Legendary

The hunger for console FPS games has never been higher – but the same can be said of the competition in the genre. Ben Parfitt takes a look at something a little bit different…

If you succeed in the modern FPS market then you’re onto a winner. Popular FPS brands pull in more money than any other genre in the current core gaming market. But the temptation to chase these rewards has seen many FPS corpses drop in the heat of battle.

Titles like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, BioShock and Resistance: Fall of Man have shown that the genre still has plenty of fresh ideas, but their success has also demonstrated that unless you’re the cream of the crop, making a noticeable dent in the charts is damn hard work.

“You need something very special these days to take on the leading FPS titles, such is the loyal fan bases they have created – simply being a ‘me too’ product isn’t enough,” Atari’s senior product manager Ben Walker explains.

“These brands have very strong communities, ever more robust multiplayer modes and regular DLC updates, so it’s becoming harder to grab a share of these consumers’ time. That said, any game that can push the bar technically or thematically, and offer a point of difference, will always have the ability to succeed.

“For any new IP entering the FPS arena it’s a challenging proposition – especially within the modern or WWII warfare theme, as arguably it’s reaching saturation point. Legendary bucks this trend and strives to offer a fresher gaming experience. The blend of themes, gameplay and most importantly enemies, gives it a great point of difference. We hope the gameplay is something gamers haven’t witnessed in a while in what’s an unpretentious blast that harks back to the frantic gun-and-run days of classic shooters.”

The point of difference referred to is the game’s interesting blending of themes. The action takes place in modern-day cities such as New York and London, but the enemies are demonic in nature. The story revolves around the opening of Pandora’s box, and the enemies that emerge are a varied and mythical assortment – molten Firedrakes, werewolves, and even eagle/lion cross-breeds known as Griffins.

Built using the Unreal 3 engine, the game also specialises in battles on a huge scale – some enemies tower as high as 40 storeys, requiring multi-stage missions to bring down to the ground.

“The diversity of these enemies not only keeps the game fresh but each enemy type brings with it very particular physics and AI. This in turn keeps the player challenged,” Walker adds. “One moment they’re battling against ground-based human soldiers, the next combating ferocious werewolves or air assaults from Griffins. There’s a real sense of scale and destruction in Legendary.”

Atari is also refreshingly open about its expectations for what could become a cult title, with Walker stating: “We are looking forward to the release and have realistic expectations for the game which has been received well by retail and the press. We believe positive word of mouth will be a good driver of sales once people experience the qualities and approach of the game.”