Joystiq

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We went back to create our own character and Grondal explained that the number of slots that were open was something that would be unlocked by leveling up. Leveling up will also give you special "hero" abilities (think perks in Call of Duty 4) and open new missions, but it won't necessarily make you a more powerful player. That's good, because the micro-transaction driven game will allow you to purchase double-XP, so in theory you couldn't buy your way into a better character. "There are no game-altering items," Grondal assures us. In fact, he tells us the whole issue of game-altering items was dealt with by the Heroes team before the recent Bad Company kerfluffle.

So, if you're not buying a more powerful character, what are you buying? Grondal says they expect that "95% won't pay a dollar" for the game. Their business model revolves around that remaining 5%, who may want to purchase more maps (Update: There are no plans to charge for new maps, says Grondal), or more outfits, and expand their experience.


With games like Quake Live and Fallen Empire: Legions coming to a web browser near you, Heroes has the unfortunate distinction of being the one free shooter that isn't web-based. Grondal said the decision to use Battlefield 2142's engine locked the team into this path and, while the decision wasn't his to make, it was an important part of getting the game made. Could they port it to the Mac? They "would love to," he says, but will need to wait and see how the Windows release is received first.

And that's their "biggest challenge" he concedes. How does one pitch a multiplayer shooter to an audience that, ostensibly, doesn't play multiplayer shooters? With the game entering an open beta "soon" before being released at the "end of this summer," hopefully that audience will be hearing more about it soon. If the idea of a free, fun, pick-up-and-play shooter sounds appealing to you, we suspect many of you may be part of that elusive audience as well.