GN writers sat in with a team of developers from 10Tacle to examine a new fantasy-action epic, Elveon.
The story revolves around the race of fantastical humanoids, Elves – often one of fantasy literature’s most revered races. The game details the race’s rise to power and prestige. Players take the role of an Elvish elite warrior destined to save the Elvish race from destruction.
The game is powered by Unreal Engine 3, The beloved, if overused, game engine. The creators of Elveon are quick to point out that their game will not use the engine in the typical way, with lots of shine and gloss on the game’s textures. Instead, they admit to an influence from on of GN’s favorite games, Shadow of the Colossus.
The influence of Shadow of the Colossus is apparent in the earth tones of the game’s trailer. The environments are stunning and realistic, and the architecture throughout the game is as breathtaking as anything seen in a fantasy title to date. At this writer’s viewing, the game was clocked in at 65% completion, and the graphics are only bound to get better.
The action title has the obligatory high-concept combat system. The in-game movements were developed in conjunction with a German martial arts team, who fused Medieval and Asian fighting styles to create the game’s unique style of combat. Players must use strategy to balance their fighting style and weaponry to better defeat their enemies. We witnessed a battle with an enemy brandishing a spear, and the character struggled with anything other than the quick-slicing daggers against the lengthy spear.
Stamina plays an important role in the game, as each movement will weaken your character incrementally – eliminating any plans you had for button-mashing your way through a battle. Overall, 10Tacle reps described the combat system as "structured and complex," a claim we’ll have to investigate further.
Overall, the game is scheduled to clock in at over 30 hours of total gameplay, though just 15 hours would be required to play the game through without thorough exploration. The story is "not entirely linear" – the story will vary depending on the choices of the gamer and their style of play.
Perhaps most interesting about the title is 10Tacle’s proposals for multiplayer expansion via downloadable content. This year’s E3 marked the first major push by several developers (10Tacle and Bioware included) to plan the release of downloadable expansion content for consoles.
Elveon looks fantastic so far, but without a hands-on tryout, it’s just too soon to tell whether or not the game has the sleeper-hit potential of its inspiration, Shadow of the Colossus.
