In an alternate universe, mythical creatures such as vampires, werewolves and zombies are a reality, and the people of Earth have adapted to their presence. A small group of monster hunters, comprising Hector, Doc, Miko and AJ, are hired by the mysterious organization called "Book" to exterminate these threats while investigating the source of the outbreak.
Gameplay
In The Grinder, players control one of four characters, each with their own unique attributes which can be upgraded as the game progresses. Players will have to use different techniques to defeat certain foes, and will have access to a large number of weapons, some of which can be dual wielded. The game will also offer players complete customization of its controls, and is stated to support Wii MotionPlus. An online multiplayer mode will be included in The Grinder, and each level can be played online cooperatively, with support of up to four players simultaneously, and will have multiple routes. At the 2010 Game Developers Conference, it was revealed that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of the game would be a top-down shooter, rather than a first-person shooter.
Characters
The characters described below are based on the original Wii version; their personalities and ethnicities were changed for the top-down versions of the game.
Hector: A Mexican bounty hunter who has tracked targets on both sides of the border. Hector is boastful, arrogant and greedy. He used to be a professional hunter, but has annoyed so many people over the years that he cannot get a job with any of the professional companies.
Doc: He wants to figure out what makes the monsters tick. Doc was a hunter for years but he left the life behind years ago when a mission went very badly. Since then, he has been working as an underground doctor.
Miko: Miko is a Japanese assassin looking for a new challenge. She was getting bored with her job, until the night one of her targets turned out to be a werewolf. Despite nearly getting killed, she found the battle exhilarating and immediately set out to take down more monsters.
AJ: An urban explorer who had a very bad experience and is looking for revenge. AJ is the sole survivor of a Slasher attack. She knows that it is only a matter of time before the unkillable monster that slaughtered her sorority sisters on a weekend camping trip catches up with her to finish the job.
Book: The secretive contact responsible for hiring the four hunters to control the outbreak.
Development
The Wii version of The Grinder was intended to use the Quantum3 engine, which High Voltage confirmed would allow more characters to appear onscreen without suffering any significant slowdown. The developers also sought to eliminate loading times as well. High Voltage Software previously worked on ' and confirmed that The Grinder was influenced by that game. Left 4 Dead was also an inspiration, as were grindhousehorror films. As The Grinder initially began production exclusively for the Wii, the developers, as well as potential publishers for The Grinder, became less confident that the game would be a success on that system, as there were multiple instances of similar hardcore and/or graphically violent games designed for the Wii, such as MadWorld, ' and Red Steel 2 that failed to sell many copies. Development for the Wii version eventually began to wind down quietly by 2010, although High Voltage Software refused to state whether that version was officially cancelled. The developers also designed PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game, which were initially going to play as first-person shooters like the Wii version, but plans for this ultimately fell through when it failed to appeal to candidate publishers and the developers realized that there was an ongoing oversatuation of the first-person shooter video game market. After careful consideration, they decided to not only redesign the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions as a top-down shooter, but also change the game's setting, plot and character designs to a substantial degree.. Even so, candidate publishers were still uninterested in the top-down version as well, and the developers then covertly abandoned development and began shifting their efforts towards developing a sequel toThe Conduit. In 2013, High Voltage Software, in an interview, implied that one significant reason why it was difficult to release The Grinder was because it was being developed during a time when the video game industry was more interested in well-established intellectual properties, rather than newly introduced ones like that of The Grinder. The company then expressed hope that they can be in better position to launch new intellectual properties like The Grinder when a new generation of video games began. However, having lost substantial money and jobs from the troubled development of The Grinder, as well as poor sales of Conduit 2, the company decided not to revisit The Grinder, but refused to officially cancel the game.
