What you see above is a screenshot of an absolutely brand-spanking-new fighting game called Dark Presence, being developed by Galloping Ghost. If it looks a tad dated, that's because Galloping Ghost has decided to use digitized actors, instead of 3D models or sprites, a technique I haven't seen since Mortal Kombat 3. And that was in 1995.

The game will feature eight different characters and over 150,000 frames of animation, which Galloping Ghost boasts is the highest number of animation frames of "any other game ever." It took over two years to greenscreen and capture all the moves in the game, and Galloping Ghost admits that it's "easy to see why other companies just go with 3D characters."

If the "Features" tab on  Dark Presence's official Web site are anything to go by, the game will feature the most realistic game reactions ever seen in a fighting game, as well as a fully fleshed-out narrative. For Galloping Ghost's sake, I really hope that's true: even if its the best game ever made, those digitized actors are going to be a hard pill to swallow. I try to be positive most of the time, but I can't see this turning out well for Galloping Ghost. Is there some sort of niche arcade market that totally digs on digitized actors that I'm not aware of? 

The game should hit arcades later this year (although there's already a sequel, Conquering Light, in the works).

[Via GameSetWatch]