E3 2004: Encore Booth

As a relative newcomer in the video & computer game publishing business, Encore is still building their name and reputation. With this year's E3 lineup, they are aiming to do just that. Sure, other companies may have longer game lists than Encore is sporting but you can tell that they are making sure a lot of time and energy go into these three games.

Heroes of the Pacific (PS2, Xbox, PC)
Able to support up to 350 aircraft in a single battle, Heroes of the Pacific is going to be an aerial combat game like no other. As a WWII arcade flight simulation, HotP will feature 25 authentic aircraft (both US and Japanese), ten mission campaigns and two control schemes to draw in the largest crowd possible. As a fantastic addition, online combat will be available across all platforms. Heroes is aiming to release this holiday season.

Soldner: Secret Wars (PC)
No, this is not a tie-in to Marvel Comics' recently released mini series. Instead, think of this as Battlefield 1942 on steroids. Soldner: Secret Wars brings the team based tactical combat of the Battlefield games or Call of Duty and moves it into the present with some incredible results. In addition to bringing over 70 modern vehicles, including the M1 Abrams tank and Apache helicopter, into the mix, Soldner is changing the tactics of this genre through the use of fully destructible geometry. What this means to you and me is that you can actually destroy buildings, knock down trees and deform the landscape. Is a sniper tagging your teammates from a distant tower? Just knock the tower over with that stinger missile you are carrying. There is currently a beta demo kicking around and expect to see Soldner: Secret Wars on June 22^nd.

The Suffering (PC)
The game's original developer, Seattle's Surreal Software, is bringing this port of Midway's horror success to the PC. While there will not be any enhancements to the PC version of this game other than the inherent graphical improvements from moving to a PC, all of the same great gameplay and bonus material will be included. Did you miss the action and suspense of the console version? Shame on you if you did, but here's your chance to pick it up on the PC. It might be tight but The Suffering should be on shelves this month.

See? What did I tell you? Encore has three very strong titles in the pipeline and is fast becoming a go-to company for publishing and distributing PC titles. Sure, I would have liked there to have been some GameCube love, but I won't complain. Check back soon for a hands-on preview of Heroes of the Pacific and additional details surrounding the PC releases.