Dalton got a new tattoo, it seems like.

Back in 2011, the gaming world was introduced to Overstrike, a somewhat colorful, campy, squad-based tactical spy shooter that seemed to be in the same vein as Borderlands in terms of its over the top action. Since then though, Overstrike has been under wraps and has gone through a metamorphosis of sorts into something new, and developer insomniac has finally opened up about the change to Fuse, the same game style now under a new, more mature shell.

Undoubtedly initial reactions towards the jarring change from 2011 will lead to some immediate, knee-jerk responses towards Insomniac and publisher EA for the new take on Fuse, but Insomniac lead developer Brian Allegier breaks down the change and talks up a storm as to how Fuse evolved from its original inception.

The set up involves the substance fuse, an alien-like technology locked away by the U.S government since 1940, which is responsible for creating a myriad of fantastic weapons kept under wraps from the public. Of course, this substance is stolen by a PMC group code-named Raven, leading to a global catastrophe unless if they are stopped. This is where the Overstrike 9 team comes in, finding these fuse weapons and using them to fight off Raven.

The plot alone seems fairly standard in a sci-fi genre, but Insomniac is pretty good at taking a concept and making it wholly unique, even if it doesn’t reflect the shift in design and tone. “We’d started off with a cartoony art style, but it just never felt like the stakes were that high. You really couldn’t take anyone seriously. We actually evolved the style quite a bit just to get to the Overstrike trailer from E3 2011. We were still developing the characters, but there was a certain point where we were ready to go to press and get these characters in the trailer. And they were kind of pulling it out of our artists’ hands.”

Fuse also started life as another game entirely, a four-player stealth based game, which according to president Ted Price, never worked at all. Eventually, the style changed again after the focus became on the element of fuse itself, over the campy, self referential humor of the Overstrike trailer. Even after the change though, not everyone in Insomniac is fully happy with the new direction of Fuse .

The team in action, acting like a team too.

Despite the change in direction to a more darker game, Fuse still does incorporate numerous elements hinted at in the teaser trailer back in 2011. The weapons used by the team members have evolved into a sort of “class-specific” style of play, retaining that role-playing/tactical edge found in similar games such as Borderlands and Brute Force. Dalton Brook’s, for example, is billed as the tank of the group, because his magshield fuse weapon allows him to soak up damage and protect his teammates from enemy fire. Brook’s can also go on the offensive with his shield, making him more than just a defensive powerhouse of the team.

In fact, each of the four characters in Fuse offer a play-style that allows for cooperative cohesion. Jacob Kimble’s Arc shot favors long range sniping, Isabelle Sinclair scatter gun is used to both crowd control enemies, and to heal allies, while Naya Deveraux’s warp rifle takes care of AoE damage and entering a stealth mode by turning invisible. Each of the weapons are also upgradable by a “pretty complex skill tree.” according to Price. Of course, you can scrounge for a variety of shotguns, assault rifles, and rocket launchers to help compliment your fuse weapons,and have their own skill trees attached to improve your performance in combat as well.

Insomniac is also doing what it can to make sure that the teamwork in Fuse is more necessary than previous co-op styled games. Leveling up skills is all about earning points, which are not just rewarded for getting kills, but for assisting teammates in battle. Insomniac is also promising a good experience for single-players as well, offering a “leap” mechanic that allows you to switch between the four characters on the fly to not only try out their skills in-game, but to also allow for more teamwork and synergy against tougher enemies and boss fights, which will require teamwork to take them down.

I guess we shall see how Fuse does when it is released in March of 2013. Insomniac is geared up to make a splash with their first multiplatform release, hopefully Fuse is able to pull it off after going through this evolution.

, , ,

Source: The Verge Polygon