Slave Zero

In a departure from all the driving and racing games, Slave Zero is Accolade's contribution to the 3D action-game genre. Here you'll take the reigns of the giant proto-type battle-mech, Slave Zero, run around full 3D cityscapes, and fight off hordes of rival forces.

Your goal is to destroy SovKahn, an evil dictator who uses something called the "dark force" to control the populace. It's up to you and this bio-mechanical warrior to restore freedom to humanity. Played entirely in the third-person, Slave Zero eschews the traditional first-person perspective, since the mech-design is so integral to the experience. Accolade promises four-player split-screen deathmatch action that will let gamers play as mechs not normally available in the single-player mode, and there's even talk of a twelve-player mode via the modem.

You use the analog pad to look around and aim, while the four buttons on the front of the pad move you in all directions. Both of the shoulder buttons are used for firing different weapons. All of this is fine and good, but you can also jump, crouch, and put away your main weapon. So you're forced to take your thumb off of the analog stick and move it down to the D-pad to perform those functions. It may be kind of a hassle, but it seems like something you could eventually get used to.

From what we saw at the E3 convention, Slave Zero looks really quite amazing. The graphics aren't terribly sharp, but what it loses in focus it more than makes up for in detail and gritty realism. Gunfire and other physical attacks leave behind visual damage that doesn't fade. Use Slave Zero to stomp on the ground, causing shock-waves, and there will be an increasingly large crater where he stomped his mighty foot. Sixty feet tall and bad-ass, Slave Zero will be able to use a wide variety of weapons as well as pick up and throw cars and humans. Weapon details like smoke trails and lighting effects round out this port of Accolade's highly-anticipated PC action game.

Expected to run at 60fps when it's ready for release, Slave Zero is one title to keep your eyes on. Slave Zero will be available on the Dreamcast this fall.