GSI: Game Scene Investigation – Faith and a .45

Faith and a .45 is the latest action title in development at Deadline Games, the studio behind spicy third-person action game Total Overdose and the PSP spin-off Chili Con Carnage. Set during The Great Depression, a period of worldwide economic downturn in the late 1920s and 1930s, and based on classic road movies, Faith and a .45 is quite a radical departure from the studio’s usual output. With that in mind, we put the GSI team to work to see what nuggets of information could be gleamed from the game’s trailer.

Co-op play

During the game you play as Luke, with Ruby offering support. The two are a couple, and you’ll see this as you play through the game. Most interesting is the two-player co-op support, where the second player will take direct control of Ruby. How you’ll feel about playing as your mate’s love interest and giving him a peck on the cheek when a job’s been well done remains to be seen, but it certainly ought to be a different experience to the very macho Gears of War. Hopefully there won’t be any ‘Hot Coffee’ style co-op scenes.

Slow motion explosives

While Faith and a .45 looks completely different to Deadline Games’ previous release (the studio is probably best known for Totoal Overdose and spin-off Chili Con Carnage), a few gameplay elements seem to have been carried over. Most notable from the trailer is the slow motion throw of a can of gasoline. We’re guessing this can be targeted while moving in slow motion, allowing you to shoot it and cause an explosion right in the heart of the enemy’s position. Don’t expect any wrestlers in gimp masks though.

Cover system

While a cover system is cropping up in so many games these days it’s in danger of becoming overused, when playing as two characters who are fighting for their lives it makes sense for them to take cover now and again. And that’s what they do in Faith and a .45. We’re yet to see how the two lead characters will move into and out of cover, but we do know that a cover system is in place and will play a vital part in the game’s combat. Hopefully we’ll be able to switch from cover to cover effortlessly with realistic animations.

Vehicle sections

Although the trailer doesn’t show Luke and Ruby using vehicles, the accompanying artwork suggest vehicles will play a significant part in the game. Whether or not you’ll be able to hop into a car and drive off or simply take a gunning position during an on-rails section remains to be seen. We might be asking for a bit too much, but wouldn’t it be cool to be able to fly a plane? The trailer shows the two leads pinned down as a plane flies overhead, but maybe we’ll get to take to the skies for some aerial dog fighting action.

Still very early

The trailer for Faith and a .45 looks excellent, but the game is still a long way from release – In fact the game doesn’t even have a publisher yet. What we’ve seen is sure to be the basis for the final game, but who knows what the eventual publisher will want changed when it’s picked up for release. Hopefully the two main characters won’t be changed too much as the male/female combination is pretty unique for a video game. The flame thrower-wielding bad guy at the end also looks pretty menacing, so we’re sure Deadline has a few original enemy designs up its sleeve too.

For more on Faith and a .45 check out the first trailer.