We recently sat down with Martin Wahlund (CEO, Fatshark) to talk about their upcoming downloadable title, Lead & Gold: Gangs of the Wild West – a third person multiplayer-oriented shooter aiming to give players “a chance to relive the thrills of a gunfight in classic western settings.”. Enjoy.

GCO: What’s the general idea behind Lead & Gold?

Martin Wahlund: To deliver a fun and good looking multi-player game with strong game modes that suits the western setting well. This, at a very good price for the players.

GCO: People have called Lead & Gold “Team Fortress meets the old west”, what do you have to say about that?

MW: It is not that far off. Team Fortress is great and there are many common elements in the games but also many differences.

GCO: Lead & Gold is a team based multi-player experience. Please describe some key elements in the game.

MW: Team play. You win as a team or lose as a team. Another key element is the class that you chose to play, it dictates the way you play in each scenario.

The in-game leveling system is also something that stands out; you get experience from completing mission objectives or killing enemies. The character then, evolves by gaining improved synergies.

GCO: Does Lead & Gold have some kind of perk system, much like that in the Call of Duty games?

MW: Not directly. The closest thing is the synergies that the characters get when you level up your character in each scenario.

GCO: We’ve noticed that Lead & Gold uses the same engine as GRIN’s Bionic Commando. Were there any setbacks caused by GRIN’s closing during development?

MW: Well, we worked close with GRIN and it was a shame to see the studio close down but we are still alive and kicking.

GCO: Is there support for dynamic (explosive) environment in the game?

MW: In some sense, yes. You can destroy certain objects with a well placed powder keg. It could be a wind mill or a door.

GCO: Going back to perks. Is there a class system?

MW: Yes. There are 4 main classes in the game at release, the trapper, the blaster, the deputy and the gunslinger. All of them have a special ability for example the trapper can set traps. We hope to release more characters as downloadable content in a near future.

GCO: When can we expect Lead & Gold to release?

MW: Q1 2010.

GCO: Thanks for your time.

Besides recent reports, it seems that unannounced Final Fantasy project is alive and well. According to a report posted by GameIndustry.biz, sources confirmed that the unannounced Final Fantasy project that was in development at GRIN is now in development over at Square Enix.

You see, Square took the project off GRIN’s hands after only six months of development due to concerns over quality. Sadly, because business laws in Sweden prohibits companies from going into debt without severe penalties, GRIN was subsequently to bear its wage burden without new projects, and had to closed its doors. Square didn’t respond to the news.

I’m amazed by the potential this game had: the ability to advance the third-person cover-shooter genre, and the possibility of being one of the few great movie games out there. However, thanks to the marks of a rushed project, it couldn’t really expand beyond the movie game status quo. I mean, the movie itself was amazing: it had everything you could possibility want from a Terminator movie along with a overload of explosions. So wouldn’t you expect that from the game?

Terminator Salvation follows the story of John Connor as he receives a distress call from a resistance member trapped within Skynet territory. But instead of leaving with his team, Connor decides to go on a rescue. Sadly, the game doesn’t produce any insight or unexpected twists into John Connor or the formation of the resistance, which could have been interesting. Instead, you do get the chance to meet up with characters featured in the movie, but, really, who’s that interested in meeting Common’s character?

There really isn’t anything here to call this a game. It feels as if some portions have been painfully edited out. And there isn’t that cinematic punch that’s normally featured with games like this. There’s a scene within the game where an HK (Human Killer Tank) cashes into a building – sounds cool doesn’t it? But, sadly, there’s isn’t that explosive feeling. It just feels bland.

Terminator Salvation gains all of its controls from other games, such as GRIN’s recently released Wanted title. However, its cover system is more like a half-circle-shaped thing, flipped upside, and cut into five different sectors. By hitting one of these sectors, you move into a that selected position. It’s a unique and original way of creating a cover system, and works well when you add it into combat – which, thanks to this system, is very intense.

The visuals are strong, but it’s too bad there isn’t much to look at. Salvation takes place within a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, so everything is destroyed, and the game doesn’t have that beautiful feel to the environments. Everything is washed-out and grey. I don’t know about you, but I like the environments within a game to have a pop to them.

The enemy AI is tough and follows the same logical attack patterns. This isn’t a good thing. When I was playing through this game on the lowest difficulty setting, it sometimes took me over five minutes to take out a squad of “spiders” – these are the enemies that can only be takien out from behind. This isn’t a gameplay problem. It’s an AI problem because they always have an eye on you, even if you’re behind cover. This passes by more easily if you play co-operatively with a friend, but that just makes a short game go by even faster.

Closing Statement:

Salvation seems to be a victim of time. There’s really isn’t anything here to call it a game. So I’ll have to tell you to pass on buying this title – instead, you should head out and rent it for the achievements or trophies because this game isn’t a long-term commitment. This game feels like a $30 title, and a rushed one at that.

Score: C+

The machines have yet to take over, but that won’t stop the media barrage of Terminator Salvation from continuing it’s onslaught.  Here’s the latest trailer profiling the terrestrial-based mechanized baddies.

“Terminator Salvation is a third person shooter where the player needs to “constantly move, flank, cover and utilize their squad to progress.” The player must battle Skynet enemies from the upcoming film as well as new enemies specifically designed for the game.

The game features a campaign that can be played alone or cooperatively with one other local player via split-screen.”