Acclaim was showing only a few titles this year but some of them were real show-stoppers including a pair of games based on some cult comics.

100 Bullets (PS2/Xbox)
100 Bullets delivers an original action experience set in an urban noir world of conspiracy and revenge.

Part hard-boiled crime story, part paranoid espionage thriller, 100 Bullets follows what happens when people from all walks of life meet Agent Graves, a mysterious figure who offers his "clients" the opportunity of a lifetime: an attaché case containing the proof, the gun, and the carte blanche immunity to exact revenge on a person who's done them an irrevocable wrong. But who is Agent Graves? An emissary from an unknown government bureau? A rich man getting his kicks from granting people a personal justice where the judicial system has failed? Or is there something more sinister at work, a hidden framework that links his clients' personal dramas in a twisted game of shadowy conspiracies?

Product Features:

• Original story and script from the creator of the 100 Bullets universe, Brian Azzarello (DC Comics’ lead writer for both Batman and Superman)
• Art direction by Eduardo Risso, the award-winning artist of the 100 Bullets comic series
• Hollywood-esque action and gameplay, including multiple weapons, hostage taking, melee, and fully interactive environments
• Play through the game as two characters, Cole Burns and Snow Falls, intertwining good, bad, and revenge
• Travel from Atlantic City to LA to Paris to the Underworld of NYC
• 100 Bullets the game is written by Brian Azzurello and will introduce a new character, “Snow Falls,” to the 100 Bullets universe, drawn by the series artist Eduardo Rizzo

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The Red Star (PS2/Xbox)
The Red Star is a U.S. comic created by Archangel Studios. The art style is groundbreaking and the scope and writing is cutting-edge. Conceived and drawn by Christian Gossett, The Red Star continues to rocket forwards in its success. Set around three key main characters, The Red Star tells the tale of an alternate Russia, the URRS, where massive technology and futuristic weapons are wielded by its army, The Red Fleet. An additional twist is that magic exists in this world and The Red Fleet employs Sorcerers who can cast protokols (The Red Star term for spells).

The comic book story focuses on Maya Antares, Sorceress-General for The Red Fleet as she searches for her husband, Marcus, also a soldier in The Red Fleet who was lost in a disastrous URRS defeat battle some 10 years before. Along her journey she is accompanied by her bodyguard, Kyuzo, and she meets Makita, a Nogorkan rebel, who delivers shocking news of Marcus’s survival. Now declared rebels against their own state and having taken command of The Red Fleet’s flag ship, the heroes are ready to journey into the unknown in a desperate bid to rescue Marcus and bring down the tyrannical, and near immortal, dictator of the URRS. It is here that the player starts their quest...

Set in a breathtaking, award-winning universe, The Red Star flawlessly blends the fighting and shooting genre, offering innovative high-action, character-driven gameplay.

Product Features:

• Combat system built upon generations of fighters & shooters, perfectly blended to create an exciting and constantly evolving action experience;
• Player characters can interact with each other during cooperative play -One player’s attacks can modify & enhance their friend’s attacks;
• 3 characters who offer 3 very different game experiences -Provides for arcade-like replayability;
• Breathtaking, visually stunning special attacks;
• Every enemy & every obstacle is a strategic challenge -Action is never mindless or repetitive.

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Juiced (PS2/Xbox/PC)

In the UK, Europe, the States, Japan and any country where you’ll find young people and motors, customization of street cars – or modding – is on the increase. It used to be the realm of enthusiasts, but today it has spilled over into a much broader demographic. In fact, through a widely increasing obsession with speed and the desire to have a car that looks individual, it’s become a clearly defined lifestyle category, witnessed by an explosion in magazines such as Max Power (with a circulation of 200,000 in the UK alone), Revs, Evo and Fast Car UK.

The internet and mobile phone are the de-facto communications of this growing community, and ‘cruises’ are the shadowy gatherings from which challenges emerge and enter into street legend. It’s very much a young adult’s scene, synonymous with clubbing.

The roots of modding can be traced back to the original US muscle car, the Pontiac GTO, but these days all types are ripe for treatment, from the least expensive car to supercars. Most importantly, the demographic for car modders is a reflection of our console audience.

While the street modding scene has been alluded to in driving games such as Auto Modellista and Midnight Club, it has never had the simulation touch of Gran Turismo. With the introduction of a team based structure, and our background in simulation, we will take the street racing scene to a detailed and personal level, where you feel that you’re genuinely connecting with real characters and competing for credibility, not just a position in a league table. You’ll develop an affinity with your cars; what they look like, how they perform and what it takes to keep it roadworthy all matter. In this game you control it all.

Performance adjustment is becoming commonplace in driving titles, but the real modding scene demands more than just invisible tweaks. Of course, to be the business, you’ll need the big-bore HKS pipes, the Turbo-Technics blower. But to be seen you need highly visible improvements. Adding a set of 18” chrome-dipped Kahn wheels is not just about improving traction and grip; it’s about looking cool… and without the lowered springs, Street weapon body kit, and pearlescent finish your chariot is still too OE (original equipment) and won’t attract attention. Unless you create a worthy street monster, you won’t get to race the serious racers, or haul in the serious cash.

Once you’ve turned your pride and joy into a low-flying babe-magnet, you need to convince the competition that you’re not just a sheep in wolf’s clothing. The final, touch – a healthy manifold injection of Nitrous Oxide.

Juiced is a PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and PC racing simulation that totally immerses the player in the lifestyle, community and risk-taking of the street modding scene in a unique and compelling way. Juiced doesn’t pay lip-service to the modding scene, it takes you there and involves you in it culture, risk taking and unique creativity… the car as a personalized art-form.

It’s not an arcade style game in the pure sense of the term, but it will deliver quick thrills and action. Most importantly, the depth of game play goes far beyond an arcade style racer, pitching you against a broad range of characters who aim to trash you by building the meanest looking, hardest driving street machines, then trouncing you in a series of increasingly risky challenges. They want your cash, your cars, and your pride.

Progression is not based on a scripted story, but evolves as your skills in modding and driving increase. You’ll have to work hard to get to where the real petrol-heads and money lurk, building up a collection of nitrous burning, eye popping monsters for every type of challenge. And once you’ve maxed your cars, the stakes are maxed out too.

Serious racing simulations have made their mark in the driving genre, but none deal with the street modding scene quite like this:

• Combines the driving and extreme-sports genres;
• Build up the most respected street racing crew;
• Collect and customize or ‘mod’ a wide variety of cars;
• Recruit and manage drivers;
• Compete for cash and cars;
• Interact with characters from other crews;
• Use team tactics to win races;
• Enjoy the ‘home’ track advantage;
• Progress by gaining respect and notoriety;
• Organized Street Races and Race Track Events;
• Highway Races and Special Challenges;
• Use of real brands and recognizable licenses to add believability to the game world;
• Use of actual auto manufacturers' blue prints for nearly 50 licensed in-game vehicles;
• Believable, but highly accessible physics and handling;
• Car and environment damage;
• Cutting edge next-generation graphics;
• Split-screen multiplayer gaming;
• Online play on PlayStation2 and Xbox.

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