GVMERS

A Game Too Ambitious - Investigating Reich (2017x13)

: 12, 2017

Since the aftermath of the Second World War, countless books, movies, games, and other strands of pop culture have attempted to answer an incredibly difficult question: what if Nazi Germany and the mighty Axis powers defeated the Allies? While no concrete answer can be made, many writers of fiction have depicted society under Nazi-rule as a dystopian world, where buildings are imposing rectangular and bland. Soldiers are often said to patrol the gloomy streets, imposing order with an iron fist. All too commonly, they have acquired some sort of futuristic technology or supernatural powers, and have plans to use it accordingly wherever and whenever they see fit. Reich was a first-person shooter set and in an alternate universe where Germany defeated the Allies in World War II, and a new, Fourth Reich has been established. It was developed by Ignition Studios Florida and later, UTV True Games, built within a modified version of the Unreal 3 engine. In Reich, both during and after the Second World War, it is revealed that the Nazis were conducting experiments with psychic powers and performed gruelling tests upon countless captives. Although, their creations - dubbed “The Chosen” - successfully escaped from their grasp and went into hiding. Consequently, the escapees formed a fanatical religion based on cybernetic modifications and genetic enhancements. Their aim: destroy the German empire and anyone that stands in their way. The Reich’s military has made it their priority to seek and destroy any and all remaining Chosen, yet what they did not expect is that one of their very own is about to turn against them with the ability to harness these powers on an unprecedented scale... While Ignition planned on releasing the game on October 10th, 2010, for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, it was abruptly cancelled after having been over three years in development. The project’s budget of over $23 million dollars was completely used up over that period of time.