In a press release today; 3D Realms have announced they are teaming up with Indie developer Interceptor Entertainment in an effort to bring the side scrolling platformer back to the heights of the genre’s heyday, in the 80’s and 90’s, with their brand-new game: Rad Rodgers. Check out the reveal trailer above, then read on to find out everything we know so far.
Rad Rodgers touts itself as a return to the glory days of platformers; naming such greats as Mario, Metroid, Earthworm Jim and Castlevania as influences. The game centers on a young boy and his talking console, (we all had those back in the day) Dusty. Sucked into a game world after falling asleep in front of the TV, it’s up to Rad and Dusty to fix the ‘corruption’ that’s occurring within and generally save the day.
With some lovingly detailed 3D renders of Saturday-morning cartoon style graphics; the trailers so far look like an interactive Pixar movie, with added swearing. This definitely looks like a game that’s trying to give all those adults who played these games in the 80’s and 90’s that nostalgia rush, while keeping the game relevant to them in the here and now.
Scott Miller, founder of Apogee and 3D Realms, was there back in the day and oversaw the likes of Duke Nukem and Commander Keen, among others. He’s on board with the new project – stating that 3D Realms are taking an advisory role and will be providing “guidance and operational support” to ensure the game lives up to the “high standards of the platformer’s golden era.”
The game promises to feature a variety of ‘Bad-Ass’ (direct quote) weapons including the ‘Pheonix Cannon’ which will, apparently, shoot giant fiery birds at your enemies – if you don’t think that sounds cool, we can’t help you. It also gives players the ability to enter the ‘Pixelverse’ as side-kick Dusty, in order to solve puzzles that affect the game world. Add to this the voice talents of Jon St John, ‘Midi-inspired’ music from Andrew Hulshult, hidden secrets and Easter eggs that will challenge players platforming skills, and it sounds like this game could be the complete package. The game’s kickstarter page also suggests that the game will be released episodically, an interesting choice for a platforming game.
We think what’s been shown so far looks promising, and we love our 80’s nostalgia trips here a Pure Playstation. But why listen to us bang on about the game when you can check it out for yourself over at the newly opened Kickstarter page? Head over there, throw money at the developer, then come back and tell us how hyped you are in the comments below!
