Nanobreaker Interview [E3 2004]

Have you ever seen a mutant tear its way out of a young mother's skull? I have, and I've talked to the guy who thought it up. Click for the interview.

An electric blue sword slices through seven nano-mutants, cutting them in half and showering the screen with blood. Not since the days of Mortal Kombat have I seen so much spilled plasma in a game and before I can even react, Koji Igarashi is trying to explain.

?That?s not blood. That?s not blood. It?s oil.?, his translator giggles.

This ?oil? is red, shiny and spurting out of a body, yet he insists that it?s oil. We all laugh together and Mr. Igarashi, Nanobreaker?s producer, begins to explain the story with great detail:

Somewhere in America?s future, nanotechnology (atom sized robots known as nanobots) is being tested on humans within the confines of a small island. The nanobots live inside the human body and function as personal identification and implanted credit cards. The experiment was going swell until the master computer controlling the nanobots declared itself a deity and had the nanobots multiply at alarming rates. Suddenly the nanobots were forming huge humanoid figures made of adaptive steel, capable of swallowing bullets and consuming human flesh.

As a last resort, the U.S. government is forced to reactivate an older model cyborg to fight this threat. Armed with a plasma blade, the only weapon capable of damaging the growing nano-army, Warren the cyborg is sent to save humanity from mechanical monsters filled with oil, not blood..

Nanobreaker is built upon a revamped Castlevania: Lament of Innocence engine, and it looks gorgeous. It plays well too. There are two types of slashes and a creative capture button that lasso and pulls enemies towards you?a great solution to lock-on. Certain attack combos change Warren?s plasma sword into a variety of other weapons such as giant hammers or lances. There?s also a block button that will deflect an attack back at an enemy if pressed at just the right time. The combo system seemed easy to learn, tricky to master and constant power-ups add new abilities at nearly every level.

In this preview version, the monsters? AI seemed a bit unresponsive, but the Koji was quick to point out their intricacies. ?With this enemy,? he said, pointing at a muscle bound zombie, ?if you cut them in half, they actually become stronger. While they?re still in half, they attack you and it?s a pain in the ass!?

Even in Japanese, Mr. Igarashi is clearly excited about his game, and this early in development, he should be. We?ll have a full review after its release sometime in 2005.

Comments [0]

post a comment

Post a Comment