Gamma World: Alpha Mutation Preview

When game publishers look to base their new title on a classic RPG franchise, they typically turn to the great granddaddy of the genre, Dungeons & Dragons. However, following the disaster that was Daggerdale, Atari is clearly interested in taking a break from the fantasy world, choosing to jump into a much more obscure Wizards of the Coast property: Gamma World. GameZone recently got a sneak peek at an early build of Gamma World: Alpha Mutation, and even for an unfinished game, there’s a lot to like.

The original Gamma World RPG was a bizarre post-apocalyptic romp through the 25th century, with a heavy emphasis on mutating your main character in order to gain crazy new abilities. This premise is one that seems perfect for the third-person action RPG we saw demoed, especially with the promise of two-player Borderlands style co-op. The characters are all bizarre human-animal hybrids that look ridiculously awesome. Very quickly our demo guide launched into action with his Radioactive Yeti-Man, beating his way through hordes of pigs in biker gear and bunnymen in SWAT jackets. The attacks we saw were incredibly varied, including a rifle and a parking meter as just two of the weapons. Alongside this were the alpha mutations, strange abilities granted when characters absorb too much radiation. In the original game characters would change their powers often; though it was a fun mechanic, Alpha Mutation’s developers figured that more casual gamers would be disappointed to lose a power they enjoyed. As a solution, players can keep the primary mutations of their choice, but secondary mutations will be a constantly changing variable, staying true to the random nature of the original game. Players will also be able to use junk they find to craft new weapons, including the bacon-wrapped baseball bat, which the guide pointed out as just another facet of the game’s unique sense of humor.

Gamma World: Alpha Mutation comes from the same team who put Daggerdale together, who say they’ve learned from their mistakes and are ready to do justice to this classic RPG property. Let’s hope so, as from what we’ve seen, we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.