Late last year, Epic unveiled its new game, Fortnite, at the Spike VGA’s. A wild departure from their usual, bulky manshooters; it features a cartoon aesthetic – and has players working together to explore, scavenge and build and defend bases against waves of nasty monsters. They’ve now revealed a little more; The game will be the first to utilise Unreal Engine 4 – and will be headed exclusively to PC.
Billed as "a co-op sandbox survival game," Fortnite seems to be a glorious amalgamation of Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead, Tower Defense and – with of course, Minecraft.
"Building is really the core of the game," says producer Tanya Jessen. "Everything you find allows you to build and improve your structure."
At ComicCon, Epic’s said that “players can use scavenged materials to quickly build and renovate structures of varying materials and complexity.” Players will be able to build and edit the walls of their fortification structures using a 3×3 grid; add embellishments such as stairs, windows, doors and rooftops. Yes, there’s an axe – and using it, in conjunction with a sledgehammer, players will be able to tear down and rebuild walls – or reclaim the materials. all whilst being attacked by creepers waves of monsters. Weapons will also be upgradeable, using materials found within the world.
"This is a PC designed game, shipping exclusively on the PC," Epic’s Clifford Bleszinski said, before clarifying on Twitter that Epic hasn’t “ruled out the possibility of other platforms later.”
What do you think PC gamers? Does Fortnite, a more “gamey,” team-based adaptation of Minecraft’s major features excite you – or would you have preferred the first Unreal Engine 4 game to be…well, Unreal Tournament?
Some might consider it to graphically underwhelming, preferring that tired, brown-and-grey ultra realistic look – but I’m actually rather pleased with the aesthetic.
Last Updated: July 13, 2012