Damnation: Hell Breaks Loose



Return to the West that never was in this genre-blending total conversion for Unreal Tournament 2004. Equipped with an array of steam-powered weaponry, acrobatic skills, and mystic Spirit Powers only you stand against a ruthless, mechanized foe.

A self-styled "steampunk fantasy-western," Damnation stands apart, providing the gaming community with not only fresh, new gameplay, but an untapped world to explore as well.

Damnation is a new breed of gaming experience. As a first/3rd person action/adventure title, Damnation's gameplay is unprecedented. Combining the immersion and precision gunplay of a traditional first-person shooter like Call of Duty with the navigational puzzle design of 3rd-person adventure titles like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Damnation is a new paradigm in genre-blending gameplay.

As the war between the Uplands and the Coalition rages into the winter of its 27th year and the number of dead rise into the millions, the industry of war is fueled by the greed of a single ruthless man: W.D. Prescott.

From behind the scenes, he has prolonged the war; selling a devastating new weapon to one side, and the countermeasure to the other. Having amassed tremendous wealth by manipulating the two beleaguered armies, W.D. Prescott wields overwhelming power and desires nothing less than to subject the Western Territories to his merciless rule. Heedless of the developments in the West, both sides direct their resources toward fighting for what is rapidly becoming worthless land, each in turn enriching the coffers of Prescott Steam Industies.

If there is a hope of for this world, it is the Peacemakers. It is they alone who wield the power to thwart Prescott and save us all from Damnation.



The team's intro serves well in describing the game - forgive me if I lightly retrace those steps. But first, let me explain something; this is a singleplayer total modification - which is sort of refreshing because, frankly, there just aren't that many. It's unique in that it combines first and third person gaming. Imagine Tomb Raider, with its jumping and climbing puzzles, combined with the seek and shoot style of first person gameplay found in the original Unreal. Wrap it all in a steam punk/Old Western fictional setting - and there you go.

The first thing you'll notice about Damnation is the unusually high polished menu system. Everything from the interactive character select screen to the slick save screen, featuring a screenshot of the level you've progressed to, just smacks of professionalism. There are pop up hints throughout the game that help speed things along and the Objectives, Mission, and Storyline-so-far are all just a click away in the GUI. It really sets the tone for what's to come and every aspect of the design ties in well to the overall theme.



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