Soldiers of Anarchy Preview

How many real-time strategy games can there be? Is it really a good idea to make yet another game where players start out with a couple of peon units, build a base, and then churn out an army to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible? Developer Silver Style Entertainment didn't seem to think so when it began developing Soldiers of Anarchy, its upcoming 3D tactical real-time strategy game. Soldiers of Anarchy won't take place in open fields full of minerals or gold mines--it will take place in a postapocalyptic future, where the most important resource is what you can scavenge from your fallen enemies. Publisher Simon & Schuster was gracious enough to visit GameSpot's offices to give us an up-close look at the game.

A decade later...

The setting of Soldiers of Anarchy draws more than a little inspiration from the classic role-playing game Fallout. At the beginning of the game, players emerge from a bomb shelter 10 years after a nuclear holocaust destroys civilization, leaving what's left of humanity to form small, ragtag tribes that care nothing about paper money or fancy clothes. The most important forms of currency are weapons, ammunition, and, if you're lucky enough to find them, vehicles--you'll be able to barter all these in exchange for different equipment, as well as for the services of new teammates. Like in Fallout, you'll be able to recruit skilled commandos throughout the course of the single-player campaign, either by convincing them to join your cause or by bribing them with a case of ammo.

You'll be able to use an arsenal of conventional 21st century weapons and vehicles (and maybe a few futuristic, experimental gadgets) in a tactical game that is being described as "a cross between Dungeon Siege and Commandos 2." Soldiers of Anarchy will have the fast-paced, free-form real-time action of Microsoft's hack-and-slash game, but it will also have the highly specialized and skilled characters of the Commandos games. Many of Soldiers of Anarchy's missions will take place in large, outdoor 3D environments that will change as you interact with them. For example, jeeps and tanks will leave tracks on the ground, and you'll be able to use trees as cover or send them crashing down on the heads of your opponents. In missions in which some degree of stealth is required, your characters will be able to crouch or lie prone. They'll move more slowly in those positions, but they'll be much less likely to get hit and will also have steadier, more accurate aim. In some cases, they'll even be able to disguise themselves, but in all cases, they'll need to be careful around enemy units in the field. Soldiers of Anarchy will clearly indicate whether your troops have been spotted with markings over enemy soldiers' heads. If an enemy's marker is green or yellow, he probably hasn't seen you, but if it's red, you'll probably have a fight on your hands. Fortunately, selected groups of units will all move as slowly as their slowest members, so you won't have to worry about babysitting the one soldier who keeps running ahead of everyone else and setting off all the alarms.

We all go home, or nobody goes home.

You will be best served by keeping an eye on the status of each of your soldiers. All your characters will have physical attributes, like strength, speed, and health, and they'll have a paper-doll inventory system that will let them carry certain amounts of gear. Different soldiers will have different skills--you can expect to see close-combat small arms experts, snipers, medics, heavy-weapons specialists, and mechanics, among others. Using your squadmates' abilities wisely will let you develop their skills and advance experience levels, or "ranks," from a lowly private all the way to general.