Developer 4D Rulers is putting the finishing touches on Gore, its arcade-style sci-fi shooter, though the game has actually been around for a few years. It originally made its debut with a set of fast-paced multiplayer test demos that were released some time ago, though the developer has since added a single-player component to the game. Fortunately, DreamCatcher picked the game up earlier this year.

With enough training, you'll be the ultimate soldier.

Gore will take place in the not-too-distant future, in a world torn by conflict over the most powerful resource known to humankind. In order to win the war, the UMC military organization secretly develops a high-tech computer training module called the meat machine, a powerful simulation of real-world combat. Using the meat machine's intensive computerized drills, the UMC is able to quickly turn novice soldiers into seasoned veterans. With the backing of a battalion of expert soldiers whom the UMC seems to gather from out of nowhere, it slowly but surely begins to turn the tide of battle. At least, until a group of criminals and lowlifes, called the Mob, somehow hacks into the UMC's database and storms the UMC headquarters. It'll be up to you, as a soldier in training, to recover the stolen data and eventually become the ultimate soldier, the flawless result of intensive military training.

From the time we've spent with the game so far, we've concluded that although Gore's graphics aren't incredibly detailed, the game itself might end up being one of the most fast-paced 3D shooters ever. The action in Gore moves at least as fast as the most frantic fights in other well-known arcade-style shooters such as Serious Sam and Unreal Tournament. The game lets you run extremely fast and jump very high, very quickly. You'll need that speed to keep up with your ever-dwindling ammunition supply, since several of Gore's weapons--and there's a fair number of them, and most have an alternate firing mode--will fire just as quickly as you can run. But you can't run and jump forever, since Gore also has a stamina meter that runs out quickly if you sprint and jump about too much, though it gradually recharges if you walk normally or stand still. Otherwise, much of the action in Gore is fast-paced and frenetic--in the tougher areas of the game, the only pauses you'll find are those tense moments in which the clip in your gun runs out, and you have to reload your weapon. Thankfully, Gore will have a manual reload key to help you make sure you don't run out of steam in the middle of a tough firefight.

The base is under attack!

The single-player game will begin within the confines of the UMC base. You're in the middle of a routine training mission, when you're suddenly attacked by several thugs from the Mob. While your surroundings aren't especially detailed, they're all instantly recognizable--you begin the game in the middle of a training yard lined by barracks and chain-link fences. Gore has been in development for some time, so its graphics aren't quite the state of the art, but you won't really have time to scrutinize every last part of the scenery, because it all goes by in a blur once you get moving. Gore's moderately detailed environments help keep the game moving nice and fast, regardless of whether you're the only one onscreen, or if you're being shot at by a dozen different enemies.

From what we've seen, Gore also strikes a good balance between detail and speed with its character models. In the single-player game, you'll sometimes have the backup of fellow UMC soldiers while you tangle with enemies from the Mob, and all the characters in the game seem to be modeled and textured well. Gore's graphics engine allows for animated facial expressions and a good amount of detail on characters, such as tattoos and earrings. And Gore's characters are animated convincingly enough. Big, heavyset thugs lumber toward you slowly, while smaller, faster knife-throwers are able to dash about the environments, and all the enemies go down with a full set of good-looking death animations.