One of the surprise games of the show for me was a little PC title from Stardock and Gas Powered Games called Demigod. I've been loosely following the title for some time, and of course when I saw it had co-op, my interest picked up. The one turn off for me was the fact I thought it was an RTS, something that's not exactly my favorite genre. Turns out, it's anything but.
Demigod is actually something closer to a Diablo than say a Warcraft. Sure the screen is filled with hundreds of troops at a time, but those troops are directly under your control. Instead you control a demigod, and your goal is to turn the tide of the battle by helping those troops. There's a whole RPG meta element over the game as you earn experience for killing enemies and completing objectives. As you level up you'll unlock new abilities and even earn money to use to buy items for your character.
Read on for the rest of the preview, the trailer and two dozen screenshots.
Each Demigod has a totally unique play style, spell and ability set. I chose to play as the Torch Bearer who switches between fire and ice abilities. I was able to cast fireballs, call in ice storms, and just generally wreak havoc with the elements. Another character that was playable was the game's poster child, The Rook. This character is more about brute force attacks.
Unfortunately the co-op mode wasn't on display on the show floor, but I did talk a bit about it with the representative on hand. He said the co-op mode would team you up to face against AI opponents as you attempt to sway the tide of battle. While there's no co-op story, you can play through the game co-op, and I can easily see fans of Diablo and Too Human digging this game. I just hope your character is persistent throughout the games you play.
DemiGod should hit the PC sometime early next year, and we'll be sure to bring you the latest co-op details as they become available.