Universal Interactive Round-Up Our recent journey to France placed us on the doorstep of Universal Interactive to peek at their upcoming titles for the year. Here's
what we saw…
By - Tom Ham
When you think of key game publishers in the industry, what companies usually come to mind? Electronic Arts? LucasArts? THQ? Capcom? Well whoever you picked, we can bet there is one company that you probably didn't think of as a major player and that's Universal Interactive.
2001 was Universal's debut year. With only four titles, they still managed to make some waves in the industry. They brought the famed Crash Bandicoot to the PS2 and their Spyro: Season of Ice was one of the best games released on the GBA. Yes, they published The Mummy Returns games for the PS2 and Game Boy Color, but we won't talk about them right now, because some things are better left unsaid… cough… ahem! Alrighty! Onto 2002!
The Scorpion King
After attending an exclusive press event in Paris, GameSpy was the first US game media to check out some of Universal Interactive's 2002 lineup. Needless to say, we were thoroughly impressed. Spanning all platforms and genres, Universal Interactive, is without question, poised and ready to make a major impact on the industry. "We had four titles in 2001," explains Jim Wilson, president of Universal Interactive, "we will have 15 new titles slated for this year. We're bringing Crash to the Xbox, Spyro to the PS2 and we've got other announcements later on in the year. I am very excited about 2002." You know what? So are we.
Universal Interactive showcased a handful of titles at their event. In addition to the next-generation titles (which we will get to in a minute), we got to check out some handheld titles as well. Two titles that stood out were The Scorpion King: Sword of Osiris (Q2) and Monster Force (Q3). Gameplay in The Scorpion King can best be described as Castlevania with a little Stryder thrown in. The combination is compelling and we found ourselves stuck to our GBAs for extended periods of time. Combined with excellent graphics and sound, don't knock this game till you try it.
Monster Force
Next up is Monster Force, developed by GBA veterans Digital Eclipse. Although looking like something for the younger set, after playing it, it is definitely something that older gamers would get into. With gameplay reminiscent of Gauntlet, players take on the role of young monsters including Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. There will be secret characters as well. Monster Force will have over 35 levels of gameplay as well as multiplayer modes too.
After watching and playing Spyro on the PlayStation 2, it truly made us speechless. Granted, the game is still in early design mode, and none of the levels have been fleshed out yet, but the visuals were simply mesmerizing. "We didn't want to just increase the number of polys in the game," explained Marcus Savino, production coordinator at Universal Interactive, "maintaining the feel of the original game was important to us as well." And speaking of polys, Spyro is made up of 4,000 of them.
This Spyro adventure takes place after the Year of the Dragon Festival. Someone or something has stolen the Dragonflies, which are the source of all dragon magic. It's up to Spyro to get them back and bring order back to the land. Spyro will have four different breath attacks including fire, ice, electric and bubble-breath. In addition, Spyro will be able to control four different vehicles including a UFO, a tank, a spitfire, and a manta ray.
We'll have more Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly coverage from E3. Until then, you can check out some of our screenshots. The game is expected to ship in November.
