John Carpenter’s iconic 1982 horror basic “The Factor” has impressed numerous creators over time, together with Pc Artworks, the studio behind 2002’s The Factor, a online game adaptation that takes place after the occasions of the movie.
Within the sport, Captain J.F. Blake leads a group of U.S. Particular Forces in an investigation of Outpost 31. There, Blake and his crew should defend themselves from hostile alien life, and one another, as infections come up.Regardless of being launched 20 years after the 1982 movie, The Factor has change into extra of a problem to revisit than its unique supply of inspiration. When you can simply buy or stream the movie, 2002’s The Factor typically requires nostalgic avid gamers to trace down a bodily copy together with the required {hardware} to play it on.
That is the place Nightdive is available in with The Factor: Remastered, accessible on Xbox Sequence X|S and Xbox One right this moment. It’s a revitalization of the almost-lost sport that stays true to the creators’ unique imaginative and prescient.
Understanding The Supply Materials
Nightdive’s aim is to convey misplaced and forgotten video games like The Factor again from the depths. Not solely so individuals can revisit their favorites on trendy platforms like Xbox Sequence X|S, but in addition to protect these video games for future generations.
Recreation preservation is one thing I lately careworn the significance of whereas writing about Killing Time: Resurrected, and the identical stays true for The Factor: Remastered. All video games need to be preserved, however preservation isn’t so simple as making use of a recent coat of paint. One of many challenges in utilizing remasters as a type of preservation is preserving the remaster as devoted to the unique as potential.
With this in thoughts, Nightdive labored intently with members of the unique Pc Artworks employees, together with artwork director Ron Ashtiani and technical director Mark Atkinson, each of whom are well-versed within the sport they helped create and the 1982 movie.
“I‘d seen the movie earlier than the venture, however re-watched it a number of occasions after we began the sport,” explains Pc Artworks technical director, Mark Atkinson. “We wished to protect the texture of the film and what made it scary by way of a survival horror.”
For Ron Ashtiani, the film “scared the hell out of me, but in addition sparked my curiosity in sci-fi horror.” He went on to replicate how forward of its time the movie was. “It was made earlier than the times of studios counting on an abundance of CG results to wow the viewer.”
Along with being forward of its time visually, “The Factor” benefited from the charming efficiency of actors like Kurt Russell and Keith David, and well-written screenplay courtesy of Invoice Lancaster.
“I feel one of many causes ‘The Factor’ nonetheless holds up is as a result of lingering thriller on the finish — who was the Factor? It’s a wise film, a masterclass in cinema,” remarks Joel Welsh, artwork lead on The Factor: Remastered at Nightdive Studios.
Whereas it’s not required to look at “The Factor” earlier than enjoying The Factor: Remastered, it does assist broaden your data of the peril Captain J.F. Blake and his group face as they discover Outpost 31. Each from alien creatures, and one another.
“Each scene was rigorously detailed to make you marvel and be suspicious about everybody the entire time,” says Grover Wimberly IV, Nightdive’s venture supervisor and producer on The Factor: Remastered. “For followers of Nightdive video games who haven’t had an opportunity to look at ‘The Factor,’ I’d recommend watching earlier than diving into the sport.”
Remastering With The Masters
Mark Atkinson oversaw many technical facets with 2002’s The Factor along with contributing to the sport’s unique design and coding alongside Pc Artworks’ proficient group of engineers. Engaged on The Factor: Remastered with Nightdive, Atkinson took on an identical position.
“On the remaster, Ron and I had been concerned from the beginning, resurrecting the previous code and grasp high quality artwork property, and serving to information the Nightdive group, e.g. what was intentional vs. the place we simply ran out of time to shine,” notes Atkinson.
“The remaster provides many important upgrades by way of gameplay, degree design, UI, HUD and so on., which transcend a easy 4K reskin. Ron and I gave the inexperienced mild to all of that, in addition to consulting Andrew Curtis, the unique sport designer. In sensible phrases, I did a big quantity of C++ work as we wished to essentially take the chance to make the remaster pretty much as good as potential.”
When requested about his expertise engaged on 2002’s The Factor, Ashtiani remembers, “I joined the artwork group at Pc Artworks simply after the sport was absolutely signed after a profitable prototype. Again then, artwork groups weren’t siloed into particular fields, however I primarily labored on the environments and constructed round half of the degrees within the sport.”
