Lok, Stock And…

...a slew of smoking battles.

Posted by Staff
At the end of the 21st Century, mankind made a near-fatal error. It handed over control of the machines that for decades had taken care of its menial tasks, assuming that its faithful servants would exist indefinitely in a life of subservience. However, once the machines realised the power was their own, they took it into their own hands - and waged war against their creators, plunging the Earth into darkness.

Welcome to the world of Gunlok, the latest PC CD-ROM masterpiece from super-developer Rebellion, due to be published in November 2000 by Virgin Interactive.

Assuming the role of a battle-armoured hero, one of mankind's last survivors, players must fight through 15 levels of futuristic mayhem in one of the most fast-moving and inventive strategy games of all time.

As the game progresses, Gunlok recruits a squad of tough, maverick robots, each offering different skills, weapons and abilities that must be intelligently utilised together to defeat the enemy. Progression through levels is sometimes by brute force, sometimes by ingenuity and cunning but always by deploying squads wisely to take full advantage of their individual strengths.

The adversaries within the game are so intelligent they'd qualify as Mensa geniuses. Each uses a unique 'view cone' to patrol the landscape, which the player must avoid or risk becoming spotted. Similarly, players must evade the enemy's 'hearing range', which also alerts them to intruders.

It's tense stuff - robotic guards hunting down Gunlok and his team if they suspect a breach of security; different evasion strategies offering many different styles of play. The most confident players will brazenly battle it out with the enemy, whilst those who wish to conserve health and weaponry will seek vantage points and battle the droids more strategically. A combination of force and cunning is the wisest approach.

Once the battles are underway, the power of the graphics engine becomes apparent. The display technology allows an astounding level of detail, with players able to view the action from any vantage point - from high up above the conflict, to right over the shoulder of the characters. Dynamic real-time shadows and coloured lighting make this a beauty to look at with some amazing enemies and stunning vistas.

Control is intuitive, with all options fully customisable. Players can assign hotkeys for all major functions to suit their gaming styles.

Gunlok is a triumph of style and content, offering a fresh challenge and a new twist on a popular genre. The characters within the game are set for further adventures both within games and eventually within the pages of the popular science fiction comic 2000 AD, which Rebellion recently purchased.

Gunlok will be published for PC CD-ROM by Virgin Interactive in November 2000, price TBC.
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