For those of you who don’t already know, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen is set to hit the silver screen March 6, 2009. Watchmen is arguably one of the best graphic novels of all time, bending and even breaking many of the rules associated with main stream comic book characters/stories. Seeing as how this is a high profile movie, with super powered, violent characters, a video game tie-in is a given. Before any of you scream “it’s gonna suck” and stop reading right there. I’m hoping that this may just be one movie tie-in game to look forward to, if only because of the creative and unique way developer Deadline Games is tackling it.

Check out all the details after the jump!

Though the game is set to be released along side the film (which does set off my crappy movie tie-in alarm), all hope is not lost. Rather than creating a hard copy title to be sold in stores, the Watchmen will be a digitally distributed game through a series of episodic downloads.

“An episodic downloadable game? It’s probably gonna look like crap!”

I know some of you are thinking that, and to be honest, that was my initial reaction as well. Straight downloadable games don’t exactly have a strong rep for overwhelming graphics, but word is that Watchmen will NOT suffer in that regard.

A big plus for the game is that it won’t be a rehash of the movie, but rather a prequel to the graphic novel/film. The game will take you back to 1972 and present Watchmen fans with a brand new story (which may garner praise or hate depending). This new story is being written by Len Wein who edited the original Watchmen series. The story will unfold through a number of cutscenes between levels, which will be co-directed by Dave Gibbons, the amazing illustrator responsible for the Watchmen graphic novel.

The title will feature the vigilantes, Rorschach and Nite Owl. Expect Rorschach to be the hard hitting, trench coat wearing, inkblot masked bad ass we all know and love. Vicious finishing moves and a rage meter are his main perks, but he can still dish out the pain with any weapons he comes across.

Nite Owl is the other side of the equation in terms of both character and gameplay. Whereas Rorschach is more of a brutal street fighter, Nite Owl is a more restrained, technical fighter. For the un-Watchmen educated, no he is not just Batman in a new suit! Unlike Rorschach, Nite Owl charges up shock armor to stun enemies and uses gadgets like stun grenades to wax his enemies.

If these two icons don’t scream “co-op” I don’t know what does. Well, you can all rest easy because Watchmen will flaunt both online and offline co-op. You can of course play single player and have the AI control your partner.

Not only will the play styles of the two characters be different, the world itself will look unique depending on who your playing as. The game world will look much darker and sinister while playing as Rorschach for example. Not that the game will be a cheery wonderland if you play as Nite Owl. Gamers can expect this action brawler to be intense, violent, dark and bloody. Word is, downloadable or not, the game looks great.

The first episode is scheduled for release in March of 2009 alongside the film. Watchmen will be available on the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. Worried that they will dumb things down for a younger audience? No need to worry, Watchmen will stay true to its roots and be a solid Mature rated game.

If your not hyped yet, check out the movie trailer here, and then try and tell me you don’t want to play a game based on that!

Source: GameSpot & IGN

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