Planet Alcatraz 2: The Hunt for the Black Square, is an isometric 3D role-playing game. Travelling around the game world and battles are carried out in real time (with the ability to pause to give commands, set waypoints, or access inventory, etc). In conventional terms this is a non-linear, open world, combat adventure. The game utilises a specially designed role-playing system.

During the XXII - XXIII centuries after the invention of 'Null-Transportation', mankind has actively spread across the universe. Since then, several hundred habitable planets have been colonised. One such planet, 2-4A33713/2, unofficially titled 'Planet Alcatraz', was colonised for the purpose of mining.

The planet revolves around a G2V type of star, very similar to Earth's Sun. Gravity of the planet is 1.1g terrestrial and the equatorial diameter is 13,900 km (both slightly more than Earth). The planets orbit is marginally elongated. The directional axis of rotation relative to the orbital plane results in an angle of inclination of 3 degrees (there are no traditional seasons, as on Earth). The rotational speed of it's axis is almost identical to that of Earth.

The planet was first discovered in 2409, Earth chronology. Then, ten years later the Imperial owned GPO Company (GlavPlanetOsvoy) began colonisation with the aim of extracting useful fossils. After operating for ten years, the colony's main production plant took a direct hit from a three tonne meteor. In view of the risk of further meteorites, the GPO's surviving personnel were immediately evacuated.

The investigation to establish responsibility for the consequences of mining a planet with such meteoric risk took several Earth years. During this time, the GPO Company lost all interest in its destroyed production plant or the abandoned equipment on the planet.

In 2461, planet 2-4A33713/2 was transferred over to the registry of the Imperial Directorate of the Penitentiary Life Isolation Colonies (PLIC). One Earth year later in accordance with established protocols, that department started transporting offenders that had been sentenced to life imprisonment for especially serious crimes, to planet 2-4A33713/2.

Inefficient slave labour is practically no longer used in the Empire, due to extensive developments in robotics, plus donor organs and body parts are being produced via cloning techniques nowadays. Therefore, criminals considered incorrigible are sent to so-called prison planets, of which there are around fifty.

Above each of these planets in geostationary orbit is a WINDOW (Orbital Surveillance and Security Complex) with a crew of twenty personnel. The most common type being the model, WINDOW-95 'Cerberus'. Essentially a manned station operating a large number of surveillance satellites. The satellites see everything that is happening on the planet’s surface. Apart from the surface tracking equipment, the manned station also has high-precision weaponry for ground, air, or space based targets, and the Null-Transportation gateway.

It's purpose not only includes monitoring what is happening on the planet, but ensuring the Empire has access to it. And in conjunction with a network of Imperial spies living among the convicts, suppress any attempts by the inhabitants of 'P. A.' in creating something beyond their allowed level of technology.

At regular intervals the prison transport ship, 'Stolypin', will arrive at 'P. A.' with a new lot of convicts and a shift change for the station's personnel. The convicts are brought to the planet via a one-way landing shuttle, the personnel on the station change and then the ship leaves.

Planet Alcatraz only has the one continent, with a land area of 22 million square kilometers. However, only the southern half can be considered suitable for efficient farming. The southern half is a peninsula bordered by a subtropical sea and isolated from the cold continental winds by a series of mountain ranges. The majority of the population lives there. The peninsula has two large cities (over 5,000 inhabitants) and a number of smaller villages, or settlements, belonging to different ethnic groups.

In 2507, Imperial spies on the planet reported that the criminal inhabitants of 2-4A33713/2 were once again actively building something large, resembling a spacecraft. Observers on the Orbital Surveillance and Security Complex (WINDOW) 'Cerberus' couldn't detect anything and reported this to Imperial Command.

Command decided to go with the cheapest method to verify the situation. And so are sending five saboteurs under the guise of convicts with the next prison ship to the planet, in order to establish the location and nature of the possible construction. Four of the squad members are cadets and this mission will be their final exam before graduating from the academy. The squad leader is the experienced Sergeant Hartman. After the construction is discovered, the squad is required to report the coordinates of the site to 'Cerberus' so the orbital complex can destroy it with it's ion beam. Then the reconnaissance squad 'Vampire' will be evacuated from the planet.

However, due to the unforeseen crash of the landing shuttle that they were on, the saboteurs were then split-up and had noway of communicating with eachother. A speedy completion of the mission would no longer be possible.

Despite the difficulties, the reconnaissance squad valiantly overcame all obstacles and completed the mission. They were then evacuated from the hospitable planet via a shuttlecraft. This concluded the original game 'Planet Alcatraz'.

The game 'Planet Alcatraz 2: The Hunt for the Black Square' starts from this very moment, after the original mission has already been completed. But here's the thing. Although the valiant reconnaissance squad were missing their leader, Sergeant Hartman, from the outset. And their search for him was unsuccessful, the Sergeant had survived, and it is his story that we now bring to your attention.