Blackwater

• Title — Blackwater • Developer — Zombie Studios • Publisher — 505 Games • Producer — Pantierra LLC • Engine — Unreal Engine 3 • Genre — First-person shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Xbox 360

The game is set in a fictional town in North Africa, where players lead a team of operatives. Players are tasked with protecting aid workers and other dignitaries in a volatile nation overrun by a warlord named General Limbano. The gameplay is described as on-rails, similar to the style of arcade games Virtua Cop or Time Crisis. The player moves along a set path and highlights targets with their hand, hovering over them for a few moments to take the shot. To take cover from enemy fire, the player must duck and lean side-to-side. Describing the characters in the game, Richard Dormer of Zombie Studios said, "They're not commandos... They're not in there saving the world against the next nuclear bomb. They're there working with the UN and trying to protect people. No one wants to be a hero. Everybody wants to survive the next day. If there's one thing that's important to Blackwater it's their 100% success rate for protecting people." Throughout the game, the player will switch between squad members Devin, Baird, Smash, and Eddie. While playing as Devin and Baird, the gamer will be firing an assault rifle. As Smash, the gamer will use a shotgun and as Eddie, a sniper rifle. Blackwater gives players the ability to completely control the gameplay experience using a traditional controller or Kinect's controller-free abilities which introduces a level of immersion to the FPS genre. Throughout each stage in the game, there are sequences where the player will have to perform actions such as jumping across gaps or busting down doors. Players can also kick away oncoming melee attackers. Ian Howe, president of 505 Games said, "being able to get the controller out of player's hands with Kinect and have them on the ground and immersed in the experience will give them a glimpse of what it takes to be a member of an elite fighting force."

Erik Prince approached 505 Games to create and publish the game. Prince said "this game and its immersive Kinect-based approach will give players the chance to experience what it is like to be on a Blackwater team on a mission without being dropped into a real combat situation." During development, 505 Games and Prince worked hand-in-hand with Zombie Studios and former Blackwater operatives to mimic the intensity of real-world missions. Describing the game, Prince said, "This is not a training device. This is not a simulator. We're not doing this to teach folks how to conduct military operations in an urban terrain. That's not it at all. This is more along the lines of kids running around their neighborhood playing cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians." Prince sees the game as a potential franchise.