Dreamcast Exclusive Shooter In The Line Of Fire Hits Kickstarter

A few months ago we shared some brand new images of Militia Studios' awesome Dreamcast exclusive tactical first person shooter In the Line of Fire. We were given access to an early build of the first mission, in which a lone police officer must try to prevent bank robbers from escaping with and contents of the vault, pursuing them through the offices and eventually onto the roof of the bank. It wasn't perfect and it needed work, but as an early demonstration of what Militia Studios were trying to achieve, it was nothing short of breathtaking. With graphics comparable to those seen in officially released games like Headhunter, we knew In the Line of Fire was going to be special. Now we all get the opportunity to make this a reality.
In the Line of Fire has finally hit Kickstarter with a full campaign that details all of the features the team at Militia want to include. A lengthy single player mode, squad-based tactical gameplay elements where you control a team of up to four AI teammates, split screen and online multiplayer modes. Additional third person camera modes allow you to 'tag' enemies and then pop out from behind cover to take shots at them, and the final game promises other features such as hacking CCTV controls and being able to issue on the fly commands to your team...the list goes on.
At this point, I know what you're thinking. Not another Dreamcast Kickstarter?! Wait. This is different. It's different because In the Line of Fire is literally built from the ground up as a Dreamcast game. It is not a stretch goal. It started life a Dreamcast game, and will only ever be a Dreamcast game. And for that reason we cannot champion this project enough.

Having spoken with the team behind this project on multiple occasions, the passion to see In the Line of Fire turned into a reality is genuine and I for one am hopeful that the community will get behind this one.
So what are the targets and tiers? Well, you could head over to the Kickstarter here to have a look, but for ease I'll explain here too! The funding target is $45,000 and the there are various bonus tiers - but the one you'll probably be most interested in is the $50 tier that will get you a physical copy of the game, in a professionally made case with manual. There are higher tiers, including one that allows you to design your own mission...but my pockets aren't deep enough for that! On top of this, there are some interesting stretch goals, including a $70,000 goal that will see Militia Studios release the game engine and tools; and a $100,000 goal that will see multiplayer online added. If ever there was a time to use that godawful 'shocked' Facebook emoji, now is truly it.
I do think that a lot of Dreamcast owners have become a little wary of Kickstarter projects, especially ones that simply add on a Dreamcast port as a stretch goal. It almost makes it feel like developers see the Dreamcast as a cash cow and tack on such an extra as a way of injecting a bit more money into a project as the final hurdle approaches. This isn't the case with In the Line of Fire. It is a Dreamcast exclusive, built for the Dreamcast, by a team who love the Dreamcast. You can't say fairer than that.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for your support Tom!

FlorreW said...

Will ofc support this kickstarter just like i support the xenocider game by ordering a pal edition. Cmon all of you "dreamcast fanatics" , lets support this !
And as usual tom , thanks for a awsome update 😊

Tom Charnock said...

Thanks for your comment Florian - yes, this definitely deserves to be funded! Likewise, Wilson - no problem.

Doc Rob said...

Gonna support this one for sure, great progress sense it was first talked about in breakfast-talk

Doc Rob said...

Dreamcast-talk *

pcwzrd13 said...

@Doc Rob Yeah, I first heard about it on Breakfast-Talk too. You should check out their thread on the best breakfast sausages "Jimmy Dean vs. Banquet Throwdown Showdown". :-P

Tom Charnock said...

Breakfast-Talk is where all the real news breaks. And fast. (Sorry)