Reign of Fire will throw gamers into ferocious battles between two ancient species fighting for survival: humans and dragons. An action-packed third-person arcade adventure set in the near future, players will choose to take the side of either the humans - struggling to fight back against their seemingly insurmountable foes - or the dragons themselves: an awesome army of fire-breathing beasts intent on incinerating everything in their path.

The dragons have remained illusive until today, despite the fact they are the stars of Reign of Fire. Players will encounter several breeds of the deadly beasts throughout the game, either on the receiving end of their awesomely destructive powers or even better still, in the firing seat themselves. Attached to this email you'll find one of the many astounding PlayStation 2 screenshots that finally unveil the mysterious mammals.

The game is split into two sections: the human and dragon stories. In the highly destructive dragon missions, players will assume the role of just one of the winged beasts taking over the world. This player dragon looks astoundingly life-like and utilises a skinned animation system to create organic looking and fluid movement. The beast will realistically bank, back pedal, climb, hover, and dive across the post-apocalyptic looking landscape. With the final model being built with approximately 60 bones, the animators on the project have developed a frighteningly authentic looking dragon.

 

This player dragon will continue to evolve throughout the course of the game, beginning as a young inexperienced animal with only the most basic of destructive abilities: the Fireball - its main destructive weapon, Napalm Breath - used to spray close-range damage and to set fire to crops, livestock and enemies, and finally the ability to pick up objects (then drop them on your enemies). All of these abilities improve as the dragon ages and the player progresses through the game: for example when the player first picks up objects they may only be able to manage small items, such as livestock or humans, but by the end of the game they will be throwing jeeps and APC's!

In addition to the player dragon there are eight other breeds plaguing the earth, many of which the player dragon will cooperate with throughout the game, all of which are highly evolved and capable of cataclysmic devastation.

Three of these are land-bound dragons: Jakyls, Land Tanks and Pitchers:

• Jakyls are young dragons that swarm across the ground in packs like reptilian wolves, ramming vehicles and eating humans as they go. These are often herded by flying dragons to flush out human survivors hiding underground.
• Pitchers will sit in wait on their huge nests where Jakyls sometimes take refuge. Pitchers will wait for humans or food to appear, throwing out the young dragons at anything that ventures too close.
• Land Tanks are huge, dark green dragons that are similar to a Triceratops in form and size. They are slow-moving but incredibly strong and will charge and spew napalm from their nostrils when confronted. These ancient dragons are far too old, heavy and cumbersome to be supported by their ragged wings.

The five other dragons are air-based: Spitfires, Fireballers, Dive Bombers, Napalm Breathers and The Bull.

• Spitfires are small dragons. They are very agile, will spit small fireballs, and can be easily killed. They tend to hunt in groups, swarming together in the air.
• Fireballers are red-scaled, mid-sized dragons that will be found flying low and scaling hillsides. They attack with strafing runs, firing large fireballs at targeted enemies.
• Dive Bombers are larger dragons with yellow markings on their scales, they swoop to pick-up Quad Bikes, motorcycles and other small vehicles. These are then dropped on either the human player or N.P.C. allies.
• Napalm Breathers are one of the most destructive dragon types - these orange-scaled dragons swoop, and hover above a target before unleashing an uninterrupted stream of napalm like a flame-thrower, moving its head from side to side.
• Despite the dangerous nature of all these animals, the biggest, most ferocious and deadly is by far The Bull.