SAN JOSE, Calif.--Game Developer's Conference 2006 is under way in the boundless borough of San Jose, California. We commemorated the occasion with an up-close look at Night Watch, the next game from Silent Storm developer Nival Interactive and publisher CDV. Night Watch will be based on the events of the first two motion pictures which were, in turn, based on the novels of the same name by Russian author Sergei Lukyanenko. While the US version of the motion picture has not yet been released, CDV producer Gregor Bellman describes it as "a cross between Lord of the Rings and The Matrix."

The story behind the Night Watch novels and motion pictures is, in a nutshell, that two mystical armies of otherworldly beings known as the Others (one group being evil, the other good) have been secretly waging war against each other throughout the course of human history, unbeknownst to any human in history. However, the events in the novels and motion pictures take place in the present day so that battles aren't fought with just pistols and machine guns, but also with sorcery and, curiously enough, electric lights. In the game, you play as Stas, a cocky, blond-haired youth who is down on his luck and takes a bribe to perform an assassin's job. However, training your sniper rifle on a seemingly normal target summons an otherworldly female wizard from the shadows, who rebukes Stas for being so coldhearted. The brash youth then learns that he, too, possesses magical powers, such as the ability to change his shape into that of a fierce animal. He also learns that not all of his enemies are normal humans; the Others possess mystical powers, but his evil enemies can also be harmed by something as simple as the beam from his pocket flashlight.

Over time, Stas will earn experience points for completing side quests and defeating armies of evil Others with powers of their own. As he does, he'll be able to increase one of his three primary attributes (strength, dexterity, and intelligence, each of which directly affects his other abilities). He'll also be able to learn many different magical powers, such as the ability to enter "Twilight," an alternate reality into which Others may retreat, making themselves invisible to humans. Twilight looks a lot like our world but with all of its color bled out in favor of drab grays and translucent, bubbling blues. Stas will also team up with other noble Others as he becomes embroiled in an all-out war with the evil armies.

Fortunately, he'll be armed with one of the most satisfying tactical strategy systems to date: the same technology that powered the outstanding sleeper Silent Storm. While there won't be quite as many spectacular explosions or as much environmental destruction as in that game (and the new game won't offer as many stealth options), Night Watch will still offer the intuitive and flexible round-based battles the engine is known for. Like in other tactical games, such as Jagged Alliance 2 and the Fallout role-playing series, Night Watch's combat will be turn-based and will give each character a certain number of "action points" (or "AP") per turn, which can be used to move, climb, draw weapons, attack, reload weapons, and use magic spells. Players will also have a limited magic meter that will replenish slowly each round of combat (and replenish continuously outside of combat, during which the game takes place in real time).

All told, Night Watch should offer something in the way of 20 to 30 hours of gameplay, though since the game is intended to follow the events in the movies, it will be somewhat more linear than Silent Storm was. Still, the prospect of firing up another game using that excellent tactical strategy engine--along with sorcery, a role-playing-game-like character-development system, and video clips and soundtrack music from the motion pictures--should be enough to make fans of both the original fiction and great strategy games sit up and take notice. Night Watch is scheduled for release later this year.