 Ready for action - a virtual forklift |
Forklifts can show up in imaginary places.
The unveiling of a forklift within upcoming video game "Halo: Reach" brought some startled reactions from attendees at a recent Comic-Con International session.
The science fiction game takes place in 2552 with humanity locked in a war with the alien Covenant. Players assume the role of an elite super soldier during a battle for the world of Reach.
The forklift's presence among so-called Forge tools inserted "a completely random new way for a player to travel in certain parts" of the first-person shooter game, reports Jean Guerrero in a
Wall Street Journal blog.
Meghan Watt at the website of Geeknet Inc characterised the material handling equipment as "an awkwardly-controlled forklift."
Brier Dudley, senior technology reporter with the
Seattle Times newspaper, comments: "'Reach' has all sorts of new vehicles to drive, ranging from a fighter jet flown in space combat to a lowly forklift that players can drive, very slowly, just for the heck of it. Think of the forklift and space combat as exuberant bonus numbers during a rock star's farewell performance."
Erik Brudvig with IGN Entertainment characterises inclusion of the forklift among "the goofier announcements" about the game. The forklift is "a brand new vehicle that has both the ability to move and stop," he says. "File this one under useless but fun."
Brudvig notes: "The forklift can't go fast enough to hurt enemies - ramming it at top speed into a grunt or jackal just pushes them forward or out of the way."
IGN, a division of News Corporation, reports an early conceptual design allowed the forklift tines to raise and lower, but "that feature got cut because it was just too crazy and pointless".
Privately held Bungie LLC of Bellevue, Washington developed the game. Microsoft Game Studios, a brand of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp, will publish the USD60 "Halo: Reach" for use in the DVD-9 format on the Xbox 360 video game console. Distribution begins in mid-September.
"Halo: Reach" culminates a decade of product introductions for the legendary "Halo" franchise with sales exceeding 34 million games.