April 28^th, 2005 (12:30pm) - Namco has announced that the developers of the Tekken and Soul Calibur franchises are in development with a new "take no prisoners" street fighting game exclusively for the PlayStation 2 by the name of Urban Reign
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In Urban Reign, players assume the role of a gritty street brawler who has been hired by one of the city’s dominant gangs to protect its leader. Players are thrown into a full-blown turf war, involving gang corruption and street justice that spans from the neighborhood block all the way to the upper levels of city government

Urban Reign promises to offer players non-stop, inner-city brawling action with no time restrictions or referees. Back alleys, junkyards and bars serve as battlegrounds for more than 60 different fighters, all of which boast their own unique set of fighting styles including boxing, wrestling and street fighting. Players can select from over 30 weapons – including bottles, bats and 2x4’s – to be used in the destructible arenas to add to the mayhem.

"With our experience in producing high quality fighting titles, Urban Reign is set to raise the bar in the genre," said Yoshi Niki, Business Unit Director at Namco Hometek Inc. "Urban Reign is a different type of fighting game than what consumers are used to seeing from Namco, so we are hopeful that gamers embrace this new street brawler as much as our acclaimed fighting franchises."

Focusing on the urban-brawler style of street fighting, players can team up with an AI-controlled character to pull off a host of devastating and destructive combo maneuvers against multiple enemies throughout the game’s 100 missions. Urban Reign also supports multi-tap play for up to four players to determine who really rules the hood.

Urban Reign is scheduled for a release in the Fall. Click on the thumbnails below for the first images of the game in action.