More Unreal vehicle mayhem

Tuesday 5 September 2006
In the concluding part of our special look at some of Unreal Tournament 2007's sci-fi influenced vehicles of mass destruction (click here for part one), the game's producer, Jeff Morris, gives us the insider lowdown on a selection of the new and updated craft that gamers will be able to take charge of in UT 2007.

Necris Darkwalker
"For the Necris' main battle tank - its main slugger - we wanted some tank elements but we wanted it to be very difficult to recognise as a tank. So we came up with the Darkwalker. Basically, it's got a totally different way of getting around. It's a great climber, unlike the tank, so you can actually use it to get into certain positions that the tank can't get into.

Above: Reminiscent of the invading terrestrials' craft of choice in War of the Worlds, the Darkwalker has a meaty beam weapon that frazzles enemies for fun

"We're thinking about doing a number of light vehicles for the Necris and what's cool about the Darkwalker is that it can crouch, so you can creep up until you're ready to attack. Its main weapon is an incredibly devastating beam weapon and it doesn't really matter whether I click the mouse or hold it down, I get the same duration of beam, which will kill individuals pretty much instantly.

"Originally, we had a crosshair for it, but we got rid of it because the weapon is great at missing - you're sort of like 'oh, did I miss you? Let me just walk the beam to exactly where it needs to be'.

"So, like the tank, it has a problem dealing with fast moving units and it's actually got more of a problem than the [Axon's] Goliath, because you can pass between its legs in a fast moving vehicle. So we added a sort of secondary turret that's under the main weapon that's great for anti-air, it has a full 360 degree view."