Titan: XCIX is a first person adventure that takes place aboard the ill fated star ship of the same name. When an accident rips apart a lone ship on a routine mission, the crew find themselves fighting for survival and each other in a unique Single Player experience that's been in the making for the past two years. --------------- ATROPHY: XCIX is a first person action horror adventure that takes place in an abandoned hospital in the north of England. You will play as a high ranking officer supervising a patrol on the outskirts of a small town. Developed single-handedly by Robin "IZaNaGI" Molde (TITAN: XCIX, Jailbreak!: Source, Survival Mod II for JK:JA), Players will face many challenges that will test their brains rather than their trigger fingers. Requires Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Titan is an interesting idea in a relatively unique setting as far as source mods go. While the story is honestly sparce and seems to be delivered in a slow burn setting, it still holds water overall with it's consistent approach to it's universe and setting, as well as keeping most things a mystery--something that I appreciate in an era of tell-all Sci Fi openings, both in games and in shows/movies.
Very interesting art direction as it reminds me of a first person (and sometimes third or “Directed” in cutscenes) Sins of a Solar Empire. The red and yawning vistas of the vaults of space, the ship architecture, the color pallete and choice of clothing–its all very TEC-esque from that gameworld and its an aesthetic I like quite a lot.
When dealing with science fiction I’m afraid characters are, far and away, the most important part of the story with the extended mythos of the universe taking second place. This formula has been tried and true by countless titles, all the way from Mass Effect to Cowboy Bebop to even Firefly. Not comparing Titan to these titles, of course, but merely corelating my point with some evidence that, indeed, character writing should be first place by a long mile. With that pretext behind me, I feel like character writing is the weakest point of Titan so far. I did not connect to any of the cast, yet, but a few of them look to grab my interest down the road as the project--and story--fleshes out.
I can’t really say much here one way or the other, this feels like a micro teaser for whats to come and was only under an hour long. Titan holds an interesting premise but so far I cannot say it fully lives up or not. I think this part was a little too short. The lead dev must look forward to hard work and polish if the other parts will suffice for science fiction fans and as a project of this magnitude.
It is worth noting, the lead developer is both respectful and talented, I was shocked to find this was a solo project. My applaud to that.