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" With games like Ace Combat Infinity and SoulCalibur: Lost Swords on the books, it&amp;#039;s clear that Bandai Namco is pretty keen on the free-to-play business model. The Japanese firm&amp;#039;s latest attempt to crack the freemium market is via a brand new brawler called Rise of the Incarnates, which will launch exclusively on Steam.  The fast-paced 2-v-2 fighting game combines shooting and melee combat in war-ravaged locations such as London, Paris and New York. Producer Ryuichiro &amp;#039;Dragon&amp;#039; Baba - a veteran of the Gundam and SoulCalibur series - explains more. &amp;quot;This 2-on-2 game format is something that has been very popular in Japan, particularly with the Gundam series,&amp;quot; he told Digital Spy. &amp;quot;Although the Gundam series is popular in Japan, it came to mind that maybe the gameplay could be enjoyed by a Western audience, and so that&amp;#039;s where it started.  &amp;quot;We went through several rounds of research over maybe the past two years to find out what kind of stuff would resonate with the audience we were looking at.  &amp;quot;The look of the game, the game mechanics, all of this stuff, was tailored towards that goal.&amp;quot; With many Western gamers ignorant of the Gundam series, the development team thought it best to create a brand new property, while Steam was chosen as the perfect platform because of its reach. While monetisation models are yet to be finalised - Baba suggests that fans will only pay for cosmetic upgrades and new characters - the game will launch with at least four wildly different characters.  There&amp;#039;s square-jawed Jedrek Tyler who can transform into the demon Mephistopheles; mad scientist Dr. Gasper Watteau who commands a legion of zombies; speedy Mireia Vaentin and her demonic incarnate Lilith; and Terrence Blake, a snappy dresser who summons the God of War Ares to fight alongside him. &amp;quot;This 2-on-2, what this allows you to do is have different roles, depending on what character you pick,&amp;quot; Baba continues. &amp;quot;Some are better at shooting or melee. &amp;quot;How you fight together with your partner determines whether you win or lose, rather than just your personal skill. &amp;quot;The controls are easy to pick up, but going into the match, the strategy levels are actually quite deep,&amp;quot; he adds.  It&amp;#039;s true that the controls are quite easy to master, but as we fight among the wreckage of New York City with the crumbling remains of the Statue of Liberty looking on, it can be difficult to keep up with the action, so frantic is the gameplay. It&amp;#039;s for this very reason the game was limited to 2-v-2 and not 5-v-5 or 8-v-8. &amp;quot;If it&amp;#039;s two of you, it&amp;#039;s much easier to communicate and come up with strategies. If you have 5-on-5 or 8-on-8, the communication is much more difficult and the tempo and speed of the game is not as quick as 2-on-2.&amp;quot;      The team dynamic also gives lesser skilled players the chance to get accustomed with the game by playing with a veteran, something which in turn always gives hardened players an excuse for losing. &amp;quot;We often say that if we&amp;#039;re a team and we win it&amp;#039;s because I&amp;#039;m good, but if we lose, it&amp;#039;s your fault,&amp;quot; Baba jokes. Rise of the Incarnates will be released as a free-to-play title exclusively on Steam. A beta will take place at some point in May or June. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/previews/feature/a565982/rise-of-the-incarnates-introducing-namcos-free-to-play-brawler/>