First look: Outcast 2

Appeal has finally unveiled Outcast 2: The Lost Paradise for the Sony PlayStation 2, along with the first screenshots from the game. The sequel to the highly acclaimed action-adventure game Outcast, which was one of the most visually impressive PC games in 1999, Outcast 2 is set in the lush environments of a fictional planet named Adelpha. According to Belgian developer Appeal, Outcast 2: The Lost Paradise is a survival-adventure game that settles the conflict between high-tech invaders and the nature-based Talan civilization. Once again, players assume the role of a hero named Cutter Slade, thrusting themselves into the midst of a large-scale conspiracy against the planet Adelpha. Cities are being attacked, and so are the Talan people, and Cutter Slade is being called on to save the planet and its civilization.

The first screenshots show off some of the organic outdoor environments on Adelpha, which was created using a newly developed engine that is code-named Himalaya. While the first game combined objects and characters consisting of polygons with voxel (volumetric pixels) technology that allowed for an outstanding draw distance, the sequel is being developed using polygons for all the environmental and foreground objects. According to Appeal, the Himalaya engine portrays the outdoor environments in incredible detail. For example, players will be able to see individual blades of grass swaying in the wind.

Development on Outcast 2 is currently under way in Belgium. No publisher or release date has been announced for the game. The first game was published by Infrogrames, but it is not clear whether that company will also publish the sequel. However, it has been confirmed that the PS2 version will be released before the PC version.