Capone Arrest Simulator 2015: Blues And Bullets
Game's out July 23rd
In the 'things I didn't realise I kinda wanted' category is Blues And Bullets [official site], a 3rd person shooter/investigation game told in a noir style starring Eliot Ness, the man who managed to arrest and prosecute Al Capone. It's 20 years later and Eliot's no longer a cop, but is dragged into investigating the disappearance of several children. The noir drops a little bit when the tommy guns come out and the shooting starts but at least artistically it stays true, with red the only spots of colour in white/black backgrounds. The release trailer for the first chapter has recently come out, along with the announcement you'll be able to pick it up on Steam come July 23rd.
I think there's a hole in the market for a game in this style. Whether this is it remains to be seen, as the gunplay particularly here looked a little shonky. The performance too seemed a little stilted, which is odd given the talent doing the acting is Geralt (Doug Cockle) and Faith (Jules de Jongh) - perhaps a failure of direction, rather than voice? Still, there's promise. Any detective or investigatory story in games is interesting, because it's the perfect sort of thing for the medium. Equally, there's a lot of cool alt-history stuff to be done here, and the names involved should let imaginations run wild on the writing team.
The game's to be released in five chapters. The first will be $4.99 seperate, or you'll be able to grave all five for $19.99. It'll also be cheaper the week it goes on sale. Watch for it on Steam if you're intrigued.