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Yesterday we brought you the news that Epic Interactive, a German Mac OS and Amiga developer, will be bringing four titles to the Mac in the next 4 months -- a very exciting prospect indeed. Now we bring you details on two of the games they plan to release, Gorky 17 and Dafel: Bloodline.

Gorky 17 is a 3D top-down RPG known as Odium in the U.S., which was released for the PC in January of this year. Praised by reviewers for its detailed combat system and deep plot, this blend of 3D models and 2D backgrounds is similar to Fallout. Epic sent us four screen shots of this game in action, along with a synopsis of the background story and gameplay itself. Here is an excerpt from the set-up narrative:

The year is 2008. NATO intelligence reports that, for some unknown reason,
the Russian army has destroyed one of its so-called "secret cities" known by
the code word ‘Gorky 17’. This exact replica of an American city was used to
train the best Russian spies during the Cold War. "The city’s been deserted
since the collapse of the Iron Curtain", comes the reassuring answer from
the Kremlin, "now that we are friends, we no longer need such monuments to
mistrust". But NATO commanders aren’t buying this PR exercise – they know
that Gorky 17 had another, far more important purpose. This was where the
Soviet Union conducted its most secret military experiments...

The following year, as the first step toward Poland’s integration into NATO,
a contingent of multi-national troops enters the ruined city. Poking through
the rubble, some scouts discover an old laboratory complex. Further
investigations reveal little, so the soldiers proceed downtown, through
seemingly empty streets. But ... strange things start happening! Suddenly,
they find themselves surrounded by hideously deformed creatures – parts of
their bodies look human, while other parts resemble a horrifying mixture of
animal and insect. Something went terribly awry here.

Dafel: Bloodline is an original title from Epic Interactive, developed for the Amiga as well as Mac. Described as a fast-paced action/RPG in the spirit of the Zelda series, this game will feature impressive animation and sound as well as a deep plot. Here are details on what to expect from this game:

The aim with Dafel: Bloodline is to create a classic RPG game based upon gaming styles such as classics "Zelda" or "Chaos Engine". In honour of these old games we decided to use a top down view retro-style engine but with a modern approach to design, gameplay and coding. All characters in Dafel are 3D modelled for a realistic look. Our main character comes with over 1.000 frames of animation alone. Dafel combines two engines, adventure and arcade. The best elements from adventure games, such as exploring your surroundings, using objects and talking to characters are combined with fast arcade action.

• Fast 8-way scrolling
  
• 3D modelled characters
  
• 3D effects such as light, transparency, rain, snow, mist or fog
  
• Traditional 2D backgrounds
  
• Adventure elements combined with Action gameplay
  
• interactive characters
  
• non-linear plotline
  

We'll bring you more details on Epic's other Mac releases for 2000, Simon the Sorcerer 2 and Earth 2140 in the near future. And remember, Epic has twelve -- yes, a dozen! -- titles scheduled for release on the Mac OS in 2001, so it looks like we have another major source for games on the Mac OS entering the market. There is one slight wrinkle in their plans, however -- currently, Epic has no US publisher or distributor lined up for their titles. We'll do what we can to aid them in finding one, of course, but if those of you in the development community have any suggestions, be sure to drop us a line.

Gorky 17 Screen Shot #2

Gorky 17 Screen Shot #3

Gorky 17 Screen Shot #4

Gorky 17 Screen Shot #1

Epic Interactive Brings New Titles to the Mac

Epic Interactive

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Gorky 17 (add to watch list)

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