Black Isle’s New RPG – Lionheart

I’m back from E3, and just finished downloading an exhaustive amount of email (over 4000…). After weeding out the ridiculous number of virus-related ones, I caught glimpse of Black Isle’s press release announcing Lionheart, a new RPG they are currently working on, which I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand at E3. Here ya go:

Black Isle Studios SET TO UNVEIL LIONHEART(tm) AT E3

IRVINE, California, May 21, 2002 – Black Isle Studios, the award winning role-playing game division of Interplay Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: IPLY), announced today the development of their next epic, Lionheart(tm), for the PC. Lionheart(tm) is a stunning new RPG being developed by Reflexive Entertainment Inc. that utilizes the character development system from the critically acclaimed Fallout(tm) series in an atypical fantasy setting. The game will be demonstrated at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in the Interplay booth (Concourse Hall, booth #5010) by appointment only.

“With Fallout, we created a post nuclear world that skewed in a distinct way from that of reality,” stated Feargus Urquhart, President of Black Isle Studios. “With Lionheart, we have chosen to skew history earlier in the development of mankind to create a dark world where magic exists…Rome’s power is in conflict with the reality of demons walking the earth, and Leonardo Da Vinci’s blueprints have come to life.”

In the year 1192, Richard the Lionhearted, King of England, ventured across Europe during the Third Crusade. At the height of this aggression the lines that define our reality blurred, allowing a short but devastating influx of magic and spiritkind to be unleashed across the Earth. Occurring some 400 years after this cataclysm, Lionheart(tm) diverges from traditional high fantasy by placing the player in 16th century Europe where the Renaissance has halted, casting a shadow over civilization by keeping mankind in an enduring Dark Age. To some who could comprehend the nature of these new forces, the introduction of magic has brought great power. To the common folk, magic is feared as the handiwork of evil. In this new, yet hauntingly familiar setting, the player must decide how to best develop their character’s skills and abilities to triumph over obstacles in order to discover the meaning of their true fate.

“Lionheart(tm) will offer complex character development in a world completely unlike your generic fantasy CRPG”, stated Chris Parker, Senior Producer for the project. “The player can focus their character on swordplay, archery, or the forbidden arts of magic – all options are laid before you in a classless and open ended system.”

Unrestricted character creation and development using Fallout’s flexible SPECIAL system allows player to create and advance characters in nearly limitless fashions. Played from an isometric view, Lionheart will offer the highest quality graphics yet seen in a PC role-playing game. This technology will allow the player to explore a beautiful, lush and diverse world filled with powerful magical artifacts, involving quests and unique characters. Players will face a mix of strategic and intense combat, clever puzzles and dialog interactions as they play though the intricate storyline. In addition to the single player experience, up to four separate players can join in for a multiplayer session.

Lionheart(tm) is under development at Reflexive Entertainment Inc. and will feature their Velocity engine. Lionheart(tm) will be available for Windows® 95/98/00/ME/XP-based computers in Winter 2002.

Black Isle Studios has redefined the role-playing genre and has dominated the PC Game charts having received the RPG of the Year award from Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Magazine for four consecutive years. More comprehensive information about Lionheart(tm) and Black Isle Studios can be found on the official web site, located at http://lionheart.blackisle.com