This new batch of shots from The Crossing, an intriguing game that promises "crossplayer" gameplay, hints at a Counter-Strike style cops-versus-criminals set-up - you can clearly see some bandana-wearing bad guys trading lead lozenges with armor-clad police. Solid details are still scarce but these screens are giving us a few theories about how The Crossing will work.

The Crossing is developed by Arkane, who created Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Dark Messiah featured a nifty multiplayer mode that took place over a series of linked maps - the action started in a map located dead in the middle, with two farther maps on either side, and each team's base was located in the maps farthest away. The winning team pushed the losing side back through the series of maps, towards their base location. And you could only win the match by taking the other team's base.

Forgive us if you struggled to make sense of all that, but here's how we reckon it'll influence The Crossing. We've already discovered  that it'll take place in a bleak Parisian future where anarchy has taken hold of the city, and so we're expecting to see Arkane's "crossplay" innovation focusing on running battles between military forces and street thugs, spread out across several locations which link into each other, with the location and objectives changing as each game is won or lost.

But what about the Samurai-looking warriors in the shots, who are swinging between buildings? Well, we see class-based player choices, but also multiple teams to choose from, in addition to the previously mentioned gangsters and cops. These many opposing teams will cross over, with winning against one team leading into a battle with another.

Admittedly it is another developer, Kuju, who created Dark Messiah's multiplayer. But we're predicting that Arkane has been influenced by Kuju's set-up. Or, of course, we could be utterly wrong about the whole thing - but that's what makes The Crossing so interesting. What do you think? Why not head over to our forums and post your own theories about "crossplayer" gaming? Or just hit the Images tab above for the rest of the screens.

January 30, 2007