Story Summary
Reveling in his disbelief of the situation and waiting to wake up from his nightmare, Gabriel Provitt is certainly surprised to hear those words again. Those words, which he has heard so many countless times, mean more now the ever before: someone else survived. Gabriel, a member of the Arial Rescue Corp (ARC Squad) is one of the elite pilots who uses his ship the Exodus to rescue people or troops that are in danger. Nicknamed “The ARC Angels” for their daring last minute rescues, their ships sport a powerful gravity polarity beam that is used to pull survivors to safetly. Known for their fearlessness going into battles effectively unarmed they are well respected by the military forces. But a new enemy has descended from the skies, an enemy only known as the “Drak” and so far superior to known civilzation that it wiped out the majority of their military force in less than 4 hours.

Hidden in the safety of their underground base on a nearby volcanic moon, the ARC Squadron waits anxiuosly for any news when this message comes through. Without hesitation they go to their ships knowing that they are not likely to survive. But a call for help is no match for the fear of death in these brave souls. Arriving on the scene, the ARC Squad finds a small group of commandos engaging hostile, and completely unknown, enemy attackers. Out of ammunition, options and ideas, Gabriel Provitt fires his ship’s gravitational polarity emitter at the Drak which corrals them into its grasp. Without wasting a second, the quick thinking pilot hits his thrusters and releases the beam as it whips forward, launching the Drak force into the side of a nearby mountain. It is in this moment that we find the means for our retribution.

Gameplay
The game mechanic is built around the simplicity of a side scrolling game but done in 3D with a dynamic camera allowing a very easy to learn, but difficult to master gameplay. Instead of simply shooting, players will need to use their grav beam and the physics of their ship to destroy enemies. This short learning curve as well as new twist on a classic game mechanic makes this title the perfect candidate for a very successful XBLA title.

The core gameplay mechanic found in Arc-Angels is based around the ability to control your rescue ship as it swoops down into heavily defended combat zones and retrieve friendly units, supplies, etc.

Players will be constantly fighting the tug of gravity (created through the physics engine) as they activate their thrusters. Too much thrusters will cause the ship to fly out of range, while too little may cause the Exodus to crash right into the ground below. When friendly targets are in range of the ship’s Grav, the player must fire it, grab onto them, and safely transport them to a drop off point. The Grav beam will also be subject to the physics, so when it has something attached (depending on the cargo’s weight) it will often seem like a ball and chain dangling from the ship. Too much momentum could cause the cargo to tug on the ship.

In addition to picking up friendly units, the Grav can also secure hostile units, certain enemy fire, and other environmental objects in the same manner. Naturally, the player can disengage the beam at any time thereby creating many interesting ways to dispatch enemies.

As the game progresses, the player will be able to steal and appropriate alien technology for their ship. The Exodus will be able to be upgraded before each mission. Up to 2 additional weapons/defensive measures can be attached to the ship, so choosing the right match for a certain situation may become a very important strategic decision.

Gameplay will be spread out across several different levels with varied themes and locales. Players will find themselves storming an alien compound set up in an arctic region in one scenario whereas another mission will see them searching a dense and remote jungle. Missions will be geared at progressing the main plot line towards the final goal of taking down the Drak Mother Ship. To complete missions, players must complete all primary objectives that are given. Additionally, secondary objectives will be given, but completing them is not necessary to advance. However,
completing them will reap both Microsoft Achievement Points
and in-game bonuses to make attaining them worthwhile.

A Desperate Plan
Amongst the survivors rescued by the ARC Squadron is a badly injured scientist, Alera Trinity, a specialist in gravitational polarity emitters and one of the minds behind the creation of the Grav. Now, after being saved by technology she helped to design, her expertise is needed more than ever before. Amazed by the effective use of the Grav against the Drak forces, Alera Trinity realizes that it is the key to defeating them. She devises a plan to build a gigantic surface to air GRAV Cannon large enough take hold of the Drak Mother Ship and render it incapacitated. However, to build such a monstrous device she will need several rare materials. Now, with a clear cut goal to achieve, the ARC Squadron must procure the materials necessary to bring about the salvation of the human race.