THQ Titles Go On Display

THQ came by the GameSpot/VGS offices today to show us just what it's got going on for both the PC and consoles.

RedJack: Revenge of the Brethren (PC)Pirates are back, and this time, they're not the happy-go-lucky ones you might have found in Curse of Monkey Island. RedJack, developed by CyberFlix and published by THQ, is due out this July for the PC and it's dark. The graphics are dark, the plot is dark, and the bad guys are definitely dark (enormous squid included). You island-hop all over the West Indies, attempting to uncover the mystery of Red Jack - and while you're doing that, you also are framed for murder, fall in love, and physically battle a number of enemies, an unusual addition to an adventure game. And in the fight sequences you'll be able to grab any object at hand and use it - for example, a barrel lid could easily be picked up and used as a shield.

You'll also solve dozens of puzzles, meet about 20 folks, and conduct all your business in 3D graphics. With more than 1,000 pages of dialogue text, this game should take about 30-40 hours to complete.

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling (PC and PlayStation)Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is coming for the PC and PlayStation this August. Made by the same folks who created Ten Pin Alley, Brunswick is "the next generation of virtual bowling," according to publisher THQ. Very similar to Ten Pin, Brunswick also has a power and accuracy meter for controlling your shot, but this game is a lot more of a sim and a lot less like an arcade title. Brunswick, however, does a have a "disco" mode (called cosmic mode) with a disco ball and funky lights to making bowling that much more fun. Open play, tournament play, and practice mode are also available. The game has authentic tournament rules, structures, equipment, lane conditions, and areas, all so you'll feel like you really are in a bowling tournament.

Granstream (PlayStation and N64)We received our first look at Granstream Saga today, the Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.-developed role-playing game that features real-time fighting in a fully 3D polygonal world. Animated cutscenes further the story about inhabitants of a world made up of floating islands. An evil force is causing the islands to slowly fall into the sea below, and the player must find and destroy the culprit.

Quest 64 (PlayStation and N64)The latest build of Quest 64 looked much improved since last time. Graphically, it's beginning to approach the quality of Super Mario 64, albeit with a much more Japanese RPG-themed look. The different elemental spell effects used in battle (which now seems a little more turn-based than before) appeared quite a bit more dynamic.

As reported before, THQ's release schedule for '98 looks a little something like this:

MayBass Masters Classic (PC)Quest 64 (Nintendo 64)

JuneBass Masters Classic (PlayStation)Granstream Saga (PlayStation)

JulyMoolan (Game Boy)Red Jack: Revenge of the Brethren (PC/Mac)

AugustBrunswick Circuit Pro Bowling (PC & PlayStation)Dead Unity (PC & PlayStation)

Fourth QuarterA Bug's Life (Game Boy)Rugrats (PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy)Speed Tribes 4th (PlayStation & PC)WCW Thunder (PlayStation)

A WCW PC CD-ROM title is set for a third-quarter release as well, and Dark Half, the PlayStation thriller based on the same-named Stephen King novel, has been rescheduled for '99.