Black Isle Studios is set to present its new PC RPG, Lionheart, at Interplay's E3 booth.
The game's story is constructed around a phantasmic distortion of real-life European history.
In 1192, when King Richard the Lionhearted journeyed to battle the muslims during the Third Crusade, a
cataclysmic rupture in the lines that define reality occurs, thus allowing for in influx of magic and spiritkind to
spread over the land. The actual game takes place 400 years later in a 16th century Dark Age, where magic is
feared by commoners and the player must develop their skills in areas such as swordplay, archery, and magic in a
classless, open-ended system, while discovering their destiny in a haunting, historically
altered land.
Fergus Urquhart, president of Black Isle Studios, stated, "With Lionheart, we have chosen to skew history earlier
in the development of mankind to create a dark world where magic exists ... Rome's power is in conflict with the reality
of demons walking the earth, and Leonardo Da Vinci's blueprints have come to life."
Black Isle Studios stated that Lionheart plays from an isometric perspective and
offers a lush, diverse, atypical fantasy world. The gameplay focuses on strategic puzzles, intense
combat, NPC interaction, and also features a four-player session in addition to single play.
Lionheart is currently scheduled for a winter 2002 release. RPGamer will continue to cover
the new title in the days ahead.
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