As gamers, we all have at least one retro title we look back on fondly, if not two, three, or more. Maybe it's just age creeping up on me, but it's odd for me that something like Ocarina of Time or the original Tomb Raider is considered part of that "retro" category. For me, old favorites go back a bit further. I started playing games when the NES was at its peak, then, as I'm sure most of us did, moved on to the Sega Genesis and SNES. I built a decent library, but the video store always had something new to try, more than just the latest release. After long enough, you could become familiar with a great deal of a store's offerings, and some would go on to become old favorites.
Like today, EA was probably most well known for its sports games, with a few scattered gems in between each Madden Football release. One of those gems (to me at least) was General Chaos, a slapstick-y war-game with bits of RTS thrown in for good measure. I can't count how many times I'd wander around the games section of my local Palmer Video, looking for something new to try, failing, only to bring home General Chaos once again, and still enjoy the hell out of my weekend despite having played the game over and over again. So you can imagine my joy once Brian Colin announced his Kickstarter campaign for a General Chaos revamp dubbed General Chaos II: Sons of Chaos.
You may not know the name Brian Colin, but you surely know his games - Arch Rivals, the original Rampage and its sequel Rampage: World Tour, and others. Always great gameplay, with a great injection of humor. With the rampant amount of war-time shooters that have flooded the market, with no signs of slowing down with forthcoming additions (Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, etc.), this General Chaos sequel could help revitalize the genre very simply: adding some laughs.
"In Sons of Chaos, the armies of Chaos and Havoc are at it again...but this time, you'll be able to just touch on a soldier and then touch on the spot where you want him to go. We plan to add multiplayer modes that use online and LAN connectivity to give each player his own dynamic, scrolling 3-D view of the battlefield. New weapons, new squad formation and movement options, new characters (including NPCs)...the list goes on and on!
The Core Game is primarily a reinvention of the fast paced original, but we're using today's technology to make it easier & more FUN to play. It will have a simple, intuitive Touchscreen (or Mouse & Keyboard) controls. Single Player, Multi-Player LAN / Multi-Player Internet game play options. Featured dynamic cameras that follow the cartoony combatants across scrolling, interactive, 3D environments.
All of the original characters are back; only more versatile, smarter and funnier. We're increasing the number of Levels, adding new Squad configurations and Squad Movement options, and there will be plenty of new Terrain nuances just waiting to trip up the unwary..."
Like all other Kickstarter game campaigns, there are a number of bonuses for campaign backers depending on their donation. The minimum is $2, but $20 is when the cool bonuses start popping in. $20 nets backers a digital download of the finished game. Other bonuses include PVC figures of various soldiers, a trip to meet the team at their Chicago headquarters, but the crown jewel (unfortunately a bit out of most gamers reach at $10,000) is a working, sit-down arcade cabinet with dual touch screen monitors.
$125,000 is what Colin and the rest of Game Refuge is asking for to make the core game, but plans for more additions to the game are already in place should they raise more. You can see Colin's pitch below, as well as some of the gameplay, weapons, and characters planned for Sons of Chaos. The team has until Monday, Oct. 7 to raise the money.
