Well now, this is interesting. 3D Realms and Interceptor Entertainment have announced Bombshell, a top-down isometric action RPG. The irony is that the game is very similar to a title they announced earlier this year: Duke Nukem Mass Destruction. Interceptor was planning on making a new Duke game, but Duke rights holder Gearbox sued to stop them. It looks like Interceptor took the high ground and decided to turn the former Duke title into an original IP.
The newly minted game features Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison, an ex-military bomb disposal expert who lost her arm in an explosion and then turned mercenary. Bombshell hates "bubblegum, sunglasses and blonde hair" and enjoys "kicking ass, motorcycles, kicking ass on motor cycles." When aliens invade, Shelly decides to put her weaponized prosthetic arm and ass-kicking expertise to good use.
This isn't the first time Gearbox has screwed Interceptor out of a Duke Nukem game. In 2011 Interceptor was working on a pretty awesome looking remake of Duke Nukem 3D, but Gearbox blocked its release essentially to keep Duke Nukem Forever from looking even lamer than it already was in comparison. Interceptor went on to remake Rise of the Triad, and is continuing their 3D Realms partnership here.
Interceptor's official statement is as follows:
"Lawsuits take time, and are often a long, drawn-out process. Meanwhile, we wanted to be productive — our creative team couldn't wait around for the issue to be resolved," their website reads. "Ultimately, we saw it as the opportunity to create our own intellectual property, and Bombshell was born. So far, it's been a blast."
The real irony? Bombshell was the name of Duke's femme-fatale counterpart in the early versions of Duke Nukem Forever, but she was scrapped during the agonizingly protracted development of that game. Interceptor definitely have a sense of humor, and I commend them for turning lemons into, uh, grenades here. In my opinion, Gearbox should've contracted them to make a Duke game. It's not like Gearbox is doing anything with the IP, and after both Duke Nukem Forever and Aliens Colonial Marines blew up in their faces, they could use some good press.
Source: Polygon
