
	Platform PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Genre Stealth Action Developer Edge of Reality Publisher TBA ETA 2008
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Cipher Complex

When people play a stealth action game, one of the things that is likely at the forefront of their thoughts is getting the mission done without getting caught. Stepping back from this immediate issue, though, one can see that an integral part of making these games work is style. Certain moods need to be achieved, whether it’s lighting, the layout of a building, or the demeanor of the guards who are patrolling a given area. All of these things have an affect on those who play these stealth games, creeping into their subconscious, and impacting their decision-making process. When Edge of Reality announced that they have a new stealth action game in the works for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 called Cipher Complex, they released a fair amount of artwork and early screenshots of the game. Looking at these, one can see that the studio is very much molding the style aspects of the game.

Cipher Complex centers around an Agent Cipher (aka Lt. Col. John Sullivan), a black ops type who is sent on a secret mission into Siberia to investigate why a decommissioned Russian missile station has suddenly become operational again.

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Unfortunately, the Russian government hasn’t been forthcoming on the matter, so Agent Cipher has to sneak in to investigate, where the mission is such that the U.S. government can claim plausible deniability should something go wrong. So, that in mind, players cannot afford to screw up lest they wish to find the good colonel rotting in a gulag.

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At this point, specific details about Cipher Complex’s gameplay are sparse. However, with the art and screenshots that have been released thus far, the door has been opened for some healthy speculation. Right away, one can see that a number of the environments in the game are quite dark, so there should be ample opportunity to slink around in the shadows. This could leave the player with the options to either sneak by enemies unnoticed or to pounce on them unexpectedly.

Looking at how Agent Cipher is presented, how he’s armed, and the sheer number of times that he is depicted beating down guards in the promotional art thus far, it certainly gives the impression that players will be encouraged to go a more violent route, as opposed to simply sneaking past everyone in the shadows. It appears that Edge of Reality is trying to portray Cipher as a bit of a bad ass, with his muscular physic, and propensity for taking down guards with only a knife. Compared to other stealth action games, Cipher Complex seems to encourage confrontation a bit more, but at the same time it looks to be done in a way where players will have to time attacks, and gain the element of surprise. They won’t be able to simply run in, guns blazing, and expect to win.

We’re still a long ways off from seeing this game on store shelves, as it has a nebulous 2008 release date at the moment. However, it looks like Edge of Reality is paying a lot of attention to stylistic details here. The images of the game are certainly promising thus far; hopefully more concrete information about Cipher Complex will become available in the coming months.

Jeff Nash

February 13, 2007