Depending on the type of person you are, you are either excited by or dreading the upcoming Watchmen movie. If you are in the latter group then you will probably want to stop reading now. However, if you are the type of person who believes a great piece of art cannot be diminished by subsequent adaptations (Star Wars anybody?) then you just might enjoy the upcoming Watchmen game.

The Watchmen: The End is Nigh is not your typical movie tie in game. It doesn’t just follow the plot of the movie with some fluff in between to make it a full game. It is actually an entirely different story penned by Len “Wolverine” Wein who was once Moore’s editor at DC. Having someone with a serious comic pedigree can only help the final product to not suck. The premise is interesting; the game takes place ten years before the action of the comics so it is before vigilante heroes were outlawed in that universe. It follows Nite Owl and Rorschach as they fight crime in their own special ways on the streets of New York.

Other than the story, there are aspects of the game that make way for optimism. One is the use of the Unreal engine, which is solid and perfect for the kind of brawler action that will result given the premise. Additionally, the game is a download, which, while it limited developer Deadline Games to a smaller size, in this case that is a good thing. It forced Deadline to choose two characters to focus on, which, as mentioned, are Rorschach and Nite Owl. This focus will be good for the game since creating six unique sets of character abilities would have been difficult and would most likely have diluted the action.

The action appears to have enough variety to it to prevent it from becoming stale. Rorschach can use different objects and weapons in the environment to beat on his enemies. While Nite Owl of course has a variety of gadgets at his disposal, as well as some straight up martial arts skills. These differences should provide some variety to the game and to the next iterations in what is to be a series. Additionally, the game actually looks quite good, the dark atmosphere matches the subject matter well.

Ultimately, the game will most likely be enjoyable to anyone who likes a good brawler, but fans of the Watchmen will get the most out of it. Its status as a prequel will give those who want it a taste of where these characters came from and how they ended up the sort of washed up has-beens they are in the comics. So keep an eye out for The End is Nigh when it will be released on Steam, XBLA and PSN this March coinciding with the release of the film.

-Matt Frank

Tags: Game Industry, Games as Art, Microsoft, movies, PC, PS3, PSN, Sony, Steam, Watchmen, XBLA, Xbox 360

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