Sega and Gas Powered Games announced yesterday (
http://www.sega.com/corporate/corporate.php?item=pr_20070706b) that GPG is developing a "spiritual successor" to Dungeon Siege.
OUT OF THE DUNGEONS AND INTO THE STARS – SEGA ANNOUNCES SPACE SIEGE
Chris Taylor’s Gas Powered Games and SEGA Team Up to Create a Spiritual Successor to the Critically Acclaimed Dungeon Siege Series for the PC
SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (July 6, 2007) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the development of Space Siege™ for the PC. Developed by Gas Powered Games, SEGA has tapped Chris Taylor’s creative prowess to create this engaging action-RPG title. Space Siege features a deep and compelling storyline, intense combat and a dynamic character development system. Space Siege is scheduled to ship for the PC in North America and Europe in Q1 of 2008.
Space Siege takes place in the confines of the Armstrong, one of the few remaining colonization ships carrying the last bastions of human civilization after a devastating attack on Earth from an unknown alien race. Players will take the role of Seth Walker, a cybernetics engineer suddenly thrust into a struggle to save humanity from extermination. As the adventure progresses Seth is offered opportunities to sacrifice pieces of his humanity for cybernetic upgrades that will assist him in his mission to preserve the human race. But what price will he pay to save his own humanity? Only the player can decide Seth’s ultimate fate.
“Chris Taylor and his talented team at Gas Powered Games are recognized as leading innovators in the industry,” said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. “Space Siege promises to be a compelling and innovative successor to the very popular Dungeon Siege franchise.”
Incorporating innovative cybernetic augmentations into its storyline, Space Siege explores the dilemmas faced while keeping one’s humanity in the face of adversity. Cybernetic augmentations can be performed on every part of Seth’s body. On the extreme end, players will be able to outfit Seth with cybernetic upgrades that will leave little or none of his original humanity intact. But this choice comes with the risk of alienating Seth from the people he’s trying to save. Players can also insist on preserving Seth’s humanity by not using upgrades, instead forging ahead clearing the Armstrong of its alien invaders with natural human ingenuity and strength. Such a decision will increase the difficulty of completing his mission of uncovering and eliminating the alien menace that’s bent on destroying the human race.
Space Siege features a dynamic storyline based upon the decisions the player makes throughout the course of the game. Based upon the cybernetic modifications the player chooses to make on Seth’s body, NPC’s will react and interact with the player differently and, ultimately, different story resolutions will be reached. Space Siege will feature a separate immersive co-op multiplayer mode allowing up to four players to create and experience a completely unique mission structure. Sounds a bit Deus Ex-ish to me (a good thing as far as I'm concerned). This is definitely a game I'll keep an eye on.