Aegis of Earth： Protonovus Assault

Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault is a top-down shooter that has been developed by Stunlock Studios. The game was released earlier this year and is one of the few games to offer multiplayer mode via LAN or Internet play. For those who aren't familiar with the game, players control large landmasses, vehicles, and structures. Each of the game's 30 maps offers two to four players at a time, and there are various types of terrain to traverse on the various maps. GameSpot recently had a chance to see the game in action at a level for the first time and found it to be a solid game of defense and attack.

If you've never heard of it before, Aegis of Earth is a "mid-level third-person shooter," in which players attempt to defend and attack a host of terrain with real time strategy. The game features 50 different units that players must wage war against in a variety of different scenarios, including skiing, hill climbs, urban combat, and support for both land and air vehicles. The game's three factions are the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Russian Imperial.

Mogil Hörberg of developer Spatland says that Aegis of Earth will be the game's primary focus. As such, it will offer many more challenging missions than most first-person shooters on the market.

"At the core of the game is this really deep and very personal strategy," said Hörberg. "When a player builds the player, he chooses to destroy certain terrain or plan on moving through the battlefield. He also chooses to make the player explore an island, fighting all kinds of enemy troops along the way."

From what we saw of the game, Aegis of Earth appears to have a more complete, stylized look than most military games on the market.

First off, Aegis of Earth will take place in a fictional island named Volker. The island is described as the site of the attack on the Union Aerospace Corporation's Terran Corporation. Like the game's multiplayer mode, the game will feature 16 player squads, and players will be able to take control of all three characters--three of them apparently--to accomplish their goals.

Hörberg mentioned that the development team intends for the game to evolve in scope and longevity. We saw a brief cutscene that introduced us to two of the soldiers, one that looks a bit like Scott Patterson's Chuck from the movie Defender, and another that shows off some of the game's sci-fi-based technology. We also saw another cutscene where we were tasked with taking down an enemy mech, but we didn't get to see how this worked out.

During our demo, it was also revealed that the planet that you're fighting on is no longer the peaceful, low-gravity locale we've seen in other EA games, though it does appear that the Republic's orbital defense system has been transformed into a war zone. The planet that we played in was also a sort of tropical island, but the game will take place on it in a completely different environment. The first thing we noticed about the game was how it presented itself in 3D. It didn't just look like it was being played in a flat 3D space, but it actually looked like it was being pulled up by some kind of glue system. The guys in the EA reps talked about a cockpit mode that was quite fun, though we didn't get to see any of it. When you first start the game you'll be stuck in your cockpit view as you're flying, but you can adjust the angles and degrees in the 3D as you fly. As you progress, you'll be able to fire a number of weapons from your ship, which will include missiles, lasers, and various kinds of energy weapons. The game's visuals are also impressive, and the environments all look appropriately moody.

Control in the game is quite easy to pick up. The right trigger will control your ship's movement, while the left trigger will let you strafe and lean around. The triggers on the X and Y buttons will let you jump. The face buttons will let you pick up and use the various weapons you'll find around the universe. The triggers will let you interact with your environment, which is always handy, since you'll have to keep an eye out for things on the fly. The triggers will let you jump and perform melee attacks. The trigger will let you hold down the left trigger and let you fire your weapons. The A button will let you fire your weapon, and the B button will let you hold down the fire button to lock on to your enemy. While the setup for each of the weapons is pretty standard, the game mechanics work well. You'll be able to perform various combos by combining your weapons and your special moves with the 360's face buttons. The main hooks in the game are your collection of pickups and power-ups that will come in handy when dealing with some of the bigger foes that you'll come across.