Though the title certainly sounds like one, Scivelation is not an arcade shooter. No, rather Scivelation, recently announced for the Xbox 360 and slated to release sometime in the fall of 2010, seems to be a full-fleged, third person shooter. With Fallout 3’s success, it seems that dystopian settings marred by nuclear or other wars are quickly becoming the preferred setting for games. Where once we may have had fantasy realms to delve about in, this apocalyptic landscape now might be the par for the course.Â
Scivelation’s story features such a world. Here we have a population destroyed by religious zealots hell-bent on bringing about that apocalypse. I’m sure this has been explored in books before, but I can’t think
of a game that has taken on such a theme. Is it plausible? Certainly we’ve seen our share of religious attacks, so perhaps it is. The story also claims to take inspiration from the works of Orwell, Milton, and Dante, an odd triad to be sure. Orwell I can see as his works often feature futuristic imaginings, but the other two feature heavily in sending their readers to hell. Then again, with the religious overtones in Scivelation, perhaps that’s the point. After the destruction of the world, the game’s antagonist faction rises up and claims control over what’s left. They’re simply called the Regime, and it’s the Regime that players will have locked in the reticule for all the gun firing mayhem. Â
The idea piques my interest, and I’m always down for a post-apocalyptic romp. I have to wonder, however, at the publishers, whose work to date has been decidedly…forgettable. TopWare Interactive is the company in question, and they are responsible for the abortion that was X-Blades (which some vendors literally gave away). The developers, Black Wing Foundation, are relatively unheard of as yet. They’re also Ukranian!Â
Nevertheless, the game looks pretty, dark in a Demon’s Souls kind of way, and the combination of stealth and gunnery tactics tickes my Metal Gear Solid bone (surgically implanted after I fell in love with MGS3 and 4). Here’s hoping it won’t suck!