Venetica - RPG Announced for PC and X360 in 2009

[mysterd]

Venetica
A new RPG called Venetica is coming to the PC and X360 in 2009

While the name of this upcoming RPG leaves a little bit to be desired for me personally (it reminds me of the elaborate efforts to make one's name unique that you sometimes see on clerk nametags in Miami), I can't complain much about new RPGs heading to the 360 (or the PC)! Deck 13 and DTP Entertainment have teamed up to present Venetica, which will be released in 2009.

A snippet of story from the press release (hit the jump for the rest):

In the era of Venetica, Death walks among the living as a flesh & blood being, carrying out the deeds of an ancient council known by a few as Corpus. Each generation of the Corpus is set with the task of selecting the next predecessor of the bringer of death. Unfortunately, the most recent council had unwittingly selected a crafty necromancer who is determined on bringing death and destruction to the world.

Hmm ... definitely not the usual save the princess business. I might be into this, but I'll have to wait until more details surface to be sure if it's my cup of tea. In the meantime, check out the full press release after the jump and discuss, discuss, discuss.

[Via Strategy Informer -- Thanks, Jamie]

Deck 13, one of Germany’s most successful game developers, has teamed up with dtp entertainment to present Venetica, a visually stunning role-play game with a cryptic storyline. Venetica mixes emotions and action in a unique free roaming and living sixteenth century world full of surprise.

In the era of Venetica, Death walks among the living as a flesh & blood being, carrying out the deeds of an ancient council known by a few as Corpus. Each generation of the Corpus is set with the task of selecting the next predecessor of the bringer of death. Unfortunately, the most recent council had unwittingly selected a crafty necromancer who is determined on bringing death and destruction to the world.

This conniving imposter has managed to transform into an undead fiend, which no mortal man can kill. This power-crazed necromancer is hell-bent on destroying the reinstated Death and the council of Corpus. Only one person stands in his way, Scarlett, the daughter of Death.

Up to now she has known nothing of her origins, her powers and the capabilities that she possesses – now she is challenged to learn how to develop and use her powers to save her father and curse the necromancer and his henchmen to the eternal hereafter. dtp entertainment is going to release Venetica in 2009 for PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Screens








Trailer
Here's a brand-new trailer for this Venetica game
Game looks better in motion than it does in screenies

[Elliot Kane]

And here's me thinking her name was 'Susan'. Honestly, could they BE any more derivative? It'll be a miracle if Terry Pratchett doesn't sue.

[mysterd]

May 28, 2008 3:27:02 GMT Elliot Kane said:

And here's me thinking her name was 'Susan'. Honestly, could they BE any more derivative?

Scarlett does seem to be an odd name-choice, given the premise of the game -- centered around Death and everything.

It'll be a miracle if Terry Pratchett doesn't sue.

Wait...What are they infringing on?

[Elliot Kane]

Susan, Death's granddaughter, is arguably Pratchett's best character. When first she discovers she has inherited Death's powers, she has to use them to save the world.

Obviously as she's a newbie at the whole thing she makes a major mess of it, but the idea is there. And she is better at it, next time...

Just the idea of Death's granddaughter inheriting his powers without knowing it, then having to save the world is blatant Pratchett.

[mysterd]

May 28, 2008 4:07:59 GMT Elliot Kane said:

Susan, Death's granddaughter, is arguably Pratchett's best character. When first she discovers she has inherited Death's powers, she has to use them to save the world.

Obviously as she's a newbie at the whole thing she makes a major mess of it, but the idea is there. And she is better at it, next time...

Just the idea of Death's granddaughter inheriting his powers without knowing it, then having to save the world is blatant Pratchett.

I think there's probably a fair amount of "borrowing" in gaming from films, movies, etc.

Many people have pointed out that Bioshock has been inspired by Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged (which I never read) and a lot of her philosphy. I should note -- there's a character named Atlas in Bioshock and that the character named Andrew Ryan in Bioshock is very close to Ayn Rand's (pen-)name.

Also, it's obvious that the FPS game FEAR is inspired by Ringu/The Ring (little girl character causing lots of hell) and The Matrix (slow-motion).

[Elliot Kane]

True. The idea behind the 'Way Of The Closed Fist' in Jade Empire also owes everything to Rand (Though it's very poorly implemented).

This one just struck me as being maybe a bit too close. But on the other hand, I adore Susan as a character, so that's not necessarily a BAD thing... ;D

[mysterd]

I remember someone saying Geralt The Witcher is A LOT like some other character from some other series on these boards somewhere, too.

[Elliot Kane]

Having read the first novel now, I can honestly say that The Witcher owes a lot more to the re-interpretation of fairy tales in a new and very darker form than he does to Elric.

