> Chakan: The Forever Man is a sequel to the cult action title on Genesis starring an immortal warrior with a striking resemblance to Iron Maiden's mascot "Eddie".  The original game's difficulty was set real high, which put the frustration level up there too.  This iteration of Chakan will supposedly be more thinking and less hack n' slash, but still exponentially difficult.  AndNow's lead programmer, Ed Annunziata, previously worked on Genesis classics like Ecco, Spider-Man, X-Men, and 688 Attack Sub.  He has a goal of creating an experience unlike any other before it as well as one you'll want to complete more than once. 

     > The game's engine is being programmed from scratch.  Although it'll emphasize animation, interpolation, and skin deformation, it's the lighting and sound that will receive the greatest amount of attention.  As the story goes, Chakan was cursed to roam the earth until he rids the world of all supernatural evil.  Now, he must do the same within a galaxy of planets...

     > Chakan will be level based (at least 6; plans for 12) with smart bosses -- each with a unique disposition, attack, and strategy.  Normal enemies will take a back burner to the all out battle with these lethal bosses.  During the game, Chakan's haunting visions will give hints as to where the next boss will appear.  These cut-scenes will be produced by the game engine in real time.  For more hints, you'll need to pay attention to what Chakan looks at and hears.  Your objective is to outsmart your enemy as well as out muscle him.  You'll have some help in the form of your arsenal.

     > Chakan's weapons will change as you advance.  To begin with, you'll have the trusty double-bladed attack.  Later on, you'll get a host of new weapons, from axes to lasers -- not to mention your foes will have more advanced weaponry too.  Alchemhies (including flaming swords, lightning streams, and invisibility) will return with an unprecedented 65,000 possible combinations!  Only some of these will be documented so the rest is up to you and your friends.  You see, AndNow plans to make it possible to trade alchemy solutions using a memory card or VMU.

     > As of this writing, no release date has been set.  I would imagine the second half of 2000 is likely though.  Also, AndNow has no current plans to port this game to competing platforms.  Chakan began as a Sega exclusive and should remain that way.