Platform: PC, Xbox

Genre: Action Adventure

Publisher: Enlight

Developer: Mercury Steam Entertainment

ETA: November 2004

Related Links:

Review: Grand Theft Auto Doube-Pack (XB)

Review: Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2)

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American McGee Presents Scrapland

Note: The first part of this preview is a recent hands-on play test of the PC version.

Although it has been in development for two years, I hadn't heard of Scrapland until about a month ago (see original preview below).  Sorry, I should call it by its proper name: American McGee Presents Scrapland.

Having American McGee involved -- if only in an ancillary role and for the sake of marketing -- should help Scrapland gain exposure but it will be positive word of mouth that will drive sales.  And from what I've seen with the PC preview code, positive word of mouth will be forthcoming.

If nothing else, Scrapland certainly catches the eye with it's graphics.  The animation is smooth and the color's brilliant.  The action seems to be split between vehicle combat/exploration in some huge environments and on-foot combat/exploration.  In either mode you never run out of cool things to look at.  Scrapland seems to be on rock-steady ground when it comes to graphics, but when it comes to audio some room for improvement is obvious.

Maybe my ears are failing me, but the main character, D-Tritus, sounds as if he's voiced by two (or even three) people -- or by one actor that has a tough time staying in character.  This could be explained away by D-Tritus's ability to take on the guise and abilities of so many other characters but it smacks of poor direction.  But the music... get's a thumbs-up at this point.

Scrapland has its controls down perfectly.  On-foot or behind the controls of a customized gunship, there never seemed to be any feeling that the controls were an impediment to progression.  The various robots and ships all handle differently but the controls feel right.  (This might have something to do with a simultaneous Xbox, PC launch.)  I don't like the way vehicles stop dead if the accelerator isn't pressed, but that seems a minor complaint.

I could giveaway a lot of Scrapland's story, but I'll save that for the actual review.  In a nutshell, D-Tritus arrives on Scrapland and is quickly assigned to be a journalist since every robot must have a function.  Then a murder happens.  Murder and death aren't unknown in Scrapland, but because each robot's code is stored in The Great Database.  Anyone unlucky enough to bite it can be restored for a fee.  What happens with this murder is that the victim's code has been wiped from the Great Databas creating the first real death in a long, long time.  It falls to D-Tritus to get to the bottom of things, with the usual side quests along the way.  The action is directed, but doesn't feel too funneled.  (At least with my limited hands-on of the game).

American McGee Presents Scrapland is scheduled to ship in November for both Xbox and PC, and if things remain on track we may have a sleeper hit on our hands.

(September 23, 2004)

Sometimes a game flies under my radar.  It doesn’t happen often, but when it does I enjoy the feeling of being surprised by something.

Scrapland sounds like a cool concept – play as a robot trying to solve murders while piloting gunships around a living-breathing city – but what really made me do a double take was the preface to the Scrapland title: “American McGee Presents.”

Last I heard American McGee was trying to get a Wizard of Oz game off the ground.  It was in the same vein as his previous project, Alice, but I suppose the funding wasn’t there (although the action figures were looking pretty damn cool).  But on with the details of Scrapland:

Scrapland is a third-person 3-D action-adventure game set in a futuristic robotic world where humans are feared and frowned upon. The game delivers a solidly engaging, sometimes humorous adventure narrative that combines a unique blend of combat and racing. Players take on the role of D-Tritus, an intergalactic traveler who finds himself involved in a series of mysterious murders committed in a world where death had been previously unheard of. With the ability to transform into any of 15 character types each with their own unique powers and the skill to pilot hundreds of gunships found in the game, D-Tritus attempts to solve this murderous conspiracy plaguing the city of Chimera.

Features:

Hours of incredibly detailed storyline built around an open-structured game that allows players to play along with the story or go on adventures of their own.

Spontaneous NPC behavior-depending on player’s attitude.

Control hundreds of ships, each with their own variation in handling depending on weight, power and aerodynamics.

Diverse player actions, and complete freedom of movement throughout the world.

Create your own fleet and build customized gunships based on plans found in the game.

LAN and Internet support for head to head or team based combat as well as up to four-player split screen support on Xbox.

AI: Proprietary path finding technology and hyper-intelligent player interaction.

Take over the bodies of other characters you meet, utilizing their unique abilities to overcome obstacles.

Massive, spectacular, and highly detailed cityscapes built in a unique futuristic style.

If the above features list turns out to be true, Scrapland looks to be an amalgam of Grand Theft Auto (wide-open gameplay with a story), Ratchet & Clank (futuristic robot environments), Geist (taking control of other characters), and Need for Speed Online (customizing your ships).  The danger with so many genre influences is obvious – Scrapland could turn out to be a mess (and give gaming editors really easy headlines).  Of course, it could go the other way, too.  Not having had any hands-on play with Scrapland I won’t lean either way (though the features list sure sounds good).

Maybe its biggest draw is being able to customize and fly “hundreds” of ships.  It’s a feature I’ve always felt was missing from the Grand Theft Auto series.  Sure you can repaint your vehicle, but being able to retrofit the engine, lower the profile, add a spoiler, and tint the windows would be so cool.  The mentioned “weight, power and aerodynamics” of each gunship make me believe players will be able to modify the engines, body and armor of each ship.  That’s some speculation on my part and there’s no reason not to think players will have even greater creative control over ships, including paint and decals.

One strike against Scrapland is that has a planned ship date of November 2004 – during the Q4 Quagmire and the same month as Halo 2 (XB), Metroid Prime (GC), and possibly Half-Life 2 (PC).  On paper, Scrapland lookw like it will be worth playing so here’s to hoping that Enlight pushes the release into 2005 so it doesn’t get lost.

- Omni

(August 15, 2004)