100 Bullets E3 2004 Preshow Impressions

A lot of comic books have come to video game form over the years, and Brian Azzarello's gritty 100 Bullets is as suitable for the medium as any of them. The series stars a mysterious figure called Agent Graves who offers a strange gift--the opportunity to take revenge without getting caught. He gives this in the form of a briefcase containing the proof of the crime and a gun with which to kill the perpetrator. The question is, will the person being offered this "gift" take Graves up on the offer?

That's the sort of moral ambiguity that permeates 100 Bullets' seedy universe. In game form, the license has become an extremely violent third-person action shooter in the vein of Max Payne or Dead to Rights. You'll play as Cole Burns, whom fans will certainly recognize from the comic series, and Snow Falls, an original character created by Azzarello and comic artist Eduardo Risso (who's also handling art direction for the game). You'll take control of one character or the other at different times to travel to new areas like Atlantic City, LA, and Paris, as well as to unravel the game's storyline. As you make your way through the game, you'll use a huge arsenal of firearms and melee attacks against enemies, including some rather graphic takedown moves. You'll also be able to use enemies as hostages and human shields, if you've got an especially sadistic urge.

Brian Azzarello recently finished a stint writing DC Comics' Batman and will soon take up the reins for Superman, so if you doubt his ability to create a good comic book--well, doubt no more. How will his seedy, sinister storylines translate into video game form? We'll find out when 100 Bullets ships in the fall of this year. We'll bring you more on the game soon. For now, you can check out our previous coverage of the game.