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After the great battle in Heaven known as 'The Breaking', two groups of angels emerged - The Chosen, and The Fallen. The Chosen remained above, while The Fallen were banished to the underworld. But now The Fallen are back and trying to overrun Creation. So what do you do? Assume the roll of Malachi, and kick some ass - and turn them into salt!

by Tim Krupinski
(07/22/98)

The Goods
Quick Peek: Requiem: Wrath of the fallen is poised to take the FPS genre by storm, with a kick ass storyline, an epic tale, and some really cool cynical stuff, such as boiling blood and walking on water.
Release Date: September 1998
Developer: Cyclone Studios
Publisher 3DO
Homepage: Requiem
It's a timeless story - Heaven vs. Hell, Angels vs. Demons, Good vs. Evil. It has been told generation after generation, everybody knows it, it's what just about every game is based on nowadays - conflict. However, usually the conflict is between some kind of bad guys and some kind of good guys fighting over some ungodly planet or a vital resource critical for survival. However, Requiem: Wrath of the Fallen takes on a different approach - the all time epic of Heaven vs. Hell. A great battle known as 'The Breaking' took place in heaven, with about a third of the angels rebelling under Satan who were cast down below. However, they are back! And you must enter the material world as Malachi, a loyal angel with powers of biblical proportions and battle all of the little hell-raisers and save humanity from 'The Wrath of the Fallen'.

So what does this mean for you? Well, as you know the basic premise is the very-much-told, yet oh-so-original clash of Heaven and Hell. You must take on the roll of an Angel, Malachi, to enter the material world - Creation. While there you must use your angelic powers and weapons wisely - for this is no ordinary world. As Phil Co, the assistant designer at Cyclone, explains: "Requiem is a first-person action/adventure that combines elements of games such as the character interactions in 'Twinsen's Odyssey', and the combat of 'Goldeneye' or 'Quake', [all] with the visual style and story of films like 'Angel Heart' or 'Blade Runner'." He goes on to say, "Biblical overtones are everywhere in Requiem: from the ability to 'possess' other creatures and 'reanimate' dead bodies, to turning enemies into salt pillars or boiling their blood or sending swarms of locusts, Old Testament and wrath of God type stuff!"

Which brings us to a very controversial part of the game - all of the mythology and biblical references. "So in sum, the heart of the gameplay not only touches upon, but revolves around the religious/metaphysical aspects of heaven vs. hell and angels vs. demons. It's a timeless story that's been told for generations, and this is just a 90's interactive version of it where you get to play the central character." When asked how he thought the public would respond to a potentially controversial premise for a game, he responded "It is feasible that we are opening ourselves up to criticism from a lot of fronts … In general, people understand the concept of angels and demons, heaven and hell, which makes this game unique, or not just another sci-fi story that has nothing to do with the fact that you are just running around and shooting things and people up... as many games stand today." Hey, just like the next gamer, I too, am looking for a great excuse to kill a bunch of stuff in a highly technical universe, and now I have one - God!

On to Creation! (next page)