3DO's Four Horsemen Not Quite Dead Yet

Thanks to IGN PS2 for its article discussing the seeming resurrection of 3DO's Four Horseman Of The Apocalypse, the PlayStation 2 "action-horror title" whose fate was unknown following 3DO's bankruptcy auction last year. Apparently, "After 3DO shut down, a number of investors founded a company called Four Horsemen Entertainment L.L.C. in order to purchase the property. The company officially obtained it on May 12, and development has resumed." According to creator Michael Mendheim: "The new company will begin by releasing comic books and a graphic novel based on the [Simon Bisley character-designed] property, and eventually release a completely revamped version of the video game for next-generation systems."

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From the article...

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

""The Four Horsemen concept is cool because it is based on the most popular book in history, the Bible," Mendheim said. "Our fear factor isn't about zombies walking around. It's about plagues and torment. It's scary because of the realism. Everyday, people see and read about miracles happening, plagues, the devastation of famine or even a statue bleeding. Our concept is scary, because it just might be true."

What now? Sure, people "see miracles" but usually they're poor and despondent and in need of something to get them through their miserable lives. I'd say that a government-created plague [i.e. Resident Evil] is quite a bit more likely than Revelations coming to pass any time too soon. But in the end, the storyline only adds so much to a game. The folks at 3D0 weren't exactly producing great games when the company folded. Perhaps it was mismanagement of talent but before I get excited about the upcoming toy line/tv shows/animated features/clothing line/ and, oh yeah, video game - I'll wait to see if there's any gameplay to note. I'm always concerned when a single video game hasn't been made yet and there's already talk of an entire franchise. Make one good game before you try to cash in.

Spawning a franchise

[Crash Culligan]

True, a franchise doesn't necessarily equate to a good game (pun in title intended), but this fills me with hope:

After 3DO's closure, publishers neglected the title not because it was unwieldy, Mendheim explains, but because in its then-early stages it may not have been large enough. Publishers may have also been unwilling to provide the time necessary to complete the title properly.

Who knows? If they take the time to get the game right, perhaps they'll actually get it right. This is a pleasant reversal of a trend I'd seen too often discussed here: pinheads in upper management become too enamored with pretty graphics and give the green light to crap. Meanwhile, people trying to put forth serious effort get slapped for trying to put the serious effort into the game rather than appeasing their corporate overlords.

This development fills me with hope.

And then there's this not-so-choice quote...

"The Four Horsemen concept is cool because it is based on the most popular book in history, the Bible," Mendheim said. "Our fear factor isn't about zombies walking around. It's about plagues and torment. It's scary because of the realism. Everyday, people see and read about miracles happening, plagues, the devastation of famine or even a statue bleeding. Our concept is scary, because it just might be true."

It may be the Biblical story that they're suggesting is scary, but how exactly the modern implementation gets carried out could make it worse. See also Neal Gaiman's and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens ... Famine and War are already working their wiles, and P-------- is probably farther along than you think.