Like me, you might associate the term "noir" with film grain and smooth-talking detectives, but the word itself has more to do with crime and moral ambiguity. These are two things it seems Space Noir has in spades. Space Noir is an upcoming game for PC and tablet, brought to you by the same talent behind Deus Ex: The Fall, and Air Mail. The game was announced Monday in a joint release from publisher Unity Games and developer N-Fusion Interaction.

If you're the type of gamer that cares about the who and why behind your glorious space explosions, it seems Space Noir won't be one to disappoint: "In Space Noir, players take on the role of bounty hunter Hal Markham as he explores space, fights in white-knuckle combat both on- and off-world and captures intergalactic renegades with the help of his only companion, his ship's AI - Rhonda. Players journey across five worlds and play through over 35 intense missions, as Hal uncovers a far-reaching conspiracy and a mysterious person who could control the future of humanity."

While the announcement trailer (see above) doesn't have much to showcase in the way of features beyond spaceships, explosions, and a voiceover script that manages to rank just above cringe-worthy to narrative-buffs like myself, it can't be said that the space combat doesn't look pretty. Narrative quirks aside, it was a pretty good trailer, with a moving musical score, and a solid plot direction.

As gameplay goes, N-Fusion has set worthy goals for the game that suggest a solid understanding of their audience: "Evoking all time classics for the space combat genre including Wing Commander and X Wing, Space Noir includes intense ship-to-ship combat, boss battles and high-octane planetary combat missions, challenging players reaction times and piloting skills. Players can customize their ship with upgradeable weapons, defenses, unlockable special manoeuvres and cosmetic upgrades to traverse the galaxy within an intensely dark storyline. "

If you're a fan of space ships and fast paced flight sims, then it's pretty reasonable to start getting excited about Space Noir. No release date as yet, but I'm anxious to hear more. Pew pew!