Publisher Gamecock has announced Legendary: The Box, a new FPS franchise developed by Spark Unlimited and due for release in 2008 on PC and "next-gen platforms." So, PS3 and Xbox 360, in other words.

The driving force behind Legendary is Pandora's Box, stolen by a thief and foolishly torn open, unleashing all kinds of mythological biohazard upon the world. The resulting chaos - which, from the latest screenshots, comes across as half Resistance, half The Darkness - sees gryphons and werewolves spilling out everywhere, and failing to integrate smoothly into society.

Want to know more? Then check out the trailer.

Above: A shotgun? Against a werewolf? Best whip out the silver shells before he spots the valve

While we'll hold some high hopes for Legendary: The Box - Spark Unlimited knows its stuff, for starters - novel-thinking FPS games seem to miss as often as they hit, and those that intend well don't always end well. We're surrounded by first-person gun games that need to flash some new tricks or personality to stand out, but do so without sacrificing the enormous standards expected of modern-day shooters. For instance, there's a definite uphill slog ahead of the following:

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Spark Unlimited's other project, centred on an alternate history where Nazis invade New York. Looks enjoyably over the top, and much livelier than Resistance: Fall of Man, but there's still some distance between screenshots and the ol' target footage.

To End All Wars
Kuju's WWI effort, focussed more on convincing detail and grandeur instead of any fancy twist. Ghostlight, however, is an emerging publisher, so we'll have to wait and see if it has the muscle to push it through.

Huxley
Webzen's MMO sci-fi shooter, that's been hovering in our peripheral vision for some two years now. Looks and sounds promising, but there's been silence recently instead of a crescendo of hype. So, we're guessing it bit off more than it could chew.

Aliens
Even with Gearbox's talent and experience behind it, it has a lot of expectation to live up to. Not just from franchise fans, but also in the wake of the brilliant Aliens vs Predator, released for PC in 1999. No pressure, Gearbox, but it it's not the most atmospheric game ever created, we'll have to bite out lips and walk away.

July 10, 2007