Ex-Rare duo plan downloadable title

A trio of games industry veterans, including two former Rare developers, have announced the formation of a new developer called Third Wave Games and their plans to release an online mech combat title for the PC this autumn.

The twist is that the game will be downloadable, and cheap; War World, as it's called, will retail for just $19.99.

"[Our] mission is to create high quality downloadable videogames that provide players a console game-like experience on their PC, at an affordable price," creative director Phillip Tavel explained.

Like his co-founders Morten Brodersen and Johnni Christensen, Tavel has been at this games lark for a while, having fulfilled a similar role at Australian Blue Tongue Software, co-founded Interactive Imagination and worked as a product manager for Nintendo of America.

Brodersen and Christensen, meanwhile, have both plied their trade at UK-based Rare Ltd., where the former was a software engineer and responsible for things like the 3D engine that powered Banjo Kazooie, and the latter was a lead artist on the likes of Starfox Adventures, Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Racing.

The trio now hopes to apply their collective console experience to the PC market. War World, a third-person shooter, will feature a number of arcade-style games with an online world rankings set-up in addition to single and multiplayer missions. Players will be able to build and then battle using their own mechs, earning or purchasing upgrades and enhancements along the way.

Third Wave also hopes to continue supporting the game, which by the sound of it will be made available exclusively online, by releasing expansion packs every couple of months; the first of these will feature a customisable skin editor, new mechs, arenas and new weapons.