Square Enix goes Gun Loco in 2011

Next month, Square Enix will at last have its third-person shooter revamp of the Front Mission mech franchise ready to roll out, having delayed the title a handful of times. However, that won't be the end of the Japanese publisher's third-person shooter ambitions. Today, Square Enix announced it would be bringing an "all-new approach" to the genre with Gun Loco, a frenetic future combat shooter that is slated to arrive exclusively for the Xbox 360 in 2011.

Gun Loco offers a sci-fi take on the Australian outback story, in which the universe's most off-kilter lunatics and criminals are shipped off to a remote prison colony. Unbound and ungoverned, the cons engage in brutal gang warfare as they vie for survival and ultimate power over the planet. The conflict plays out across a variety of climate zones and locales, and players will also find themselves thrashing fellow criminals amongst the ruins of the planet's fallen civilizations.

Square Enix has described Gun Loco's gameplay as falling within a "sprint-action shooter format," in which players take on a variety of different roles. The publisher also noted that it would be offering a fresh take on established run-and-gun shooter gameplay, as players will be challenged with acrobatically surmounting the environment as they chase down their marks. Gun Loco will also feature 12-player online matches across a variety of different modes.

Notably, the game features a stylized aesthetic, with character models inspired by toy maker Kenny Wong. The Hong Kong-based designer is responsible for the Brotherswork series of collectible action figures.