The Technomancer

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The Technomancer

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Gamescom 2015: Kill 'm with... Lightning?

Second chance


A few years ago, developer Spiders released Mars: War Logs with Focus Home Interactive as the publisher. It was a small game with high ambitions and, as it turns out, required mored budget than it had to do things right. Now Spiders is back, has more money and hopes to make good on some of the promises originally made by Mars: War Logs. The team was ready to show off their new game, The Technomancer, at Gamescom where I got to see it in action.

The Technomancer is set in the same universe as War Logs, and as such you are still on Mars. It痴 an action RPG where you値l combine melee attacks and lightning abilities to fight and quest your way across the Red Planet. You play as Zachariah, a Technomancer-in-training. You are essentially a mage warrior - someone who is able to harness electricity based powers with the help from natural abilities and cybernetic implants.

Water


When you start the game, Mars has been colonised for some time and the planet is in the midst of the War of Water. Varying factions are competing for control of the all important water supply. You are on the run from the Secret Police, who are dangerous themselves, but not as dangerous as the planet can be. You値l be exploring ancient cities, lost paradises, and all manner of post-apocalyptic towns on your travels.

This is also a world which reacts to the decisions you make and the people you interact with. You gain party members and interact with them to build relationships. Any equipment you craft can be for yourself, or you can give it to them, because they値l be helping you out in combat too. Many quests have up to five different endings based on how you play, so as well as keeping yourself alive, you値l have to be thinking about how best to approach each situation.

When you level up you値l be able to unlock new abilities from four different skill trees which focus on three different fighting styles. You could use a staff for extra reach, or you could dual wield weapons to really increase your damage output. When you combine that with your lightning abilities, you池e definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Challenges


You値l be coming up against the different factions that are vying for control of the water supply, the Secret Police, as well as the alien wildlife that has inhabited Mars before humans even got there. Technomancers are both feared and respected though, so you値l be more than up to the job as you travel to complete your initiation rite, and fight back against the secrets of your past which have come to haunt you. You値l be doing all this when The Technomancer comes out in 2016.