Codemasters announces HEI$T, an upcoming criminal enterprise game in the works at inXile Entertainment for release on PCs and consoles by the end of this year. The first screenshots from the project can be viewed on AtomicGamer, and here's word:

Burbank, CA – Tuesday, March 20, 2007 – Kindly place your wallets, purses, jewelry and all other valuables into the bag in front of you as Codemasters announces HEI$T™ – an all-new job pullin’, bank robbin’ action-drivin’ game set in a helter skelter version of San Francisco, circa 1969. Currently in development at inXile Entertainment, HEI$T is expected to ship this fall for next-generation consoles and the PC.

HEI$T allows gamers to become the leader of a group of renegade criminals as they rob and steal their way throughout San Francisco, all the while their sites set on the big score – the Mint. It’s 1969, the summer of love in San Francisco. Enter Johnny Sutton, fresh out of jail and a descendant from a long line of big-time thieves, including his father who was gunned down during a job some years back. Playing as Johnny, and together with his Uncle Sal and reunited crew, players are set to pull off dozens of heists that will inevitably make a name for him as the greatest bank robber of all time.

HEI$T is more than just a game about cops and robbers. In addition to robbing banks, each with their own specific set of security precautions, players will be highly motivated to pull off other jobs, including knocking off bars, restaurants, strip clubs, armored cars, and more in order to acquire bigger and better tools needed to penetrate increasingly more difficult banks.

And what great bank robbery is even worth while without ending in a hot pursuit police chase that endangers lives at every turn? After each hit, HEI$T will challenge players to make a quick getaway, speeding and screeching through the streets of San Francisco as the cops trail inches behind. The fuzz will do everything within their means to stop gamers from making the great escape; they will bump and ram, form barricades, and attempt to force PIT maneuvers to spin the getaway vehicle out of control – always trying to keep civilian losses to a minimum of course.

“We designed HEI$T so that players feel like a part of the best robberies and car chases from classic movies,” states Maxx Kaufman, Creative Director at inXile Entertainment. “Everything from the different types of jobs to pull and the reckless pursuits by the police through the streets of San Francisco, to the sarcastic banter back and forth between the members of the crew gives HEI$T the action and style of the great attitude and rock-driven films of the 60’s.”

For more information on HEI$T, be sure to visit the official website and sign up for the crew online at: http://www.codemasters.com/heist .