Breakdown heads to production

Namco Hometek dispelled some of the mystery around Breakdown today by announcing that the shadowy Xbox action game has gone gold. The game is rated "M" for Mature, will sell for $49.99, and is slated to ship on March 16.

Dubbed my some as a "first-person beat-'em-up," Breakdown fuses a first-person shooter's point of view with a fighting title's hand-to-hand combat. Its plot reads like a cross between Deus Ex and Half-Life. Players assume the guise of Derek Cole, an amnesiac who wakes up in a top-secret scientific facility. Before the resident scientists can vivisect him, he's rescued by a mysterious woman with superhuman martial-arts abilities. Cole soon finds he has similar skills, and they come in handy against the army of pale mutants that start overrunning the complex. When interdimensional portals start opening, things get really strange. GameSpot's previous coverage uncovers some of Breakdown's secrets.