Not that I think for a second the author could have been unaware of Elric when he called Geralt 'The White Wolf' but the similarity ends there.

Book's good, BTW, if you're curious S'called The last Wish.

[Alrik]

May 28, 2008 3:27:02 GMT Elliot Kane said:

And here's me thinking her name was 'Susan'. Honestly, could they BE any more derivative? It'll be a miracle if Terry Pratchett doesn't sue.

I was thinking something similar, although not so negatively.

[Elliot Kane]

May 29, 2008 20:28:37 GMT Alrik said:

May 28, 2008 3:27:02 GMT Elliot Kane said:

And here's me thinking her name was 'Susan'. Honestly, could they BE any more derivative? It'll be a miracle if Terry Pratchett doesn't sue.

I was thinking something similar, although not so negatively.

Susan IS an awesome character, but I'd much rather be playing her than some blatantly 'inspired by' girlie... ;D

That's not to say I won't get the game... It at least promises to be somewhat different.

[mysterd]

IGN
IGN has a very short E3 2009 preview on Venetica.

GameSpot
GameSpot has a good deal of E3 2009 impressions on Venetica PC.

What There Is to Do:

Scarlett will be equipped with a main quest that will take around 20 hours of gameplay to complete. There are also 50 to 60 hours of side quests, which the total being upward of 100.

The main quest consists of four chapters, each with its own individual boss fight. Scarlett will be able to pretty much go anywhere she pleases, leaving no stone unturned or door unopened as she searches for power upgrades and experience points.

She will also be able to interact with her environments and climb houses, swim canals, and crawl through the dungeons underneath the city.

Like in most RPGs, Scarlett will be able to choose how she interacts with other characters in the game. Acting morally or immorally will produce different endings, as well as shape her experience throughout the game's story. Players can also choose to use offensive or defensive tactics, collecting different powers and weapons depending on the path that they've chosen.

In our demo we got a glimpse of Scarlett's greatest defensive power, the twilight skill. This slows down gameplay and lets her retreat or reposition herself without being seen by her enemies. A skill meter appears at the bottom of the screen whenever Scarlett uses this skill to indicate how long before it runs out. All of Scarlett's powers are in some way related to death, and consequently the twilight skill will also give her the power to resurrect herself and others as the game progresses.

How the Game Is Played:

This is a single-player RPG with a very basic control scheme that varies from the PC to the Xbox 360. Our demo was on the PC, but we are told that the Xbox 360 version of the game looks almost identical save for the control scheme and menu layouts.

During the game, players can bring up the main menu, which includes tabs to all of the relevant inventories. There is a quest book that lists the main quests and possible side quests, a diary for game hints, weapons and armor inventory, and a consumables inventory (treasure, health items, and so on). While you're playing, a map will appear in the top right-hand corner, and the health and magic bars will appear on the top left.

Scarlett can call ravens to show her the way to her next quest if she gets lost, something she can do by simply assigning this skill to a shortcut menu on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This menu can encompass anything in her inventory, including weapons, skills, and consumables. Players can assign their chosen items and simply press the corresponding numbers when they want to bring up something during gameplay.

Scarlett's inventory also shows her acquired skills, including attribute points; skill points, such as physical skills for combat and weapon expertise; and mental skills, such as sucking the life out of enemies and performing tricks that include aging her enemies so that they become slower in combat. Scarlett can acquire more than 45 skills in total throughout the game.

What They Say:

Venetica is a visually stunning RPG with a cryptic storyline that mixes emotions and action in a unique, living, free-roaming 16th-century world.

What We Say:

We were strongly impressed by the game's detailed environments and combat sequences but a bit confused by the story.

Stay tuned to GameSpot for more on Venetica. It's scheduled for release later this year on the PC and Xbox 360.

[mysterd]

GamesCon 2009 Trailer for Venetica.

[Alrik]

I played it on the GamesCom, and my impression is very positive.

It appears to me to be very colourful and very lighthearted in terms of art style.

According to someone of the Q&A team we (Gorath of RPGWatch and me) talked about it has about 70 % action.

For everyone not foloowing the "dark & gritty" fashion, this certainly is kind of a "must have", I think.

My personally most interesting point: Barrels and boxes cannot be smashed in search for loot ! ;D
In fact they seem to be indestructible, and seem to contain nothing at all.

[mysterd]

For those who speak German, Venetica - German Language Demo is out. Almost 1 GB in size.

Also worth noting this about The German Demo -- SAVES in the Demo CAN be used in the Full Version of the game!

I will let you all know when an English demo comes out.

[Alrik]

I played the demo ... Imho very, very nice, but my PC is too weak for it.

So I'm waiting for it.