Malice PS2 impressions

Sierra stopped by today and gave us a look at the upcoming PlayStation 2 version of Malice. The Argonaut-developed platformer, first shown a few years ago for the Xbox at CES, has since been announced for the PlayStation 2 as well. While the PS2 game was MIA on the E3 show floor, we've seen it in motion and can attest to its existence. Though the pre-alpha build of the game we saw was still rough around the edges, we got a feel for how the game was coming along.

Graphically the game is coming together a bit better than we expected, all things considered. While obviously not as crisp as the Xbox game, Malice doesn't look so bad on the PlayStation 2. The game uses an extensive bag of coding tricks to simulate the overall look of the Xbox game, if not the fine detail. The frame rate fluctuated quite a bit in the game, but a lot of what we'd seen in the Xbox version was on its way to being re-created on the PlayStation 2. Malice's real-time shadow was already implemented and looked fine. We got a look at quite a few of the environments in the game, and they appeared to be making the leap to the PlayStation 2 pretty well.

The gameplay is solid platforming action that includes platform jumping, item collection, and puzzle solving. You'll also have to contend with a motley crew of enemies who are out to stop Malice from traveling through time and thwarting the evil plans of Dog God, who has lost his mind. Besides the standard platforming challenges we mentioned, you'll also have to deal with some extra obstacles. In addition to playing as Malice's adult form, you'll end up playing as a cat and as a toddler, thanks to magical shenanigans that wreak havoc on the red-haired heroine.

From what we've seen so far, Malice is coming along well. The core gameplay is pretty solid, and the graphics are coming along nicely. Malice is currently slated to ship for the PlayStation 2 this November alongside the Xbox game. Look for more on the game in the coming months.