THE MISSING JOURNALIST

A female journalist goes missing in the South American country of Colombia. Due to the power struggles being waged, it is feared that her life is in great danger - unless someone can save her in time. You, as mercenary Kevin Myers, must go and investigate this disappearance. You most of all, for the journalist is your sister. Find her soon, and in the process unravel the secrets hidden deep within the jungles of Colombia. This is the intriguing world of Xenus, a 3D action-rpg developed by Deep Shadows and to be published by Russobit-M.

AN EQUAL MIX OF RPG AND ACTION

The developer is not simply making a game where RPG elements were thrown in at the last minute. They are determined to give you a game that has equal amounts of action and RPG. I am sure many of you have played games that promised to an RPG experience along with the action elements but failed in the attempt. From what I have observed, Xenus may actually succeed. Killing will not be your main objective, but finding your sister is. You will need to do this by questioning the many characters you come across in the game. In your continuing investigation you will most likely come across individuals from six different sides that each have their own agendas in the power struggle. The six sides include: bandits, guerillas, CIA, officials, narco mafia and Indian. You will meet over 25 different characters that may hold the answers to saving your sister while others will seek to end your life.

Further demonstrating the strong RPG element, the game world you quest in is all contained on one very huge map. You will not be loading levels to reach other areas and, just as in many RPG’s, you must travel vast distances across the world to get to specific locations. Traveling should prove exhilarating due to the use of several vehicles at your disposal. You will actually be able to use tanks, helicopters and jeeps to travel from location to location. Some vehicles you will need to purchase and it is possible that certain key objectives will be tied to their efficient use. I am eager to try out each of these vehicles.

Stealth will also become necessary within Xenus as your search takes you ever closer to finding your sister and even closer to your enemies. Against these enemies you will be able to use about 20 different and upgradeable weapons. Some exciting weapons will allow you sniper abilities to dispatch your enemies from a distance. You will also be able to target specific parts of your enemy’s body with your weapons. If you hit an enemy’s leg for example they may limp away looking for shelter or may call others to come and help him. Head shots will usually prove to be the best ones as it is only then that you can be sure of silencing your enemies.

This should bring some unique strategy to gameplay as you will have to think about what weapons to use for a specific enemy and where you will shoot them instead of blindly firing your weapons. The AI should prove interesting on these enemies as they may be able to hear you if you pass by them and turn in your direction to fire as a result. I am definitely intrigued to see all of these features in action because many games have failed to successfully implement them. Hopefully, Xenus will prove to be different in this regard and deliver some impressive results.

POWERING XENUS

Xenus delivers some powerful and mesmerizing visuals. Powered by the Vital Engine 2, an engine of their own design, team Deep Shadows is ready to captivate you. The engine does wonders in depicting the jungles of Colombia as well as the many other locations such as ruins and towns that you will come across. You will appreciate the intense detail given to the environments, as well as the intricate rendering of the characters and vehicles. It is evident that the team is anxious to give players a grand presentation of Xenus through Vital Engine 2. Recently, they added features such as waterfalls to some of the environments that enhance the atmosphere of these areas. Team Deep Shadows has an impressive graphics engine powering Xenus and I am ready to explore all it can do once the game is released.

UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY

Team Deep Shadows has an intriguing 3D action-rpg in Xenus. The developers have created a game that promises an excellent and equal mix of 3D action and RPG elements all in one neat package. You also have to give them credit for constantly updating the Xenus website with new information, screenshots and recently the release of two samples of the game's soundtrack. There are not many developers who would think that this was important but team Deep Shadows understands that community support can often be the deciding factor in a game's success. Will you be able to step into the role of Kevin Myers and save your beloved sister in time and in the process unravel the mystery that led to her disappearance? You will see for yourself when this game releases in Q3 (July - September) of this year. With controllable vehicles such as helicopters and tanks, 20 unique weapons, and a powerful graphics engine, Xenus is one game that deserves your attention!

Official Xenus Website

System Requirements:

• Pentium III 1 GHz
• 256 MB RAM
• GeForce 2 or higher video card