Of Orcs and Men Screens Hit the Tubes

[Andy Chalk]

Of Orcs and Men Screens Hit the Tubes

The first Of Orcs and Men screens have been released to the public, showing off the upcoming RPG that puts an unusual spin on the old orc/human rivalry.

It's a fact of life that orcs and humans just don't get along, but usually it's the poor, long-suffering humans, desperately trying to survive against a raging horde onslaught, who get our sympathy. Not so in Of Orcs and Men, the newly-announced RPG from co-developers Spiders [http://www.cyanide-studio.com/]; this time around, you'll take on the role of an elite warrior from the Bloodjaws Legion, sent to assassinate the human emperor in a last-ditch bid to bring the slaughter to a halt.

Joining you on your quest will be a stealthy goblin assassin, with his own unique skill tree to develop and whose dark abilities provide a counterbalance to the brute force of your orcish warrior. As the world falls into chaos around them, the duo will attempt to infiltrate the Empire of Humanity and change the course of history, with the hope of finally ending the persecution of the orcish people and achieving a lasting peace between the warring races.
[gallery=227]
The game will be published by Focus Home Interactive, a "specialty" publisher of titles like Cities XL [http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Cycling-Manager-France-Download/dp/B003SHDP68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1290443050&sr=8-1]. That may not be the most inspiring catalog ever and neither Cyanide nor Spiders have extensive repertoires to their names, but I think the idea sounds intriguing and I have to admit that my hopes at this very early stage are pretty high. Of Orcs and Men is in development for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and is currently slated to come out in spring 2012.


Permalink

 

[Irridium]

The game sounds more interesting that it looks, to be honest.

Still, I may check it out. If only to play something that doesn't follow the standard fantasy element of Orcs = evil.

 

[Cpt Corallis]

That looks rather interesting actually, I will be keeping an eye on this. Thanks for letting me know about it.

 

[IamQ]

Sci-Fi universes like Mass Effect and Star Wars can have all kinds of races, but why is Fantasy always restricted to Orcs, Humans and the likes?

 

[Vet2501]

Sounds interesting to say the least. I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[ScumbagEddie]

Seems interesting enough.

On a side note, read the Orcs series by Stan Nicholls. It's pretty good and the Orcs are the good guys.

 

[whiteshark12]

does this have anything to do with Of Mice and Men in any way other than the title?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Dem humies iz in fur a stompin'!

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Sci-Fi universes like Mass Effect and Star Wars can have all kinds of races, but why is Fantasy always restricted to Orcs, Humans and the likes?

Because the majority of sci-fi just paints them blue and gives them antennae.The sterotypes stay the same.
Plus the classical sword & sorcery genre just is build like that. You can save a lot of time by using this.
I could ask why all sci-fi universes need to have humans (not to speak of humanoids) in them and why are nearly all of them using spaceships for travelling?

 

[Cowabungaa]

Didn't they do this angle in WarCraft?

Exactly that indeed. But heej, one more can't hurt in the onslaught that is Orcs = Horrible world of fantasy. Except when it's Warhammer(40K), those Orc(k)s are just awesome.

 

[Saviordd1]

Didn't they do this angle in WarCraft?

Several times yes.

HOWEVER

Still color me interested

 

[Realitycrash]

So we'll be playing as the noble goblin hero trying to liberate his people from human oppression?

WHAT A TWIST!!!!

No, seriously, just inverting the usual stereotypes is no less boring.

We're going to get dull, repetitive and stereotypical fantasy RPGs anyway. Atleast this one isn't dull, repetitive and stereotypical down to the letter.

 

[Sevre]

Sci-Fi universes like Mass Effect and Star Wars can have all kinds of races, but why is Fantasy always restricted to Orcs, Humans and the likes?

Elder Scrolls, Warhammer, Warcraft, they all have several unique races but I get your point. It would be because the tried and tested formula for a fantasy universe is Humans, Orcs, Elves, +Magic = Conflict. That's just what the fans want, and the occasional boss monster which doesn't fall into any of the aforementioned categories so they just call it a 'monster'.

 

[2fish]

Dem humies iz in fur a stompin'!

You get da dakka I gonna get da red paint. We jus gotta get da boys and we gonna stomp da humies!

I think the game looks intersting and a semi fresh idea, so I will wait and watch but I hope for the best.

 

[Erana]

Uh-oh, looks like someone's competing with Kratos for most impossible jawline in an otherwise realistic fantasy style?

 

[walrusaurus]

Sci-Fi universes like Mass Effect and Star Wars can have all kinds of races, but why is Fantasy always restricted to Orcs, Humans and the likes?

short answer is: Tolkien

long answer: It isn't, but the vast majority of mainstream fantasy storytelling is shackled to 'tolkien-esque' conventions. Largely because Lord of the Rings was the most ambitious of early modern fantasy literature, and rather than simply distill what made it great (a fully realized backstory giving the world narrative context) it is much easier to simply copy his premise wholesale. You just have to rename the people and places, and presto! instant proven fantasy setting. Not unlike how the vast majority of fps games must adhere to CoD's design paradigm, because thats the sure meal ticket.

There are plenty of artists creating out of the box fantasy settings, and most of them will never get a contract with a major publisher specifically for that reason. OUr hyper-risk-averse culture is too blame.

 

[WanderingFool]

This is the first I heard of this, and when I read the title, I started thinking abouf Of Mice and Men.

 

[carpathic]

Sounds promising, but I would prefer if you got to be an orc that was killing elves. Because all elves really deserve to die. Seriously.