Black Hearts: Rebels

"The revolution has begun." -Official Tagline  
 Black Hearts: Rebels is the fifth game in the Black Hearts saga developed by Q Games. It focuses on the Strebosian Rebels in the Kemper Cluster rather than the traditional heroes of the series. Rebels was released during the week of February 15, 2016. 
== Development ==
Rebels officially began development as early as August 2014, when a new Black Hearts game under the working title "Revolution" was announced. Few details of the new game was released, apart from a new title, "Rebels." The project remained silent throughout Q Games' development of Shadow Bastion and its sequel. Establishment of the plot of Rebels only began in late 2015. With a release date in early 2016, Rebels was the longest Q Games product to remain in development. This was due to a complete overhaul of the Black Hearts combat system.
== Gameplay ==
The gameplay of Rebels is entirely different from its predecessors. The old dual server technology was cast out in favour of a narrative style, which was the only way the intensive Rebels could run on most systems. The game was split into 5 main campaigns: Utopia, Warpath, Kynzghai, Hunters and Vision. Rather than the typical Missions, each level is called an Episode and there are Seasons released with new Episodes for each campaign (Season 1 - 2016, Season 2 - 2017). Each are independently run and focus on different characters and settings. There is access to an online mode, a sandbox mode which allows access to unlocked locations in each campaign with a custom player character (can imported from Darkness Rising). The player can undertake Operations, which are team-based side missions, to level up and earn new gear.
== Plot ==
=== Utopia ===
Utopia is set in the territories of the former Velconum Empire, beginning slightly in the past with negotiations at the frontier Maria Station between an ambassador of the Cha, Aurora Laxmi, and Wing Commodore Zhang Locke. 
=== Warpath ===
Warpath deals with a squad of grunts in the New Atlantean marine corps, circling around Private Malen Hylar and his adventures. 
=== Kynzghai ===
Kynzghai follows a crew of unaligned Kynzghai pirates who find themselves in the midst of Kemper's conflict.
=== Hunters ===
Hunters tells the story of Echo Team, an elite New Atlantean special operations team serving the Sai'Gan directly.
=== Vision ===
Vision follows a group of Kemperites who are dragged into the rebellion, led by Hanra Jeyeleb, an Avacab trader. 
== Characters ==
* Lt. Sierra Kay
* Hanra Jeyeleb
* Malen Hylar
* Taan
* Wing Commodore Zhang Locke
== Trivia ==
* Rebels was in development hell for over a year, and the release of Season 2 was delayed for another year following initial release, angering many fans
* The fifth campaign, Utopia, was released with Season 2 and its purpose was to investigate civilian life in the Velconum Empire
* Utopia was the brainchild of a brand new team incorporating into Q Games, as a way to make up for the numerous delays in the Rebels project 
Category:Games