by:	July 26, 2004

B.C. has quickly became the number one most anticipated “vaporware” on the Xbox. Since the games announcement around the time of Xbox’s 2001 launch we haven’t hear nor seen much of the elusive title. The game comes from Intrepid Entertainment—a division of the Peter Molyneux camps Lionhead Studios. Molyneux and Lionhead Studios are better known for making games such as Black & White for the PC, and their other division, Big Blue Box which is also producing a Xbox exclusive title, Fable which we will actually be seeing by September. The title was actually playable to a select few journalist at E3 2004, unfortunately Xbox Evolved’s editors were not amongst the elite.

The idea behind B.C. came from Peter Molyneux of course, and it is an idea many of us may have had ourselves—what would we do if we could go back to the dawn of man? The game stretches the facts of history for entertainment’s sake, as you will encounter many creatures from different periods of times such a Tyrannosaurus, Brontosaurus, Neanderthals, Velicoraptors, saber tooth tigers, and your own race, the humans. If you study your history you will of course come to the conclusion that not all of these creatures have lived at the same time. Throughout the game you must teach your tribe of humans how to live in the harsh world that you are in. You must take them out to hunt, build shelter, and migrate when needed. A lot of your tasks, including hunting, may require you to figure out a puzzle that gives you an edge over your prey. The more you hunt a particular animal, the more your people will learn and then they will just start hunting for themselves. The information that we have collected is that besides the dangers of being a snack for a giant dinosaur, you are rivals with a bunch of monkey-creatures that will be using very good A.I. and always try to get the upper hand on you and your tribe. Why B.C. has been delayed for so long is up to debate. A lot of sources claims there are weak spots in A.I. and the gameplay itself while having a “Black & White” feel to it isn’t as enthralling. This would explain the lack of hype for the game by Microsoft, and why we don’t have a set release date, as of now the game is set to be released sometime in 2005. The game may meet that date, or it may fall victim of being cancelled like so many other Microsoft published Xbox games like, True Fantasy Live Online.

Visually the game is pretty impressive in it’s own way. The team at Intrepid claims the game, as a whole will be using almost all of Xbox’s resources, suggesting just how complex the game actually is. Scales on the dinosaurs are done well with a bumping technique, each scale is shaded, and they even move realistically with the movement of the creature’s muscles. The humans are very believable with matted hair, the shine of their skin in the sun, shading around their muscles, and dirt collecting all over their bodies gives you a sense that your actually there in the dirty prehistoric times.

B.C.’s concept seems like it could keep control freaks up for nights on end commanding their tribe to do their bidding, and challenging the creatures of the land to battle. Let’s hope we get to see this title within the next year and it doesn’t become extinct.

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