New details: Die Hard GameCube

Vivendi Interactive and Bits Studios have announced several new details concerning Die Hard for the GameCube. The first-person shooter will include a variety of situations, including stealth missions where players must disarm the enemy, hostage situations where players must rescue victims, and visceral shooting sequences to bring the popular action movie series to life on the GameCube. The game's plot is set several years after the events in Die Hard: With a Vengeance, and familiar locales from the movies such as Nakatomi Plaza will make an appearance in the game. Die Hard will be a first-person shooter where the worlds are loaded with non-player characters. John McClane will have to converse with the many characters in the game to discover whether they are allies or enemies.

"We are delighted to have completed this deal with Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing International," said Foo Katan, managing director and CEO of Bits Studios. "With a title as important as Die Hard, it was important that we picked a partner with the necessary muscle to do the game justice--and VUIPI is just the company. Die Hard GameCube will really push the first-person action adventure genre into new ground. With VUIPI on board, we aim to set new standards by which all others will be judged--both critically and commercially."

Die Hard is said to include a healthy amount of cinematics, and Vivendi claims that the game is far ahead of its time in terms of its story. McClane will have a healthy arsenal at his disposal and plenty of hand-to-hand moves as well. The control scheme has been designed for the GameCube's controller from the beginning, and Bits Studios has stated that it's designed to let the player battle enemies and not the controller.

Die Hard for the GameCube is due for release sometime during 2002. Further details and the first screenshots from the game should be released shortly.