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“It's this management of your own internal resources, combined with mastering combos and special moves to kill specific enemies, that really defines us.”
“The main reason for this decision was simply time,” said Producer Jeff Nachbaur. “Movie games have a reputation of being poor and we here at WBIE (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) are really trying to fight against that trend.
“More often than not, the biggest issue is that by the time a movie is greenlit and starts filming, it's usually already a very tight development schedule. When we looked at this, we considered our timing and the resources we had available, and to make a movie launch date, we decided the only game that we could really be sure to do well in our time frame was a PSP title. But that's not to say that there won't be something in the future. If the film becomes a classic and our game does well, who knows what may happen.”
You play as King Leonidas, correct? What kinds of strengths and abilities does he have?
Jeff Nachbaur: Yes, you do play as Leonidas. Aside from all his weapon abilities, he has Battle Skills. These are four special abilities that the player will unlock as they play the game. Every time you successfully hit an enemy, you get a little bit of Wrath. When you build enough Wrath, you can then activate a Battle Skill. While the Battle Skill is activated, every hit on an enemy gives you health instead of wrath. It's the way that Leonidas heals himself. It's all about calling on his own inner strength and fortitude to keep going in spite of injury.
Potions and the like just didn't seem very Spartan. It should be all about the warrior and not anything else. That's what a Spartan is. These are guys who went to war naked.
Anyway, we have four different Battle Skills, each with a different effect. There's Fortitude (a quick instant heal), Blood Drunk (a battle rage that increases damage), Defense (Leonidas automatically blocks all incoming attacks), and Eye of the Warlord (time slows for Leonidas, allowing him to dodge enemy attacks and attack them more quickly). Then he has all his combos and weapons. He's a formidable guy.
Tell us about the gameplay. Is this a free-for-all kill-everything-in-sight kind of game, as the movie's battle sequences appear to be?
JN: There is a whole lot of killing of Persians as you would expect. However, there is more to it than that. Our combat system is a bit more thoughtful – it isn't a button masher. You can button mash for the first level or so, but after that, you really need to start thinking about what you're doing. Our solo combat is deep, allowing you to upgrade weapons, use special abilities we call Battle Skills, unleash Wrath attacks, and perform combos to dispatch enemies.
While you are constantly in the action, you are also regularly managing your wrath and health. It's this management of your own internal resources, combined with mastering combos and special moves to kill specific enemies, that really defines us. Then, of course, we have our non-solo sequences, the phalanx, where the gameplay changes for a bit and allows you to control an entire line of Spartan soldiers.
Could you give us an idea of what the missions will be like?
JN: The inspiration for our missions comes directly from the film or comic. For instance, our fourth mission is called First Day. It is inspired directly from the comic's "First Day" at Thermopylae and it is the first big battle between the Spartans and Persians. Although each mission starts with a specific goal in mind, the goals usually change and evolve as the story unfolds. It's all about telling a particular piece of the story. Each ends with a sort of set piece, usually a boss battle or some sort of environmental puzzle. There's a sense of finality to each of them… none of them just end.
In addition, each mission allows you to get to know one of your allies a bit better. Our second mission focuses on Daxos, our third on Astinos, our fourth on Stelios, and so on. This helps the player feel a little more connected to these characters and makes him more invested in the game's ultimate goal, instead of just having a whole slew of faceless Spartan warriors.
Does the game share the same story as the film? How is the story presented – how does it unfold?
JN: Generally, we follow the story of the film and the comic; we are dealing with the same history after all. However, it's only a general guide for us. We don't stick to it like glue. We move things around as needed to hit the dramatic beats that are best for gameplay. We found this to be much more important treating it as canon.
Our big story moments are in our cinematics that occur between missions.
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