Areal

For Wii U gamers hoping for a shooter on the system that also aims to innovate the genre and provide a compelling post-apocalyptic atmosphere, Areal should perhaps be on their radar. It's a project by West Games, comprised of team members that worked on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series and Metro: Last Light.

Presented in a slick Kickstarter campaign, this title promises a boundary-free, substantial open world and a non-linear story structure. The developers seem particularly keen to emphasize that atmosphere and an intriguing environment will be priorities, along with strong gameplay.

It features a massive and intricately detailed open world environment that is extremely varied and colorful, even though it's set in a post-apocalyptic setting. Areal depicts a future where civilization has fallen apart due to an unearthly material called Metamorphite, which eventually spreads, corrupts and infects the whole world. The source of Metamorphite comes from a meteor that impacted the earth long ago, and it is the site of constant conflict and bloodshed.

Areal's story is not linear – players can choose how their characters act and speak – everything from how you talk to who you kill changes the storyline of Areal. There is no morality system in Areal, so you are free to make choices that you think are best in any given situation, without being blinded and limited by a standard good/evil system. Ultimately, Areal is the culmination of everything that we want to see from a post apocalyptic game, and it's something that we can realize with full creative freedom because of the unique platform that is Kickstarter.

Unsurprisingly this campaign is targeting PC, Xbox One and PS4, but the happy news is that Wii U is also in the modest core goal of $50,000. At the time of writing the fundraising had passed the half way point with 29 days still to go.

This certainly looks promising, but check out the pitch video below and let us know what you think.

[source kickstarter.com]