Tropico 3 Dev's Action Title, The First Templar, Revealed

Ever wanted to play as a "noble lady" who's been proclaimed as a heretic in an action adventure title? Haemimont Games hopes that's high on our bucket list. The minds behind Tropico 3 and Grand Ages Rome have been revealed as the developer behind the newly announced The First Templar, an action title with a cooperative twist and no cover system to speak of (yet). 

As the name suggests, the game is based in the 13th century. You'll control either a French Templar or his partner, a noble lady, in a quest to "discover the secret of the Holy Grail" that'll take you across 20 "historically accurate" locations. According to the press materials, the game will feature on-the-fly switching between the two characters in single-player, and drop-in and drop-out co-op in multiplayer. It's also mentioned that each character will have his or her own special abilities, fueled by some sort of RPG development system that is influenced by level progression and exploration.  
 
Four billion images from an alpha build have been released. Check them out.
    
The First Templar is slated to hit the PC and Xbox 360 in Q1 2011--a quarter that is probably going to get even busier real fast-like if this year was a good indicator of future trends.