Once more, Ashtiani reprised this hands-on position with The Factor: Remastered: “My position with Nightdive has been to co-lead the artwork group because the imaginative and prescient holder for the look of the sport. I labored on setting the artwork route for the remaster and making certain that whereas we remaster the graphics and artwork property, we don’t lose the essence of the unique sport.”
And that is vital, as a result of the essence of the unique is inherently particular. For the whole group, not simply the artists, 2002’s The Factor wanted to align with the 1982 movie, and that took profiting from the expertise and instruments that had been accessible on the time.
“We did the most effective we may with what we had,” Ashtiani explains. “We put loads of work into capturing the isolation of the Antarctic and created a bunch of latest and attention-grabbing creatures. Nonetheless, lighting was an space we couldn’t match till the remaster.”
In addition to the technical limitations, time constraints additionally contributed to a number of the quirks gamers encountered in 2002’s The Factor, which Atkinson says has been addressed within the remaster.
”Individuals liked the unique sport, however had some legit complaints, e.g. the scripted burst-outs, the issue is uneven, the fight was a bit of janky, the boss fights weren’t nice,” admits Atkinson. “We went laborious on fixing all that.”
The Factor: Remastered additionally advantages from the addition of recent gameplay components comparable to third-person aiming, fast choose wheels, the flexibility to make use of a controller on PC, and extra. When it comes to issue, Atkinson notes, “the sport continues to be pretty laborious, however not in such an uneven and generally irritating approach as the unique.” There’s additionally the choice now for gamers to pick out a better issue setting, additional increasing the sport’s approachability.
Seconding this, Ashtiani says the remaster is true to 2002’s The Factor, however with improved gameplay balancing, management techniques, UI enhancements, amongst different quality-of-life changes.
“Graphically, it’s an enormous leap ahead,” Ashiani provides. “We’ve been ready to make use of all of the lighting expertise of right this moment, plus increased decision fashions and textures. We even managed so as to add some property that had been reduce from the unique sport, creature variations particularly.”
A Staff Effort
Having a group you may belief is vital, not solely when making an attempt to outlive on the planet of The Factor, but in addition in creating a high quality remaster. Belief, communication, and teamwork between the unique builders and the builders at Nightdive Studios had been integral in resurrecting 2002’s The Factor.
“We made it some extent to ensure Ron and Mark’s enter had been taken all through the event course of by consulting and having them at our group conferences when discussing changes, enhancements, and fixes to ensure it match the spirit of the unique 2002 launch,” explains Wimblerly IV.
“Ron and Mark actually left their mark, together with the remainder of the group,” praises Welsh. “That is Nightdive/Atari’s most bold remaster up to now, and we hope Xbox gamers have a blast with it. Simply keep in mind: No One Survives Alone!”
You don’t must take our phrase for it, although. Whether or not you’re a fan of 2002’s The Factor, or just wish to take a look at a basic sport you beforehand missed out on, you’ll be capable of pay an eventful go to to Outpost 31 when The Factor: Remastered releases on Xbox One and Xbox Sequence X|S right this moment.
The Factor: Remastered
Nightdive Studios
☆☆☆☆☆
218
★★★★★
$29.99
No One Survives Alone.
The 2002 third-person survival horror shooter that serves as a sequel to the genre-defining 1982 movie is again, remastered by Nightdive Studios to convey this progressive mix of quick paced squad motion meets survival horror to the trendy period. Together with Antialiasing, Per Pixel Lighting, 4K Decision and as much as 120 FPS.
The place the film ended, the true terror begins.
You might be Cpt J.F. Blake, chief of a U.S. Particular Forces rescue group despatched to research the blood-curdling occasions and enigmatic deaths of the American scientific group that transpired on the Outpost 31 analysis facility situated within the frozen wastelands of Antarctica. Inside these inhospitable environment your group encounters a wierd shape-shifting alien life-form that assumes the looks of those that it kills. Trapped by the weather and contaminated by this horrific entity, utilizing all of your group members is important should you hope to perform your goals, not to mention survive. Should you solely knew which of them had been nonetheless human…
