First Look: Independence War 2

GameSpot News has obtained some of the first details and screens on Independence War 2, currently in development for the PC and the Dreamcast.

The second Independence War story is about Cal Johnston, a young criminal whose father was killed by Caleb Maas of the Maas Corporation because he held extremely large debts. Young Cal comes across a former Naval captain named Jefferson Clay, who then assists Cal during the beginning of the game where he needs to come to grips with the handling of the spacecrafts. Cal soon finds out more about why his father was killed and then decides to avenge his father's death, which lands our hero in jail with a 30-year sentence.

We meet Cal once again after 15 years in jail. He escapes the prison complex along with a couple of his mates who will assist him in his further journey. And this is where the player comes in.

Infogrames and developer Particle Systems have very high ambitions for this sequel. Subtitled The Edge Of Chaos, the second Independence War game will feature a dynamic universe where the player is free to fly around 16 star systems spread across two very different star clusters, encountering a variety of space stations and ships. Space traffic is dynamically generated, and it exhibits realistic behavior - examples are taxicab ships, freighters carrying realistic cargo and shipping it to appropriate ports, security patrols, pirates, etc.

Independence War 2 is also supposed to sport a highly developed physics model, but we'll tell you more on that once we actually see the game running.

In the meantime, enjoy the two rendered CG shots that should give you an idea of what the developers are shooting for in this sequel. Independence War 2 is scheduled to release in Winter 2000 for both the PC and the Dreamcast.