Preview: Druuna
Developer/Distributor: Microids
Projected Release Date: November 2001
Platform:
The first time I saw Druuna hidden in a secluded corner of the Microids press room at the E3, I literally did not know what to think–it was unlike anything I had ever before seen in an adventure game, but the disturbing images and well-endowed heroine were burned into my retina. Francois Picard, Microid’s Public Relations Manager, attempted to explain the game’s backstory, a losing battle amidst the noise and flashing monitors in the crowded room, but I put this game on the back burner of my mind for future reference.
Now that I have had ample time to research the history of Druuna, I am even more impressed. Druuna: Morbus Gravis is very unlike what any gamer in North America is accustomed to in their copasetic gaming world. Unlike many games that pretend they are for adults but are marketed toward children, Druuna is unabashedly, unflinchingly for adults only, and no apologies are offered. She is, in her animated novels, usually nude or topless, and to call her well-endowed would be a supreme understatement.
Druuna: Morbus Gravis is based on a very famous erotic comic by the Italian author Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri. His works are considered as “Fumetto d’Autore,” which, translated literally, means “Author’s Comics” to distinguish them from the many low-content mass productions of most of the modern comic houses. Druuna’s erotic science-fiction universe has been faithfully reproduced in 3D and motion capture animation. The graphics are best described as the vicious characterizations of Clive Barker set amidst a demented H. R. Giger. Druuna is not a game for the weak of heart or mind.
Druuna’s universe is a postatomic cyberpunk world where chaos, sex, violence, mutants, and pestilence (morbus gravis means severe disease in Latin) reign. The game begins with Druuna connected to a dream machine in a vegetative state. A symbiotic computer linked to her brain allows you to browse through her memories and relive the circumstances that condemned her to this state while simultaneously avoiding the people suffering from a terrible virus that has transformed them into bloodthirsty beasts. Once you have succeeded in “hooking up” with Druuna’s brain, you must find the serum that will lead to salvation. The search for the antidote is only half of the adventure, though, as Druuna will then have to face the high priests of her world.
The game is an adventure with some 3D action “inserts.” It has six CDs, can be controlled via gamepad or keyboard, and its inventory objects will automatically be used whenever the right location or character is encountered. The action part of the adventure is simply running to escape from dangerous situations. Druuna does not shoot or kill anyone, but she can die. This is a “must experience” game for anyone tired of the sameness of the gaming industry.
Now I have to be honest and admit that I don’t understand why futuristic erotic comics with beautiful naked women saving the universe are so popular in Europe, but then I also don’t understand why mind-numbing blood-fests like Doom and Quake are so popular in the United States. But given my druthers–I think I would choose the sexy Druuna over a cold machine gun any time.
Download the video here.
Thank you to reader Martin Legner for providing some of the material for this preview.
