With the popularity of the God of War series, and because it’s just a cool subject, it’s no surprise that Greek Mythology is a source of inspiration for some games. Liquid Entertainment’s Rise of the Argonauts reinterprets the classic tale of Jason and the Argonauts, while also putting a twist to the basic action RPG formula. We recently sat through a demo of the Xbox 360 version hosted by Designer Vernon Dunmore.

The story begins with a royal assassination. When the Princess Alceme is murdered on their wedding day, Jason, an understandably upset groom, turns the palace upside down searching for the killer. I watched as Jason sliced and diced enemy invaders, spewing blood everywhere. Jason isn’t quite Kratos, and to be fair this game has a much deeper story than the one Kratos slogged through, but he does get his hands dirty. Dunmore explained that you can easily toggle between different weapon sets while you’re fighting and the weapons and armor than Jason uses always looks heroic – no red helmet with a green cape and an orange breastplate combos.

As the story unfolded, Jason discovered that Alceme was killed by a member of a mysterious cult. Fortunately there is a way to resurrect her, via the Golden Fleece. Not surprisingly, obtaining this precious object is no small feat, and Jason must bring along some trusted allies on his quest. Will it be the mighty Hercules, who can crush his enemies with his powerful hands or Atlanta, a swift killer with her bow and arrow? Or perhaps you need the spellcasting skills of wise old Pan, the 600-year-old satyr?

Rise of the Argonauts attempts to differentiate itself from other RPGs in terms of God Powers. There are four gods – Hermes, Athena, Apollo, and Ares— and each has a distinct personality (e.g. Athena is the goddess of justice; Ares is the god of war). As Jason, players can curry favor to certain gods via two different methods. The first is through god-aligned dialogue choices. For example, you’d catch Apollo’s eye if you respond to a certain situation in a compassionate manner, while Ares may take note if you respond in a bloodthirsty manner. Dunmore noted that the dialogue also differs depending on the ally you bring while speaking to a particular NPC.

A second method is through deeds. While there are still NPCs that give you quests to kill X number of Y creatures, in some cases deeds are triggered when you’re in the field. For example, you can get the Minotaur Slayer deed after killing a certain number of Minotaurs. You can decide which gods to which you dedicate your deeds.