"Boundaries Between Genres Annihilated"

So claims Nuclear Dawn (a name that immediately makes me think of Nuclear Winter's theme from Freedom Force- skip to about 1m10 in), a bold, Source-engine powered RTS/FPS hybrid. It's a document of a post-nanotechnology war in Earth's near-future, and claims to be "the first game to offer a full FPS and RTS experience without crippling or diluting either side of the game." If you succeed in annihilating the boundary in the post, you'll find the first trailer for it below.

And here's an official summary:

"...a first glimpse in the war-torn world of post-conflict Earth, where two embittered factions of good men are blinded by hatred for their fellow survivors, and battle over the remnants of Earths great cities, for resources, survival, and revenge.

With compelling RTS and FPS gameplay elements, Nuclear Dawn delivers tactical, class-based gameplay that will let players sneak around the ruins of mans greatest accomplishments with Stealth units, or just crush the rubble underfoot with the powerhouse Exo walking tank. Tomorrows generals will take the Commanders seat, and support their fellow players with outposts, defensive structures and fortresses to protect precious resource points.

From nanotech-enhanced blades to portable siege weapons, the arsenal of Nuclear Dawn is no less impressive than its tactical gameplay options, and mastering the use of each weapon will yield true supremacy on the battlefield. The game is powered by Valve's Source engine."

While the descriptions are all a bit broad for now, there's a healthy whack of extra information on the official site - including an amusingly detailed timeline of the events leading from the present day to this future war. Commit it to memory, for there'll be a test in the morning.

The studio behind it are first time devs and modders gone pro Interwave, who seem just a mite bitter about Nuclear Dawn's origins...

"When the original team behind Nuclear Dawn moved on to the greener pastures of commercial game development at Dice, Grin and all those other fat corporate jobs, Interwave Studios was just applying the last licks of paint to their Last Stand Stargate mod."

Ah yes, the fat corporate jobs of Grin. That worked out well, huh? The Stargate mod remains unfinished, but they are looking for helpful folk to sort it out for them. Possibly a good opportunity for any experienced modders reading...

Anyway, ND's a tasty wee concept - though attempts to blend RTS with other genres haven't always gone well, unless paired with a mega-budget - a la Dawn of War 2. The immediate thought when RTS-FPS is mentioned is C&C Renegade's multiplayer, or more positively Natural Selection, but this seems rather more squad-based than that: i.e. RTS-FPS rather than FPS-RTS. Or something. Best of luck to these chaps, and hopefully they'll have more to show us soon.