Synapse Judgment: Frozen Endzone Trailer Touches Down

Are you ready for some hard-hitting, neon-sweat-slick (but not like in those silly Gatorade commercials) eSports? I mean that literally, too: Frozen Synapse developer Mode 7 has devised its very own electronic sport. Balls are thrown, touchdowns are scored, lives are at stake. OK, maybe not so much that last one, but that's not to say that Frozen Endzone is a total departure from Frozen Synapse's simultaneous turn-based battle of wits and weaponry. For one, it reprises the latter's brand of two-steps-ahead-or-else-you're-dead strategy, and also an inordinate number of things are blue. Something for everyone! Watch it in action and learn about the right-around-the-corner beta below.

Mode 7 is planning to let the games begin on December 5th with a pre-order beta. Buying one copy will snag an extra copy for a friend, too, so spend (ir)responsibly. Testing will last until some point in 2014, at which point all systems will be go.

It already looks rather nice - with randomly generated levels and XCOM-like zoom-in moments making for especially nice touches - but I'll be interested to see how it evolves. The basic competitive mode is all well and good, but I could see that huffing and puffing and panting and collapsing and shouting its own name and exploding before too long without some extra juice to keep it chugging along. Fortunately, Mode 7 has promised additional multiplayer modes and some form of single-player. Here's hoping that they're suitably substantial.

As someone who adored Frozen Synapse, I'll definitely be checking this one out, despite my normal aversion to anything that even vaguely resembles a sports game. How about you?