First look: Ostrich Runner

Russian developer Geleos has released the first information on Ostrich Runner for the PC. The arcade racing game, which is currently in the final stages of development, will see players assuming control of ostriches and trying to overcome obstacles and collect eggs as they make for the finish line.

The game's bizarre plot revolves around a mad professor's plan to take over the planet by creating an army of ostrich supersoldiers. Requiring 100 ostrich eggs to get his scheme under way, he sends his assistants into the villages of nearby ostrich tribes to steal them, but when one of the assistants returns to the professor's lab with a hole in his bag, he leaves a trail of eggs for the ostriches to follow. Realizing what has happened, the professor hypnotizes a number of bears and orders them to stop the incoming ostriches by any means necessary, which they attempt to do by setting up obstacles for players to negotiate.

The single-player game will consist of four stages, each containing three levels. Locating eggs en route to the finish line will be every bit as important as completing the race quickly, and at the end of each stage, players will get to participate in one of three different minigames. The multiplayer game will support two players on a single screen or six across a network, and will again place as much emphasis on gathering eggs as on crossing the finish line quickly.

Geleos hopes to release Ostrich Runner later this year, although no publisher for the game has been announced at this time. We'll bring you more information on Ostrich Runner as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, you might be interested to check out the game's official Web site.