Xbox: The Four Horsemen's Future

Xbox: The Four Horsemen's Future

The Four Horsemen's Future
The title isn't dead, after all. Far from it.


June 11, 2004 - Months ago, both IGN PS2 and IGN PC took to investigating games that once bellowed their great promise across the gaming world, then suddenly, mysteriously disappeared. One of the first Missing in Action titles covered by both channels was The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a moody action-horror title originally in development at 3DO.


While the game was always promising, little was ever seen apart from proof-of-concept demos and various screen shots. When 3DO collapsed, many of its titles in development were picked up by other companies, but we heard nothing about The Four Horsemen. What little we could find out when checking into the fate of the Four involved rumors that the project had grown too ambitious, too expensive, and simply too unwieldy to be attractive to new owners.

Well, at last, news has come in. We recently heard from Michael Mendheim, the creator and development director of Four Horsemen at 3DO. Mendheim was able not only to clarify what really happened to the title after 3DO's closure, but has provided new details on an IP which is far from dead.

After 3DO shut down, a number of investors founded a company called Four Horsemen Entertainment L.L.C. in order to purchase the property. The company officially obtained it on May 12, and development has resumed.

Contrary to rumors reported in our Missing in Action features, Mendheim clarified that the Four Horsemen project at 3DO never reached a budget anywhere near eight million dollars. After 3DO's closure, publishers neglected the title not because it was unwieldy, Mendheim explains, but because in its then-early stages it may not have been large enough. Publishers may have also been unwilling to provide the time necessary to complete the title properly.

Now that Four Horsemen is officially in new hands, what was initially intended as a title for current generation consoles has become an entire entertainment franchise. The new company will begin by releasing comic books and a graphic novel based on the property, and eventually release a completely revamped version of the video game for next-generation systems.

Mendheim has confirmed that the key players are back on board: Simon Bisley is creating the artwork, and Hollywood effects legend Stan Winston is handling toy and movie rights. The star voice talent slated for the first iteration of the game, including Tim Curry and Traci Lords, are also apparently still committed to the project.

While few details about the new version of the game are available yet, Mendheim did hint at horseback-based combat and an ambitious multiplayer mode involving epic battles of angels versus demons in which the player takes the role of one of the four horsemen. We did, however, receive two bits of new art to stir your curiosity.

There's little doubt that The Four Horsemen, which takes its premise from the figures and apocalyptic events of the Bible's book of Revelations, is a labor of love for those involved in its development. It is clear that Mendheim is not willing to toss off just quick scares or a cookie-cutter action experience. He also believes the property offers a new take on horror conventions.

"The Four Horsemen concept is cool because it is based on the most popular book in history, the Bible," Mendheim said. "Our fear factor isn't about zombies walking around. It's about plagues and torment. It's scary because of the realism. Everyday, people see and read about miracles happening, plagues, the devastation of famine or even a statue bleeding. Our concept is scary, because it just might be true."
-- David Adams