State of Emergency 2 on the move again @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on December 01, 2005

News: Another new publisher for the troubled game.

State of Emergency 2 has had more lives than Tom and Jerry combined. First announced by bam! Entertainment and in development at Vis, both of those companies met their demise in late 2004. Then, DC Studios picked up the development duties but couldn't find a publisher. Enter Playlogic, who announced they would publish the stampeding sequel just a few months ago. Well, it looks like that deal fell through (for the US at least) and in steps the new publisher: Southpeak Interactive.

"We are looking forward to reintroducing everyone to Spanky and his crew and to hitting the top of the charts again," said Mark Greenshields, Chief Executive Officer of DC Studios. "Our team has made State of Emergency 2 a really great game and one that far surpasses the original. I am extremely pleased to be publishing State of Emergency 2 with SouthPeak and confident that together we will make SOE2 a great success".

State of Emergency 2 will add a ton of new features to the SoE formula including:

Single player action: Innovative 12 mission single player mode featuring a huge array of features and a full cinematic story experience. Adds a riveting single player campaign to the fun and mayhem of the game.

Huge numbers of simultaneous on-screen characters: From the prisoners of the early missions to the unruly inhabitants of the Ghetto and the downtrodden populace of the Workers' Zone, crowds can be rallied to the cause or frozen in fear depending upon how they are treated by the player.

Swarms of enemies: The game features nine different types of intelligent enemy that will choose when to defend and when to attack, and that are capable of hunting the player down if they choose to hide.

Gang control: Spanky can control Capitol City's various gangs to assist him in overcoming the odds against wave after wave of Enforcers.

Multiple vehicles: Helicopters, Tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers and Speedboats are all playable and all hugely destructive -- even the speedboat has a mortar fixed to the front.

Character switching: Choose the right man for the job. Switching player can also be used as a tactic when low on health and can prove vital to survival and progression through the levels.

Interrogation: This mini game has Spanky eliciting information the way only he knows how. Hit your informer too weakly and he will deliver a barrage of indignant abuse; too hard and you may send him to the Great Beyond.

15 frantic arcade challenges: 15 arcade challenges, each with gold, silver and bronze medals and their own high score table, ranging from rocket, tank, and sniper challenges to the incredibly fast-paced and hilarious Kaos modes.

Five multiplayer modes for 1-4 players: Multiplayer modes include deathmatch and flag attack, as well as more unconventional modes such as Last Man Standing and Battle mode.

Believe it or not, State of Emergency 2 is scheduled to ship for the PS2 this February. I think if this and StarCraft: Ghost both make their February release dates there will be some black hole of delayed karma that will envelop the world.

And to further shock and astound you, a PSP version is in the works for the Fall. The Xbox version, which hasn't been mentioned in press materials since SoE was a bam! property, is assumed to be canceled.