Since SouthPeak Games was kind enough to send over some new screens from Atomic Motion’s first-person shooter/real-time strategy mash upRaven Squad, I figured I may as well as put them up for you all to see. After all, what else are you going to be looking at this early on a Saturday morning while possibly hung over?
But hey, these screens lookquite a bitlike those that we’vealready seen: six mercenaries in the Amazon rainforest blowing the hell out of other mercenaries. Luckily, in order to keep this post from being completely repetative, SouthPeak was also kind enough to pass along the news thatRaven Squadhas been styled after such over the top action masterpieces asCommando,Missing in Action, andPredator. That means we can expect an abundance of cheesy (but awesome) one-liners.
There’s also some info on three of the squad members who will presumably be uttering said one-liners. You can check that out after the jump. If you want. No pressure.
NAME: Martin BlackwellCALL SIGN: PaladinEXPERTISE: Heavy GunnerHOMETOWN: Creston, IowaAGE: 43GENDER: MaleTRAITS: Gambler, reliable, bull-headed andarrogant.
ROLE: The main character of the single player campaign, Paladinis the one who usually commands both squads. However, he is knownto heed the advice of Raider from time to time.
BACKGROUND: In a lot of ways Blackwell was born to be a gambler.During his early childhood, he studied a lot of games and by thetime he was 21, had became somewhat of a star in Las Vegas.
However, living the high life and rolling hard began to catch upwith him. He began to lose – badly. He lost most of his fortuneand in a final game of poker against a prominent godfather of theLas Vegas underground, he found himself in debt and running forhis life. With his last remaining cash, he moved to England andjoined the army; where he found his true calling.
Through basic training he worked his way up to squad leader andafter a short tour managed to get into the SAS. During OperationIraqi Freedom, he was a Master Sergeant in charge of an elitesquad behind enemy lines. However his bull-headed nature led himto disobey a direct order, which put his squad in a dangeroussituation. Blackwell ordered his men to evacuate civilians fromthe combat zone rather than destroy an enemy munitions dump.
While saving the civilians, his squad got pinned down by Iraqisnipers and he lost one of his best men. With no sign of help insight, pinned by snipers the squad had little hope. However, anearby special operations team lead by Joshua Raider managed topick off the snipers and save the squad.
Afterwards, both Blackwell and Raider were court-martialed fordisobeying orders. They were stripped of their ranks anddischarged from the army. Blackwell returned to the States andworked as a bodyguard in Los Angeles. He eventually met up withRaider again, and they became partners working in their ownprivate security firm. After a few years the call of thebattlefield was back on both men’s minds. Blackwell and Raiderfounded a mercenary group of two squads.
PERSONALITY: Blackwell is a tried and true gambler; he likes totake chances, and usually bets on everything he can. His gamblingaddiction, in addition to his somewhat arrogant style can beannoying to squad-mates sometimes but they cannot deny hisleadership skills. Since the incident in Iraq he usually doesn’tcare about anything other than the mission and won’t bother withcivilians, or anyone else for that matter. In his mind, he’safraid of losing another member of his squad. In reality, he is areliable person who never lets his teammates down. He istremendously stubborn and once he’s decided on something, it’shard to make him change his mind.
NAME: Eduardo MartinezCALL SIGN: OsoEXPERTISE: GrenadierHOMETOWN: Navarra, SpainAGE: 24GENDER: MaleTRAITS: Proud and impulsive.ROLE: Grenadier, and all-around support role.
BACKGROUND: As the only son of a Spanish terrorist leader,Martinez was more comfortable with his fists before he could pickup a book or pencil. Most of his childhood was spent in trainingfor “a greater purpose.” As he progressed, Martinez spent plentyof time around Mercenaries in his father’s camps. When he came ofage, Martinez decided it was time for a change and moved toColumbia; delving deeper into the world of mercenaries. With someluck, Martinez ended up in a local mercenary group and discoveredhis true calling. He spent the next twelve years of his lifefighting for the highest bidder.
At this point, Martinez had spent a majority of his life fightingin South America. He met Bowman by chance in Venezuela – as hisadversary. The two battled against one another and Bowman wasimpressed by Martinez’s tenacity in battle and grenadier skills.At the conclusion of the conflict, Bowman asked Martinez to joinhis squad. Martinez accepted the invitation and as the lastperson to join the team, he is viewed as somewhat of the “newguy.” At the start of Raven Squad’s campaign, Oso is just a fewdays into his new job.
PERSONALITY: Martinez is an impulsive and proud man. He’s anexcellent fighter with many years of experience in the mercenarybusiness. However, his proud demeanor sometimes comes to thesurface and causes him to lose control of his temper – whichrarely ends well.
NAME: Ivan Sergeyevich LeonidCALLSIGN: ThorEXPERTISE: Anti-TankHOMETOWN: New York, United StatesAGE: 28GENDER: MaleTRAITS: Impulsive and rash indecision-making.
ROLE: Blackwell’s partner in crime, Thor is a warrior who all toooften acts before he thinks. His expertise lands in the area ofanti-tank, but he’ll gleefully destroy anything that moves withhis rocket launcher. As a personal side-note, Thor loves makingwise-ass comments in the heat of battle.
BACKGROUND: Leonid is the son of Soviet Union deserters who fledto the United States to escape the tragedies of the Cold War.Bronx-born with an attitude to match, Leonid gained a reputationas the “tough guy” in the neighborhood at an early age. Hischildhood and adolescent years are pockmarked with legalinterludes and bar-brawls. Leonid has a nack for finding trouble,a trait that landed him in some hot water after a particularlynasty incident with the police. Soon after the “event,” Leonidenlisted with the US Marines and took it on the road.
Seeking an escape from a troubled life Leonid wanted to be freefrom the rules and regulations of everyday life. The Marineshelped Leonid hone his skills and allowed him to broaden hishorizons beyond simple hand-to-hand combat. However, he soonfound he wasn’t the obedient type the Marines were looking for.He was discharged after punching a superior officer in the faceafter a training mission. With nowhere to go, Leonid returned toNew York. It didn’t take too long for him to end up in theholding cell of a police station. However, it may have been fatethat brought Leonid to that station.
As he sat behind bars, Leonid saw a gentleman by the name ofMartin Blackwell, who was running errands for a security company.Blackwell, being a saavy recruiter himself, took a few minutes tochat with Leonid. After a quick discussion, Blackwell recognizedthe redeeming qualities Leonid had to offer, saw some potentialand offered him a spot on his mercenary team.Leonid accepted the offer and Thor was on board.
PERSONALITY: Always quick tempered, Leonid rushes into the action– sometimes too soon. His impulsiveness often gets him into thetrouble and he tends to need to be saved the most duringconflicts.
