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Highlander: First Details!
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Highlander: There Can Be Only One
Heads will roll in Eidos' high-powered action title. In-depth details on everything from one-on-one sword fights to Viking raids.
by Hilary Goldstein
January 24, 2008 - There can be only one. The tagline from the 1986 cult flick, Highlander, describes "The Game" immortals play to determine the world's ultimate bad ass. How this game gets down to one winner is fairly gruesome. Immortals only die when their head separates from their neck. Thanks to Eidos, you'll be able to experience the thrill of lopping off heads when Highlander: The Game arrives on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
You play as Owen MacLeod, a 2000-year-old immortal living in a futuristic New York. Armed with a sword and superhuman powers, Owen must battle an all-powerful immortal.
We spoke with Producer Ed Woolf to get the lowdown on Highlander: The Game. Woolf offered details on the combat system, Owen's powers and how the game relates to the original movie.
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IGN: What is the game's structure? Is it linear level design with non-stop action?
Ed Woolf: New York is your base. As you confront Kraken's men and deal with what is going on you have flashbacks to previous periods in time. After each flashback you return to New York.
With regards each level, there are often multiple ways to get through a level -- you can either battle your way through or try to use stealth by sneaking past or by finding alternate routes.
IGN: One of the first screenshots released for Highlander shows Owen leaping towards a chopper. How over-the-top does the action get?
Woolf: It gets pretty crazy at times -- we wanted to have high action moments followed by calmer periods. The game is a mix of sword play, a little bit of puzzle solving and some exploration. For example in one of the levels, Vikings are raiding a town and you have to help defend the villagers, rescuing some from burning buildings. There's a great bit where you are on the ramparts and the Vikings are coming up the ladders -- push the ladders off the wall and you've saved yourself a whole bunch of Viking aggro.
IGN: How many heads do you imagine a person will lop off through the course of playing Highlander?
Woolf: That depends on your fighting technique. If you're feeling blood-thirsty enough you could easily behead over 100 enemies. However it is up to the player to see which combat technique works for them -- be warned though, the enemy AI gets progressively tougher so you'll need to constantly improve your skills. You only get new Quickening techniques when you behead an Immortal.
That's not his head, but it'll do.
IGN: Can you tell us a bit about the combat system? This is probably the make-or-break design element for the game. Explain how a battle with an immortal works.
Woolf: We've really spent a long time polishing the combat. We have a great system which allows you to chain a variety of combat moves in whichever way you want -- so you can go from one technique smoothly into another. There are a range of finishing moves, you can grab people by their head and swing them round, throw them off a cliff or impale them on a spike. It's a lot of fun.
Each immortal battle is different and I don't really want to spoil it by talking about how to defeat them. My favorite though is an Immortal who has protected himself in a tough metal casing so that he is more robot than man. He has a number of attacks including using magnetic arms to attract any metal debris and then reversing the current to cause the object to go flying at you. He's tough!
IGN: Are there other melee attacks available other than swords? Any sort of environmental interactions?
Woolf: Yes there's a bunch of stuff you can do like kick barrels over to set fire to structures, use fire extinguishers to put out fires and use zip lines to get to unexplored areas. We've tried to have as many interactive items as possible in the levels including many destructibles.
IGN: How does the health system work, since death only comes when you lose your head?
Woolf: You have a fatigue bar -- every time someone hits you, you become more tired. Eventually you will be completely exhausted to the point where the enemy can easily chop your head off. To prevent this you must either use your Chi Quickening technique or some rapid button prompts to prevent instant death by beheading.
IGN: How do the powers earned from the quickening work and what are some of the powers you can obtain?
Woolf: You get quickening powers from defeating an Immortal in one on one combat. As you play the game you get access to a range of powers including Channeling the Source which causes electricity to rain down on the enemies and sends a powerful pulse from where you're standing. Weapon Mastery allows you to improve your weapon skills so that you can have flaming swords or whirlwind attacks for example.
Sometimes you can use these powers to uncover hidden areas such as by using your flaming sword to melt ice.
IGN: Is there an experience point system used to improve powers?
Woolf: You gain experience by finding hidden areas of the game, defeating enemies and of course defeating Immortals. With this you can use your experience to improve your weapon skills by learning new combat techniques for example.
When in Rome...
IGN: In the original movie, Connor MacLeod proved there could be only one. So, how exactly can the game take us to a futuristic New York that exists after the events of the movie?
