Darkest of Days Brings Future Weapons to the Civil War, Pompeii and World War II in September

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Tired of all those games that get caught up in the silly trappings of historical accuracy? Then you may want to check out 8monkey Labs' "historically-based" time-traveling shooter Darkest of Days, due for a September 8, 2009 release on PC and Xbox 360. Rather than say anything else about the awe-inspiring concept, in which players travel back to major historical events and utilize futuristic weaponry to ensure an uncorrupted time stream, I'll let the press release and first trailer speak for themselves:
Cedar Falls, Iowa - July 15, 2009 - Phantom EFX, the world's leading developer and publisher of PC-based casual game titles, and independent game development studio 8monkey Labs announced today that their highly anticipated historically-based first person shooter, Darkest of Days, is set to launch on September 8, 2009 for both Windows-based PC and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

"Working on Darkest of Days has been, without a doubt, the crowning achievement in both my personal career and that of Phantom EFX," said Aaron Schurman, CEO of Phantom EFX. "The past few years, everyone here and at 8monkey Labs has been working incredibly hard to create this title, one that we feel will give gamers plenty of memorable entertainment and serve as a gigantic breath of fresh air into the FPS genre."

Have you ever wondered what could happen if time travel was a reality? Have you ever thought about the possibility of going back in time to rewrite history for the better? That possibility is a reality in Darkest of Days, where players will travel back and forth through the annals time to relive some mankind's most dire hours. By fighting through terrible events such as The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest conflict of the Civil War, and both World War I and II, the player will attempt to save certain key individuals who were never meant to become involved in these truly monstrous events and thereby change human history for the better.

In Darkest of Days, you take on the role of Alexander Morris, an unlucky foot soldier who gets transferred to General Custer's regiment days before the Battle of Little Bighorn. Moments before his inevitable demise, a futuristic time agent warps in to save Morris and transports him to the future where he is told that time travel is now a reality. However, an unknown faction is attempting to re-write history for their own benefit. Your job is to stop them, and you'll fight your way through eras spanning thousands of years to do it.

Key features of Darkest of Days include:

  • Brand New Engine: The dedicated team at 8monkey Labs has created an all-new, groundbreaking game engine known as Marmoset. The Marmoset Engine not only breaks from the all-too present Unreal engine FPS clones flooding the market, but also allows for some amazing graphical capabilities. You'll fight through epic battles filled with literally hundreds of NPCs on the screen at the same time, all with an advanced AI and all without a hint of graphical slowdown and all set against wide-open environments that are lushly detailed and dynamically lighted.
  • Compelling Storyline: Darkest of Days is a compelling, action-packed first-person shooter to be sure, but it's not just mindless run-and-gun, blow 'em up gameplay. You'll have to not only think about how to approach certain key battles and situations, but you'll also have to take care when fighting - certain key people that were never meant to die will be marked with a special blue aura. If you kill them, you'll face dire consequences...
  • Wreak Havoc with Future Weapons in Antiquity: Something nearly every gamer that's ever played a shooter based in the past has always wanted is the ability to bring a futuristic weapon back through history and kick some major butt. How differently would Custer's last stand have turned out if the General was equipped with an M-16 assault rifle? You'll be able to answer questions like this in Darkest of Days. While not every battle and situation will allow you to wield weapons from the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to unleash futuristic fury on your unsuspecting foes.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 15, 2009 2:31 PM

    I know there isn't a single one of you who haven't thought about brining a machine gun back to the dark ages and ripping shit up.
    So as far as the concept goes, I am amazed it actually hasn't been done before.
    Chance of it being any good based on the developer on the other hand... probably 10%.

    • reply
      July 15, 2009 2:45 PM

      Agree with all the above.

    • reply
      July 15, 2009 2:58 PM

      Yeah, I pretty much said the same when I read about this game.

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      July 15, 2009 3:25 PM

      This has long been a fantasy of mine.

    • reply
      July 15, 2009 3:33 PM

      Fuck yeah!

    • reply
      July 15, 2009 3:47 PM

      Heh, we had a whole thread the other day about modern soldiers at the battle of Gettysburg! :D

    • reply
      July 15, 2009 4:06 PM

      So true! I've always thought of going back in time with a minigun to when they still used swords for fighting/war. There would be over a thousand sword wielding men running towards me and then I would just spray the shit out of them. Always wondered how people in that time would react to something like that.
      Not just weapons either, but imagine taking back a TV (you would also need a generator ofcourse). People would worship you (not that I want that).

      Damn, a time machine would have endless fun and possibilities.

      • reply
        July 15, 2009 4:57 PM

        I've thought about both of these on numerous occasions.

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        July 15, 2009 6:35 PM

        I don't think they'd have any broadcasters in the Middle Ages, so how amazing they'd find a box with glass on it is questionable.

        • reply
          July 15, 2009 7:35 PM

          I'd bring along a DVD player ofcourse (or maybe even a video camera :D). Besides, the actual TV itself as an object is still quite amazing; they would have never seen anything with that sort of manufacturing quality.

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