That’s the latest issue of EGM, which indeed reveals a new Watchmen game that is in the works.
Watchmen: The End is Nigh is actually a prequel, an episodic game that will be released for the Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and Steam starting in March to coincide with the release of the film. The developers behind it, Deadline Games, are the guys behind Total Overdose and the (amazingly fun spinoff) Chili Con Carnage, as well as the upcoming Faith and a 45, which we haven’t heard much about in a while. But then I guess the chance to create a videogame version of one of the most beloved comics of all time will put anything else on hold.
Len Wein, producer of Watchmen and Alan Moore’s mentor, helped write the story and make it authentic to the books. The game is set in 1972 during Rorschach and Nite Owl’s reign of terror on evildoers, five years before the Keene act which outlawed their activities.
The two playable characters (sorry, Comedian fans!) means that this is a two-player affair. You’ll either have an AI partner or can grab a friend to play through with you in splitscreen (no online play, though). There will be 6 different chapters based on different parts of the book.
It sounds like your basic brawler. You’ll walk around and beat up baddies, and both characters will play differently. Rorschach of course likes to get his hands dirty, and can use any object he finds as a weapon. Nite Owl uses his martial arts as well as his gadgets (screecher grenades!) to take down opponents. They both have gauges that fill up and unlock new abilities- Rorschach gets a Rage mode that’ll make him go insane, move faster and be more powerful and able to perform new moves. Nite Owl will be able to use his electified armor or shoot out lighting bolts. Hm. Similar to the Lego series, you’ll have to use your partner’s unique abilities (like Nite Owl’s grappling hook) to advance in the game and get by certain areas.
The game sure doesn’t look like a downloadable title. As you can tell by the cover of that issue (yeah, that’s a screenshot) the models are incredibly detailed, and the lighting really reflects the look of the comic. Each episode will be punctuated by cutscenes that mimick the current Watchmen adaptation that’s on iTunes, and has been supervised by none other than Dave Gibbons, who gave his frank opinion on what he was seeing.
It’s definitely interesting, to say the least. Zack Snyder (who worked as an advisor) claims that this is not simply a marketing tool, but something that will stand up by itself. Let’s hope he’s right, because who wouldn’t want to play as Rorschach?
Pick up EGM for all the juicy bits, and expect to hear much more on this in the coming months.