Hands-OnAnachronox

We recently visited Eidos' offices for a demonstration of Anachronox, the often delayed, Quake II engine-powered RPG from the Ion Storm team headed by designer Tom Hall. However, to our surprise, we were actually able to play through parts of the build and experience the ambitious project first hand with guidance from Hall. The first scene in this particular build starts off with three characters - Boots, Grumpos, and Rho - in a ship heading toward an enormous asteroid-like object. Upon close observation, you quickly discover that the object is actually the nest of the alien race known as the Hive, which decimates the resources of the planet it inhabits and then moves on to another. While Grumpos, an old wizard-like character, speaks with someone at mission control, Boots and Rho can be seen exchanging glances in the background. Tom points out that Boots has an interest in Rho, but she doesn't know that quite yet, and as the scene progresses, the two characters continue to make different facial expressions at one another.

After some additional lines of dialogue, the scene launches into one of Anachronox's many minigames. Here your main task is to infiltrate the hive and destroy the two main power sources. Of course, this task isn't as easy as it sounds since Hive soldiers continually assault you from just about every direction. In addition, while you don't actually have control over your ship, you are able to choose which direction it takes at certain points by shooting at different corridors. However, if you take the wrong corridor, you can easily end up at the beginning of the stage. Once you destroy the two power sources and the level boss, your ship lands, and the three characters venture out into the hive.

Though the default camera is fixed in a third-person over-the-shoulder view, Anachronox's controls are similar to those of other games using first-person shooter engines. The mouse essentially lets you manipulate your line of sight and the direction your character moves. The system actually seems a little sluggish at this point because the controlled character doesn't really respond quickly enough to mouse movements. So getting caught on walls and ledges is a common occurrence while adjusting to the control scheme.

Anachronox's battle system is an obvious indication of Tom Hall's appreciation for console RPGs. The first battle sequence launches into a layout that's very similar to that of Square's Final Fantasy VII. The three characters each have meters indicating when that character is able to launch an attack. These meters take time to charge, but once they are full, you can use the characters' basic attacks, items, or special attacks, some of which can be rather humorous. For example, one of Grumpos' special attacks acts as a paralyzing spell, but it shows him literally spewing out words as he lulls the enemy to sleep.

Some battles allow you to manipulate objects in the background. For example, during an early battle in the hive, the party finds a group of hive soldiers waiting just beyond a small bridge. Since the controls for the bridge are located near the party's side of the battlefield, Grumpos is able to use the bridge controls. If the bridge is gone, the hive soldiers can't launch any of their close-range attacks, so they must rely on projectile attacks. Unfortunately, this works both ways, so Grumpos can't use any close-range attacks either.

We'll have more on Anachronox before its March 2001 release.