Armed and Dangerous E3 2003 Preshow Report

Though it was largely ignored by the gaming public, Planet Moon Studios' Giants: Citizen Kabuto was lauded by critics for its unique premise, quirky sense of humor, and refreshingly varied gameplay. Now, LucasArts has brought in Planet Moon to work on Armed and Dangerous, an all-new action game that promises more silliness, more satisfying action gameplay, a unique fantasy setting, and some really big explosions.

Armed and Dangerous puts you in the role of Roman, the leader of a band of misfit criminals called the Lionhearts. The gang consists of the aforementioned Roman, a Cockney criminal mastermind; Jonsey, a venom-tongued Scottish mole who's a miner and a demolition expert; Q1-11, an enforcer robot with a blue-blood personality; and Rexus, a once-powerful magic user who's seen better days. The team sets out to pull off a huge heist and ends up getting involved in the rebellion against the evil King Forge because of it. The object of desire for the Lionhearts is the Book of Rule, a powerful artifact that is prophesized to be able to overthrow the wicked tyrant. Of course, you'll have to fight through the king's armies of weird half-man, half-animal warriors, killer robots, giants, and evil monks, as well as something called a "twiglet."

There isn't much known about the gameplay in Armed and Dangerous, though the developer's aim seems to be fast-paced shooter action with an emphasis on wildly overdone explosions. The game will feature 21 different missions that will span five different environment types, including snow levels, mountain levels, forest levels, and rainy cliff levels. You'll have an arsenal of goofy weapons at your disposal, such as the Cyclops sniper rifle, the highly destructive Vindaloo rocket launcher, and two different varieties of bombs: topsy-turvy and sticky. The effects of the topsy-turvy bomb sound especially intriguing, as it is said to momentarily turn the world upside down, sending your enemies flying into the air, only to bring them crashing back down when the world rights itself moments later.

If the previous work of Planet Moon Studios is any suggestion, Armed and Dangerous has the makings of a very bizarre action title. The game is currently slated for a late 2003 release on both the PC and the Xbox.