So how's this for a crappy life? Dr. Jack Mason, once a respected man of science has been accused of insubordination and misconduct. His research assignments have been stripped away, and although he isn't being prosecuted at this time, he's being transported to Earth, which in the year 2520 A.D., is a wasteland as well as home to some of the most dangerous men in the universe. It's here where he'll be, as it says on Pariah's website (pariahgame.com) performing "transgenic and biological threat assessments in the field." While on his way (and stuck alongside a prison transfer named Karina who's been injected with a strange virus), his vehicle's shot down and now he's officially trapped, and to make matters worse, there's a whole bunch of enemies that wouldn't mind killing him. Oh, and I almost forgot; in 16 hours a satellite is going to pretty much nuke the entire planet to "cleanse" it from disease, AND, he has to protect Karina from the scum bags already on the planet.

And you thought you had it rough!

Pariah is an insane and highly-detailed first person shooter developed by Digital Extremes, co-creators of Unreal. Available for the PC (as well as Xbox) this June, the game follows the exploits of Dr. Jack Mason (that'd be you), who's on the run from crazed psychopaths and is in a race against time, as he desperately needs to escape Earth before it's fried. The exact details of how he'll do that remain a mystery, but one thing's for certain; there's going to be tons of dead bodies when all is said and done. The game's 7 weapons can all be upgraded (three different variations for each) using something called a Weapon Energy Core, so you can take a standard (and by standard I mean 2520 standards) gun and transform the sucker into something even more destructive. While the developers haven't released info on all of the weapons, there are four that I can't wait to get my hands on. The MXB-4 (aka, the Bulldog) is a standard military automatic rifle capable of unloading multiple rounds upon your foes. The Fragrifle is a shotgun-like weapon made from spare parts, so it has more of a survivalist and black market feel. Finally, the Grenade Launcher...well...I'm sure you have an idea what that does. Like the Fragrifle, it's made from spare parts, and it's because of this fact that escaped prisoners like it so much. Of course, the reason why I like it is because firing it at someone launches their body into the air and it spins around multiple times before finally smacking it onto the ground. Dead before they hit the floor? I'm going to have to say yes.

Apparently, the Grenade Launcher is capable of firing different types of ammo, the most powerful being the Mag Grenade, a type of round that, when fired, creates a magnetic field that attracts metal, the purpose being that said metal becomes shrapnel. The more metal the grenade attracts, the more flying shards of iron and other materials go zipping through the air.

Lastly, there's a sniper rifle in the game, and though it's not initially powerful, its upgrades (which include infrared and armor-piecing bullets) transform it into an efficient killing machine.

In addition to the weapons, Pariah features vehicles. We only know of two at this time, but there's probably a good chance that the developers will put others into the game. The Wasp is a three-wheeled ATV-like vehicle that features a mounted machine gun on the front. Fast as hell, the Wasp is great for doing some quick damage and then getting the heck out of there, because while it packs a mean punch, its lightly armored skin means you'll be exposed to all sorts of dangerous stuff. Lastly, the Bogie is sort of like the Wart Hog from the Halo series except it has a unique twist. It's a two man vehicle, but instead of the passenger operating a machine gun from the back, both people sit up front, and the driver can fire dual-mounted cannons while his co-pilot can blast enemies with a rocket launcher. If you need a heavily-armored ride that has an insane amount of fire power, the Bogie is an obvious choice.

Judging by the videos on the Internet, Pariah is going to be one intense first person shooter, but not just because you can upgrade your weapons and ride around in vehicles. Rather, it's the graphics that really put this game in a class by itself. Running off the modified Unreal engine, Pariah is one gorgeous and wildly intense-looking game. The environments are varied and highly detailed, making future Earth the best-looking haven for disease and corruption that I've ever seen. The textures in this game are sick, and the little details, like vehicles leaving tire tracks on the ground and dirt being kicked up, really make the game shine. When I saw the orange-leaved trees set across the crimson sky I knew I was going to be in for a visual treat. Plus, the numerous particle effects are sweet, and the detail on the characters is amazing. There's one screen shot on the game website that I absolutely love, a shot of Mason doing what may be the reloading of a weapon, but what makes the pic so stunning is there's depth of field, so his hands come through crystal clear but the background is blurred out. However, this may also be the result of healing Jack too much. Broken up into bars, Jack's health regenerates but only if each bar has energy, so when one runs out, it's dead. Luckily, you can restore them with items called Health Charges, but if you administer too much he'll supposedly experience side effects, with blurred vision being one of them. Whatever the reason, it's a neat effect.

Finally, and because it makes just about every game better, the inclusion of Havok physics means things in the gameplay environment, including enemies and things that can be obliterated, all react as they would in real life.

There are a diverse bunch of enemies in the game, all of which feature what's come to be known as Emergent Tactical AI, which is basically a ramped-up version of the already impressive Unreal AI. Mason will encounter numerous types including mercenaries, scavengers, and Military Alliance Security, all of which don't look happy that he's there.

Pariah's 18 single-player levels are complimented by about 13 multiplayer maps. Up to 16 players can slaughter one another in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, as well as other modes of play, and like in the main game you can drive vehicles and you'll have access to the weapons. Also, Pariah comes with what looks like a pretty cool M.A.P. (Make and Play) Editor that allows you to create your own arenas of death. The game features several templates, so all you need to do is select one and paint your virtual canvas. You can lay down weapons, build terrain, and change the weather (fog, snow, rain, or clear), and once you're finished, upload them. Now the REALLY SWEET thing about the M.A.P. editor is, for the first time ever, you'll be able to do this on the Xbox. It's a luxury that's been long enjoyed by PC users and it's finally coming to consoles. If anything, it'll be this feature that'll make Pariah a huge hit on Xbox Live, especially since the developers may add downloadable content!

It's still a ways off, but Pariah looks like it's going to be a solid, albeit pretty standard first person shooter. My only concern is whether the game will run well on the Xbox. PC frame rates appear to be consistent, but it's a question mark as to whether Microsoft's system will be able to effectively run something as detailed as this. Look for the game when it releases this June!