UK-based Confounding Factor recently updated its official Galleon Web site with information on the game's combat system and back story. Originally slated for release in fall 2001, the game is currently scheduled for release on the Xbox toward the end of this year and on the GameCube sometime after that.

　　The combat in the game is described as fast and brutal, so players will be pleased to learn that the central character Rhama is proficient in a number of different fighting techniques. As players progress through the game, they will primarily fight either hand-to-hand or with a sword, and they will discover that Rhama has access to a number of powerful combos and special moves with names like "wonder palm" and the "nerve blocking technique." Rhama's arsenal also includes moves capable of attacking multiple enemies simultaneously and grappling techniques that can be used to throw enemies to the ground or even from the top of a cliff.

　　The most recent update on the official Galleon site concerns the game's back story, and how Captain Rhama Sabrier comes to be charged with investigating the origins of a mysterious ghost ship. After being mistaken for a pirate ship by fishermen, the galleon is tracked down and boarded by a famous healer and island governor named Areliano. Baffled by what he discovers on board, but convinced that the mysterious ship could hold the key to incredible powers, he calls upon the talents of Rhama--an explorer and cartographer--so that he might discover the ship's secret and use it to procure untold wealth.

　　Galleon is a third-person action adventure game inspired by movies such as Jason and the Argonauts and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. For more information, check out our previous coverage of the Xbox and GameCube versions of the game.