Armed and Dangerous Impressions

Following LucasArts' announcement of Armed and Dangerous earlier today, we made sure we were among the first people to see the Xbox version of the game in action when we paid a visit to the company's E3 booth. Described by the LucasArts representative conducting our demo as an action action game (no, that's not a typo), Armed and Dangerous very much focuses on over-the-top weapons, over-the-top special effects, overly destructible environments, and--in the case of one of the levels we were shown--an overwhelming number of enemies.

In Armed and Dangerous, you'll assume the role of a misfit named Roman, who leads a small gang called the Lionhearts. For much of the game, you'll be accompanied by two of your fellow gang members--though, in keeping with the gung-ho spirit of the game, the only command you'll be able to give them is "attack." The first level we were shown was set in a small snow-covered town in which all hell broke loose about a second after the game started. Enemies were attacking us from all directions, and even with the teammates in tow, the odds seemed well stacked against the good guys for a while.

The odds were even less favorable in the second level, as Roman took control of a gun turret and was charged with defending a city wall from an advancing army of more than 1,000 enemies. The enemies' objective was to get 100 of their number over the wall and into the city, and the only thing standing in their way was Roman's gun position. Complicating things, the turret needed to be constantly moved along a railway track on top of the wall so enemies wouldn't be able to slip by unnoticed.

The visuals in the Xbox version of Armed and Dangerous looked solid enough, but they certainly didn't suggest that the game will be a good one for showing off the power of your console when it's released toward the end of this year. We'll bring you more information on Armed and Dangerous as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, be sure to check out our first screenshots from the game, which feature both of the levels that we got to see today.