The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee E3 2004 Preshow Hands-On Impressions

It's no surprise that Ubisoft's upcoming game based on The Dukes of Hazzard television series is named after the General Lee. After all, that orange Charger was the show's signature "actor" (though fans of Catherine Bach, aka Daisy Duke, may beg to differ). For those of you who were born sometime during or after the Reagan administration, The Dukes of Hazzard was a popular television show that ran from 1979-1985. The show was set in the fictional Hazzard County in the Deep South and centered around the Robin Hood-like exploits of a pair of brothers, Bo and Luke Duke, who drove around Hazzard County in an orange Dodge Charger, dubbed the General Lee. In Return of the General Lee, the titular car will again take center stage as players race, make daring jumps, and outrun Hazzard County sheriffs. We recently had a chance to try out an early version of the game, which ran on a PlayStation 2, at a pre-E3 press event.

Ubisoft calls the game a "driving adventure," which is a pretty apt description. Although you'll see the signature characters, such as Bo and Luke, Uncle Jesse, and, of course, Daisy, interacting in cutscenes, there are no on-foot elements to the gameplay. Throughout the game's 18 missions, you'll be driving around in the General Lee or, in some cases, other cars, like Cooter's tow truck, Uncle Jesse's pickup, Boss Hogg's Cadillac, and even Rosco P. Coltrane's police car. The missions are varied in nature. Some involve the simple pick up and delivery of items, while others require you to stealthily tail certain targets. You may also be able to find alternate routes in some missions. In most levels, you'll spend time trying to outrun the police, in addition to making daring stunt jumps over objects. Each time you make a jump, the game goes into a cinematic, slow-motion camera mode. Then the game rates the jump based on your height, the number of times your car flips or spins, and some other factors.

The driving feel of the game is fairly solid, though it has a definite arcade-leaning. You'll notice the difference in handling, depending on the road surface. Cars tend to lose traction much more easily on dirt as opposed to pavement, for example. The General Lee also sustains scarring and other minor damage as you rub fenders with Hazzard County sheriffs and bump into obstacles, but you won't see anything actually falling off the famous Charger. And while you can land on the car's roof if you misjudge a stunt jump, the game will automatically flip the car over for you so that you can continue.

Two actual television writers penned the script for Return of the General Lee, and all the living actors from the show lent their voice talents to the game. Some of them noted that the game's script was actually better than most of the scripts for the show itself, so hardcore Hazzard fans have even more to look forward to in Return of the General Lee. Multiplayer fanatics can unlock a number of two-player split-screen modes, such as racing, police pursuit, destruction derby, and tag. The game is currently slated to ship in September for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more information on The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee as it becomes available.