat in environments that replicate those from the TV show. In addition, each character has different but complementary skills, and you'll have to use these to beat interrelated challenges.