GVK: What is the background and setting of the game and what will separate it from other titles in the real-time strategy series?

JW:Axis & Allies is a World War II strategy game that will cover all of the famous battles of the war and more. While playing our campaign you will fight in the desert around El Alamein, along the beaches of Normandy, and through the unforgiving Russian winter. Our team worked hard to bring World War II to life in a way that players of any skill level and background can enjoy. Do you want to change history by crushing the Russian army at Stalingrad or re-live it by storming the Omaha beach? The choice is yours.

JW:Axis & Allies will differ from other RTS games in the lack of micromanagement and twitch gameplay involved. As with TimeGate’s Kohan games, a player’s troops are organized into squads that know how to fight without explicit commands from the player. Infantry will throw grenades when they first engage, follow up with machine gun fire, and move to close combat if things get really ugly. All a player has to to concern himself with is deciding what he wants to build and where he wants to attack and maneuver.

GVK: There has been much talk in the gaming community about the territory system in the game. Can you explain this and how it will be used in the game?

JW:The territory system is all part of the “World War” mode that is included with Axis & Allies. Essentially, in this play mode, a player picks a nation that he wants to lead and given a set of territories and divisions at the start of the game. Here the player can choose which territory to invade on his turn and thereby determine the course of the war. For example, if a player were to choose Japan he could opt to completely ignore the US during the war and instead focus all his attention on Asia. If he is a particularly good player he might be able to capture Moscow and force the Russian army to surrender, without even touching Hawaii.

GVK: What was the inspiration behind this title, and what settings will players encounter?

JW:Axis & Allies, as one might guess, is inspired by the board game with the same name. There are several modes of playing including two campaigns, the dynamic “World War” mode, and a multiplayer options over the internet and LAN. The game supports an enormous number of different settings. The deserts of Africa, the jungles of Guadalcanal, and the frozen tundra of northern Russia are all present.

GVK: How many units will be available and are super weapons available?

JW:Each nation in Axis & Allies has roughly twenty-two different units including several unique units that only they can build. For example, Germany can build the awesome King Tiger Tank, or Japanese have suicidal banzai troops.

Super weapons were a big part of World War II and likewise play a huge role in Axis & Allies. Super Weapons are acquired by building up experience points over the course of a game. Every general in Axis & Allies has three super powers (called Special Operations) that they can call on when they have gained enough experience. Admiral Nimitz is really popular choice around TimeGate because he has access to the devastating Atomic Bomb. It takes a long time to build up enough experience to use this weapon but it is well worth the wait.

GVK: How is the A.I. for the game setup in terms of challenges that it will offer players that is unique to other titles on the market as A.I. and Pathfinding are often some of the biggest obstacles to a real time game.

JW:Players will find the AI in Axis & Allies to be a formidable opponent. The AI knows how to build a large army and attack an opponent and their weakest. A player should not expect to get away with leaving bases or cities undefended when playing against the AI.

The pathfinding in Axis & Allies is very good. Players won’t have to worry about units getting lost while traversing the world map.

GVK: What sort of graphic engine is the game using and what features does it allow you to include in the release?

JW:Axis & Allies uses a modified version of the RTSE engine that Kohan: Kings of War used (based on Net Immerse’s Gamebryo). The engine supports a wide variety of death and damage states, as well as real-time shadows and gorgeous terrain and units and the visuals effects behind the Special Operations are especially spectactular. Perhaps the most exciting visual effect is a knockback for infantry dying from explosive damage. Don’t expect infantry killed with bombs to die using their standard death animation. Instead, they will fly through the air, limbs flailing.

GVK: It has been reported that the game will not involve any resource collection. How will players amass units and does the lack of resources eliminate the need to protect for non-unit or mission specific locations?

JW:Players accumulate money over the course of a game of Axis & Allies, but money is not gathered using the standard peon to mineral pile chain seen in many other RTS games. Instead, income is gathered or lost at a rate influenced by the presence of division HQs and captured cities. These must be closely protected to ensure a steady income over the course of the game.

GVK: What are the nation specific experiences the game will feature and how do they fit within the campaigns?

JW:Over the course of the two semi-historical campaigns players will be able to play as all five different sides and use all the units and general powers in the game. Additionally, in our “World War” mode, players will be able to take command of a nation of their choosing and lead them to victory across the globe.

GVK: How is the game editor setup and what features aside from creating new maps will it allow players to do?

JW:The editor that comes with Axis & Allies is the same one the developers used to create all the maps as well as the cutscenes in the game. It functions similarly to other RTS editors and will give the players an enormous amount of freedom when creating any type of map, including single and multiplayer.

GVK: Thank you so much,

Gareth

gareth@nwlink.com

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Book News:  My First Book of Film and game reviews and interviews is ready. To order or download your copy, click the link. A downloadable copy is only $5.00 a Bound is under $20.00