Woolf: The phrase "There can be only one" refers to the fact that Immortals live a life of ritual combat until there is only one left. That day has not yet arrived [in the game]. For all you know, you could be an immortal! You won't know until your first violent death.
IGN: What's going to make this game appealing for someone who's unfamiliar with the Highlander franchise?
Woolf: I think one of the coolest things about the game is that you're immortal, so if you want you can free fall from tall buildings or cranes. You can get impaled by a sword and then pull that sword out and use it to defeat an enemy.
The combat system is really flexible too and allows you to pick up your stunned enemy and throw him onto spikes or out the window of a 50 story building. Because you have lived for such a long time, you have mastered the art of several different swords which means you get to behead the enemy in a range of different moves.
The immortal known as "Robocop."
IGN: What previous Highlander material are you considering canon for the videogame universe?
Woolf: We took the view that we wanted to create a fresh new character and create a new setting for the game. Something that would appeal to both fans of the franchise as well as newcomers, so the Highlander mythos remains the backdrop and against this we have a great new story with twists.
IGN: Why create a new MacLeod instead of using Connor or Duncan?
Woolf: We wanted to stay within the Highlander universe but create a fresh character as we didn't want to get tied down to any one particular person from a previous movie. This means that fans of the series are getting something brand new.
IGN: Will Connor or Duncan MacLeod make an appearance in the game and if so, how significant a role will they play?
Woolf: Owen MacLeod was adopted into the Clan MacLeod after he fought at their side, but they are not of the same bloodline. In the game, you play Owen MacLeaod as you try to defeat a new enemy, Kraken, who is terrorising New York. The Story has flashbacks to previous points in your life and you will need to use your fighting skill, wits and the help of fellow Immortals to try to overcome him. Established Highlander script writer David Abramowitz wrote the story.
IGN: The press release said that Owen's mentor is Methos. He's the oldest of all immortals, correct? Can you tell us more about Methos and how he fits into the game?
Woolf: Methos is certainly one of the oldest – he's been alive for 5000 years. He buys you as a slave and trains you as a gladiator in Roman times. It is only when you should have died in a fight but don't that you both realize you are immortal, and he becomes your mentor.
IGN: Are the Watchers and Hunters going to show up in the game? And if so, can you explain these two groups for people that haven't watched the TV series and how they fit into the game?
Woolf: Yes they have a pivotal role to play. For those unfamiliar with the universe, Watchers come from a secret organization that monitor Immortals. Each immortal is assigned a Watcher and in order to find out more about Kraken, you have to visit his Watcher. Hunters are Watchers who no longer view Immortals positively – they are worried about their power and so are out to kill them.
Who needs a sword when you have fists of steel?
IGN: We know things begin two millennia ago. What are some of the eras in time (and locations) that we'll visit in Highlander?
Woolf: Through the use of flashbacks, you get to visit Pompeii where the town is in panic from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Another flashback occurs in 14th century feudal Japan, and the 9th Century Highlands of Scottland.
IGN: Will there be historical context to events in the game? Will historical figures make any appearances?
Woolf: Well we have been accurate with regards to the environments and what people wore, but we have new Immortals playing central roles throughout history, and the focus is on their interaction. There is tremendous attention to detail in historic environments and architecture which you can see in the screenshots.
IGN: How are the rules for "The Game" enforced in the videogame?
Woolf: The rules in the game are the same – there is no fighting on holy ground. When you confront an Immortal it's a one-on-one battle for survival. Each Immortal has his strengths and weaknesses and it's up to you to last long enough to work out how to defeat them and slice their head off!
Fighting in the arena at Pompeii.
IGN: Is there multiplayer?
Woolf: No -- we are focusing for now on a really strong single player experience. The Immortals are not a clan of united people and are bound by the Rules. Immortals are to fight and behead each other until only one remains, and so because of this we felt it would not make sense to have a co-op mode as it would not be in keeping with the Highlander universe. Instead we have concentrated on a really strong story led game.
IGN: Are you doing anything interesting with the Achievements? Are you incorporating the PS3's award system?
Woolf: We have a range of cool Achievements and awards, but we'll talk about that down the line.
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Link To IGN
If this game doesn't suck it will be awesome. Which... I know is kind of stupid to say but I mean... if this game is actually good it will be so much fun to hack and dismember other immortals... MAN! I can't wait...
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01-25-2008, 03:53 PM
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