Robin reliant! Capcom snaps up Defender of the Crown

Despite the fact that the Robin Hood licence has been sullied over the last decade or so through no fault of its own (blame Kevin Costner and Bryan Adams), Capcom reckons the jerkin-wearing philanthropist is well overdue a return, so has bagged the licence to publish the update of the old Cinemaware franchise on PC, PS2 and Xbox throughout PAL territories.

Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown will offer a blend of genres, with action, RPG and even strategy happily co-existing in a storyline that features nasty old Prince John sitting on the throne, implementing taxes and generally making like a medieval Margaret Thatcher.

All the old favourite Sherwoodian characters like Will Scarlett and Friar Tuck are doing the rounds, and gameplay will include jousts, castle sieges, and plenty of swashbuckling, Errol Flynn-style swordplay.

We're even promised a plot full of surprising twists, though let's hope that surprise doesn't extend to playing the crime against humanity that is Everything I Do (I Do It For You) at a crucial moment. Robin Hood is set to arrive this Autumn - these screenshots come from the Xbox version.