Ferrago: The story that runs through Xenus is an altogether more ‘serious’ and realistic one, than the B-Movie plot of Codename: Outbreak. Tell us about the gritty premise, and how the story will progress and evolve throughout the game.

SZ: The story begins when Kevin Myers receives a call from the magazine his sister works for. He is told that she didn’t contact them for more than 10 days and they are afraid she is missing in Colombia, where she was investigating. In this country, Kevin finds himself in a cruel world rife with bandits, the mafia and guerrilla fighters.

To reach the goal, the player needs to talk with many people to gather necessary information. You must rescue your sister and stay alive.

Ferrago: I gather role-playing elements will be as important as in Xenus, how will dialogue fit-in with the game’s plot – and what is the balance between this and fire-fights?

SZ: Every player chooses his way on his own. Most of the quests and missions have more than two ways of solution and you can choose the way that you like best. For example, if you need to save hostages you can kill all guards or pay ransom for them, or save them stealthily or even persuade terrorists that it’s necessary to release the hostages.

Ferrago: The Colombian setting allows you to include numerous characters and sides, as well as providing a tense and atmospheric setting. Tell us more about the Columbia of Xenus.

SZ: Columbia is a very unusual country with a long history and unstable political situation. In our game there are six main forces that determine country life: officials, guerrillas, narco mafia, Indians, bandits, and the CIA. When you give help to one of the sides, you inevitably spoil your relations with the others. Also, there are a lot of characters that don’t belong to any of these forces and are trying to reach their own goals. While moving to the save his sister, Kevin will make friends and enemies through all the groups of Colombian society.