Episodic Watchmen Game in the Works

1Up has an exclusive first look at Watchmen, the upcoming videogame prequel to the ground-breaking 12-issue comic book series and movie adaptation.

Coming from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the game will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, but in an unusual move, it will ship in downloadable episodic format via Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and an undetermined PC digital distribution method. The game will take place several years before the events chronicled in theWatchmen comics, when protagonists Rorschach and Nite Owl are younger and better able to handle the punishing demands of crime fighting. The game can be played in either single-player mode with an A.I.-controlled partner, or in a two-player, split-screen cooperative mode.

The game is described as "bloody and brutal," and well worth an M (Mature) rating from the ESRB. The two characters will feature unique fighting styles: Rorschach is a "feral, loose cannon" who uses down-and-dirty street fighting techniques and "psychotic special moves" against his opponents, while Nite Owl employs martial arts finesse and the tools in his utility belt to get the job done. In cooperative mode, the game will also feature numerous puzzle elements that require a combined effort to solve.

And while fans of the series may wonder how a Watchmen prequel will fare without Alan Moore at the wheel, Swamp Thing and Wolverine co-creator Len Wein has been brought in to handle the dialog, while Dave Gibbons, the artist on the original Watchmen series, is serving as an advisor. "We're bringing the Watchmen universe to gamers in a distinct episodic game revealing action and combat for a great overall experience for fans," said Samantha Ryan, senior vice president at WBIE. "The team is working to develop a high-quality story as well as match the outstanding visual style of the film."

Few details are available, but 1Up describes the game as "worthy of being a now-generation game, with a lavish, fully-realized night-time city, filled with steamy sewer grates, great lighting effects, convincing Gotham-esque architecture, hazy neon signs and some torrential rain effects." No dates have been given, but the game's launch is expected to coincide with the Watchmen theatrical release. 1Up's complete preview of the forthcoming Watchmen videogame is available here.

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Somehow I feel very nervous of the scene of Kovacks turning into Rorschach...

Urggh... I didn't know the spraycan-lighter was Rorschach's "signature combo," considering he only does it that one time in the book. I'm already dreading the movie (from the second the words "Zack Snyder" were uttered) but this may put that dread to shame.

Why is it that people think that their movie-based game will defy all previous explorations of the genre and be good?

Why bother? Both for us and for them. Part of what was different and refreshing about Watchmen was seeing the guys who were past thier prime trying to carry on regardless. (for me anyway) And for them...well, whether we object or not, they're going to go right on ahead and do whatever the fuck they want to with it.

Sympathies to Moore on that count. Of course I hear he's still pissed over what they did to V, so maybe he's decided to just stop caring.

EDIT: "They" being people with money/media connections/"it's not ours so lets ream the hell out of it in the name of dollars in our pockets" axes to grind.

The_root_of_all_evil:
Somehow I feel very nervous of the scene of Kovacks turning into Rorschach...

I think the game will be set after that little event. Otherwise the RSPCA might get involved...

I always liked to think Watchmen had been overlooked by the mindless masses because it was too nasty, too grown up and too complicated. It seems they were waiting for when they felt self important enough, shame.

fix-the-spade:

The_root_of_all_evil:
Somehow I feel very nervous of the scene of Kovacks turning into Rorschach...

I think the game will be set after that little event. Otherwise the RSPCA might get involved...

I think the NSPCC will have first dibs on the outrage...

The_root_of_all_evil:

fix-the-spade:

The_root_of_all_evil:
Somehow I feel very nervous of the scene of Kovacks turning into Rorschach...

I think the game will be set after that little event. Otherwise the RSPCA might get involved...

I think the NSPCC will have first dibs on the outrage...

Here doggy....(chop)

These games could be promising. They should probably steer away from a Dr Manhattan one:

- Press X to teleport to another dimension, Press Y to vaporise entire army.

They could do one where you control the Comedian in the Vietnam War.

*edit*

Gah...that's enough cynicism out of me.

I'd play "press "x" to teleport to another dimension, Press "Y" to vaporize entire army" provided there were enough armies. and other dimensions... with more armies.

And we could always hope the game won't be a terrible disappointment.

HobbesMkii:
Why is it that people think that their movie-based game will defy all previous explorations of the genre and be good?

Why do developers feel it's their goddamned right to make movie tie-in games in the first place?
Outside of trying to make a buck, they're not really doing anything positive for the people they're trying to milk cash out of. I'm certain the movies these games attached themselves to would have done just fine without these leeches trying to suck out a few drops of merchandising blood.

Well it's probably going to be rubbish...... but I'm willing to employ blind hope for my favourite comic!

The_root_of_all_evil:
I think the NSPCC will have first dibs on the outrage...

Ah, but that's only ever implied. We never actually see it happen, just the pooch with it's bone and Kovaks draws the conclusions for us from there...

Jarrid:
Why do developers feel it's their goddamned right to make movie tie-in games in the first place?

Don't blame the developers alone for this. More often than not, they're contracted by a movie studio to make the tie-in in order to provide another source of marketing for the movie - not to mention another revenue stream. It's really no different than action figures, trading cards and lunch boxes. (It also explains why movie-based games are almost universally shitty.)

No No No No No No No! A Watchmen videogame!? A prequel to Watchmen at that!? This is just wrong on so many levels. The only person who should be writing Watchmen stuff is Alan Moore. He's the man who came up with all the characters, he's the one who gave them their voices. If there was meant to be a Watchmen prequel, wouldn't he have written it by now?

Can we do something to stop them? Surely there are laws or something to prevent them whoring out a masterpiece like Watchmen. At the least, I'm going to avoid this game like the plague, so that my memories of Rorschach and Nite Owl remain unspoiled.

An Episodic Prequel movie tie-in?

O_o

Yeah not exactly having high hopes for this right now, but we have all been surprised by games in the past. I guess that is what is so great about this industry sometimes. We get blindsided by a game we thought was going to be terrible or never even heard about.

fix-the-spade:

The_root_of_all_evil:
I think the NSPCC will have first dibs on the outrage...

Ah, but that's only ever implied. We never actually see it happen, just the pooch with it's bone and Kovaks draws the conclusions for us from there...

True, but Moore is the master of implication. There's a number of focal points (dress, chopping board, lack of corpse...)