Tiberium is an extraterrestrial crystal shrouded in mystery. It has an energy output far superior to traditional fossil fuels - and contains the power to both save our civilisation, or to destroy it.

Tiberium is also a new game under development by Electronic Arts, revisiting a familiar world in a new light. Promising to bring a rich storyline to life using "intense tactical action" and "visceral first-person shooting", this is another attempt at an FPS set in the Command & Conquer universe, which promises to throw players into the heart of an epic battle, taking them on an adventure through a devastated Earth.


The single sneak-peek screenshot
(Click to enlarge)

For eleven years, an alien tower has stood dormant, looming like an unholy mountain over a wasteland once known as the Mediterranean Sea. The tower was thought to be a relic of the Third Tiberium War; a devastating war fought for control over Tiberium crystal. It is not a relic. It is not dormant. Deep within the tower, plans are in motion for an alien invasion. This is where the Tiberium adventure begins.

Your task is to take on the role of Forward Battle Commander Ricardo Vega, and gather up a bunch of elite squads who will combat this global crisis. Your vast arsenal of weapons includes tactical ion cannon strikes, multi-launch homing missiles, capital ship bombardments and a transforming personal weapon system - and you're in the thick of it, leading the fight from the front lines.

Vega is the most powerful presence on the battlefield - with the squads his most decisive and powerful weapon, as the battle continues and gamers experience a unqiue blend of both first-person shooting and tactical squad-based combat. Controlling multiple infantry, armour and air squads as the fight goes on, players can either battle it out in multi-squad single-player games, or take it online and thrash their mates in online multiplayer battles.

Chris Plummer, executive producer at EA Los Angeles, said:

"After two years of pre-production, it is exciting to finally reveal this game and its rich fiction to the world. We've put a lot of effort into evolving the tactical shooter experience by taking core gameplay compulsions like commanding, choice and dominating your enemies and delivering them in first-person. Some of the weapons and mechanics are truly innovative for a first-person game. We're very proud to be part of a project that has the potential to really make a mark on the canon of sci-fi fantasy fiction."

Mike Verdu, VP and General Manager at EA Los Angeles added,

"EALA has a long history of developing groundbreaking real-time strategy games with the Command & Conquer series. That series also originally introduced the Tiberium universe to gamers worldwide. Now, we are growing Tiberium from a simple backdrop to a fully realized universe with its own unique, hybrid squad-based shooter gameplay. This is the birth of a new franchise - we couldn't be more excited."

Currently under development at EA Los Angeles (same place as the C&C3: Kane's Wrath expansion), Tiberium is currently scheduled for a worldwide release in "Autumn 2008" (so around September-ish next year), for PS3 and Xbox 360 as well as the inevitable PC version.

Let's just hope that they learned some lessons from the way they handled Renegade, I'm not sure the fanbase can live with another dropped ball like last time...