According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Namco is working on a new gangster action game called Urban Reign. The developers working on the game include members of the Tekken and Soul Calibur teams. The game is slated for release during 2005. No price or platform has been announced for the game.

Urban Reign takes place in a modern-day fictitious city named Green Harbor. When a member of one of the city's dominant gangs, known as the Zapps, is kidnapped, the rest of the Zapps suspect that Lee Shun Ying, the boss of the city's Chinatown, is behind the abduction. To defend herself, Lee hires a professional bodyguard and plots a counterattack. The game begins as Green Harbor descends into chaos and gang warfare prevails.

Screenshots of Urban Reign suggest that it is a 3D street-fighting no-holds-barred action game. Most of the stages in Urban Reign have a dark, skid-row atmosphere to them, and they take place in such venues as a junkyard, a back alley, and an abandoned theater.

Up to four people can play Urban Reign simultaneously, and the game offers various team-up attacks that can be executed with the help of one's partner. The magazine states that the player can give orders to partners, suggesting that the game may feature a CPU-controlled partner when played solo.

Urban Reign will also feature some unique attacks that aren't usually seen in street-brawling games, such as the ability to run up walls or to attack from above. More than 30 special attacks can be used to crush bad guys, and more than 50 moves are available for attacking multiple enemies at once.

Urban Reign will feature a selection of more than 60 playable characters, each with a unique background story and fighting style. Four characters have been disclosed so far: Lee Shun Ying, Brad Hawk, Dwayne, and Glen.

Lee is a 24-year-old woman who looks after Chinatown for her late father. She fights using kung fu and a large sword. Brad Hawk is the professional bodyguard hired by Lee, and although his age and origins are a mystery, he's an experienced all-around fighter. Dwayne is the 32-year-old leader of the Zapps and is good with rushing attacks. Glen is the 41-year-old leader of a biker gang known as the Hell's Region. He's a huge, powerful man who's planning to take advantage of the confusion in the city to advance his own ambitions.

Reportedly, Urban Reign is currently 60 percent complete.