Agents of Mayhem trailer introduces the 'Franchise Force'

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A new Agents of Mayhem trailer released today introduces three of the first agents to join the team: Hollywood, Fortune, and Hardtack, collectively known (to themselves, at least) as the "Franchise Force."

Each member of the group brings specific abilities to the table—Fortune is fast and light, Hardtack is a mountain with a shotgun, Hollywood is a capable all-arounder—and they can teleport in and out of combat at will. That means they can be swapped on the fly, to bring in an agent who's particularly suited to a specific task or simply to enable one to heal up while another steps in to take their place.

We spent a little time with Volition's Saints Row follow-up Agents of Mayhem back in April, and it didn't go super well. Some of that disappointment was no doubt a result of the game's pre-release state—it won't be out until August—but much of the dialogue "fell flat," too, which is a problem for a game that really wants to be funny. I get a similar vibe from this trailer: There's clearly an effort underway at establishing its Saturday morning cartoon-styled comedy bones, but will it be funny? Let's just say that I hope they're holding the good stuff back for closer to launch.

Agents of Mayhem is scheduled to come out on August 15. Find out more at aomthegame.com.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.