The first Of Orcs and Men screens have been released to the public, showing off the upcoming RPG that puts an unusual spin on the old orc/human rivalry.
It’s a fact of life that orcs and humans just don’t get along, but usually it’s the poor, long-suffering humans, desperately trying to survive against a raging horde onslaught, who get our sympathy. Not so in Of Orcs and Men, the newly-announced RPG from co-developers Cyanide Studios and Spiders; this time around, you’ll take on the role of an elite warrior from the Bloodjaws Legion, sent to assassinate the human emperor in a last-ditch bid to bring the slaughter to a halt.
Joining you on your quest will be a stealthy goblin assassin, with his own unique skill tree to develop and whose dark abilities provide a counterbalance to the brute force of your orcish warrior. As the world falls into chaos around them, the duo will attempt to infiltrate the Empire of Humanity and change the course of history, with the hope of finally ending the persecution of the orcish people and achieving a lasting peace between the warring races.
The game will be published by Focus Home Interactive, a “specialty” publisher of titles like Pro Cycling Manager, Virtual Skipper and Cities XL. That may not be the most inspiring catalog ever and neither Cyanide nor Spiders have extensive repertoires to their names, but I think the idea sounds intriguing and I have to admit that my hopes at this very early stage are pretty high. Of Orcs and Men is in development for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and is currently slated to come out in spring 2012.
