NEILL BLOMKAMP FINALLY LAUNCHED THE ANTICIPATED ANTHEM SHORT FILM

Neill Blomkamp uses his typical style of blending realistic CGI with live-action footage to bring the Fort Tarsis player hub to life.

Conviction takes us back decades before the events of Anthem, and this cinematic three-and-a-half minute video is more like a movie trailer than a narrative-driven film of its own. It's fairly light on the story, however, it does depicts a mysterious young woman who some freelancers, which is the player-controlled characters in the game, find roaming in the jungle and bring her back to Fort Tarsis.

The woman, found in the jungle, seems to later become a freelancer herself. After a while a member of the villainous Dominion society, appears to interrogate someone to find out her whereabouts. The short film is also packed with dazzling, rich visuals that give a taste of some of the game's mechanics, such as the customizable Javelin exo-suits and a few of the abilities, within the site, you might be able to use to your advantage, such as an earth-shattering punch.

This short film follows the mould of its predecessors, showing off something that plays like a trailer for a longer project. The short film outlines a visual story that the people of the world were "the slaves of the Urwrath," only to break free, and build a protective community which they call the Fort Tarsis. In order to survive the dangerous world, they built suits of powered armour called Javelins and used them to save people from the wilderness and fend off attacks by other enemies.

Neill Blomkamp's involvement took place shortly after the project was unveiled back in 2017 after he noted on Twitter that the game looked cool. EA says that it prompted the two to team up to produce the short film. Neill Blomkamp told Variety that he was "blown away" by the world when he first saw it and goes on to explains that the short film "touches on Anthem's beautiful and immersive world, which is ripe for exploration by these powerful Javelins."

This isn't the first time that Blomkamp and his studio have partnered with other companies. Back November 2017, Oats Studios teamed up with Unity to produce a trio of short films based on the company's proof-of-concept short film called Adam. Blomkamp was also attached to the idea of directing an adaptation of Halo. However, this idea never materialized, he then went on to direct a short film in 2012 called Landfall, which Bungie used to promote Halo 3.

You'll be able to explore more of the Anthem universe for yourself when the game arrives February 22nd on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Origin Access Premier members will get early access to the full game on Friday.

In the meantime, check out the short film below!