Platform: PC
Genre: Shooter
Publisher: Digital Jesters
Developer: G5 Software
ETA: Q1 2005

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The Stalin Subway

Making an original shooter seems to be harder and harder for developer to do.  There are lots of demons and aliens to kill but when it comes to being original a lot of first-person shooters fail (no matter how well they're executed).  This is why The Stalin Subway immediately caught my attention, not only because aliens aren't mentioned anywhere but because it's such a different setting and story than Western gamers are used to.

Can you imagine living in USSR with Stalin at the helm?  Most of us can't and maybe The Stalin Subway will not only entertain us, but educate us to some extent. (I use "educate" in the looses sense of the word.)  Here's the official line:

In the Kremlin’s depths there is ripening a covert plot against Stalin. Stalin - the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party – is already 72 years old, but he is still able to arouse fear in his subordinates and subjects.   The most reliable way to do away with the aged ruler and usurp his power is to use a powerful secret weapon right during the Bolsheviks Party assembly…

The main character – the KGB officer Gleb Suvorov – finds himself involved in the dramatic events against his own will. But he must prevent the explosion and rescue the lives of the innocent people.  

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Leading the main character through the tempest of the events, the player will visit the most prominent sights and secret underground objects of Moscow, like the existent subway stations, a secret military subway line, suburban catacombs, and many others.

Prepare yourself for the immersion into the thrilling atmosphere of the Moscow dark '50s…

Features:

The photorealistic representation of the most prominent Moscow sights: subway stations, the Kremlin, Moscow State University etc.

The top-secret objects: a military transport underground line, secret labs, underground dug-outs, Stalin’s bunker.

Authentic weaponry, including those that have never been offered in a computer game such as anti-tank rifle PTRS-41, RKG-3 grenades, Molotov cocktail, flamethrower.

The opportunity to set fires or to flood certain locations.

The NPC’s are able to show the emotional reaction to the environment and the player’s actions.

You can control the trains of the secret underground line and drive the “Pobeda” car along the underground tunnels.

Over 300 types of destroyable objects: bookcases, chairs, ashtrays and so on.

Facial animation of the in-game characters powered by LifeStudio:HEAD technology.

Multiplayer: deathmatch and special team scenarios, multiplayer maps designed as real Moscow places.

My one real hope is that The Stalin Subway isn't heavily localized for English-speaking markets.  A game like this needs to have complete Russian dialogue with subtitles for a heightened sense of immersion.  Maybe the developer will have the option of having the dialogue in English but subtitles would be better received than poorly delivered Russian accents.

The standard shooter conventions all seem accounted for: drivable vehicles, an assortment of weapons, good-looking environments, multiplayer, and destroyable objects.  But it's the story and setting that will go a long way to making The Stalin Subway more than just another shooter.

The Stalin Subway is still a long way off from hitting store shelves.  It has an ETA of Q1 2005 for Europe but it remains to be seen when (or if) it will hit North America.

- Omni

(March 27, 2004)