Best known for their Stronghold games, that have spawned a rather dedicated strategy-oriented following, the Brits over at Firefly Studios are currently engaged in creating a very different game. Where once castles ruled supreme, individual heroes now spring into action as they try to put a new spin on an old genre.

Their latest project is called Dungeon Hero and features as the main character a human mercenary with some combat experience and little left in the way of a moral compass. To make matter even worse, said mercenary is now employed by a pack of goblins, those little charming creatures everyone remembers from any old generic role playing game with a fantasy setting. These goblins are rather upset with another goblin tribe and the mercenary player is there to get the job of leveling goblin cities done.

Most of the game takes place underground, in the caverns, dungeons and corridors that the goblin folk call home. It's mostly narrow spaces, with the occasional open battlefield and city thrown in for good measure. The combat is designed to be more up close and brutal than in other RPG games. There's an emphasis placed on positioning before the brawl even begins and, once the fight starts, it's pretty important to mix killing moves, which take out one of your enemies, with clearing moves, that make sure that the host of bad guys you are fighting don't sneak up behind you and overwhelm you in number.

Dungeons and Dragons it is not, but neither it pretends to be. Firefly is aiming for a more streamlined RPG, where combat and atmosphere are essential and where little time is devoted to leveling up or checking the inventory. As the player fights and he levels up, the only choice that is needed is regarding what better combat moves to unlock. There are no fancy statistics and progression tables, only visceral combat and a dark setting.

The game is set to arrive on the PC and on the Xbox 360 in about a year.