'OMG WTF?' was probably your response to Warner's announcement of its new Batman game. A first-person multiplayer shooter? What?
Yeah, the long-running rumours if its existence sounded way off the mark, but they were true. Gothan City Imposters is a multiplayer-only first-person shooter set in the Batman Universe. Gotham City, to be exact. And today we got to grips with it on the E3 show flow in Los Angeles.
We know what you're thinking; it must be a stinker. But this bad boy is being done by F.E.A.R developer Monolith. That's a plus. And we can now tell you from experience that it's not actually that bad. In fact, we had a pretty good time playing it. And that has nothing to do with the fact that we played with all girls and they sucked, and we battered them all mercilessly. And it felt good. Nope, nothing at all to do with that at all.
Basically, you're a bunch of maniacs with face makeup and wacky clothes that resemble that of Batman characters. We played a three-on-three multiplayer match in a scenario that's rather like a single-flag capture-the-flag game. A battery appears in a set spot on the map - the one we played a tight, close-quarters urban map set in a funfair - and both teams have to rush to grab it. Once a player has the battery they must attach to a relay outpost elsewhere on the map, relying on team mates to defend them since the carrier can only use melee attacks.
Once the battery is attached, that team has to defend it for 30 seconds while the opposing team attempts to detach it. If the defending team is successful they score a point and the battery respawns elsewhere in the map. If the opposing team detaches the battery they can run off and attach it at another outpost.
Like we said, it was actually pretty good fun. The scenario worked like a hybrid mix of Call of Duty's Domination and CTF playlists. The on-screen hud, like Halo and CoD, makes sure players are always well directed; when the battery spawns in it appears as an icon on the screens and maps of both teams. When one team has the battery it disappears from the HUD of the opposing team, giving you a chance at getting it to the outpost. Once a plant has been made, the defending and attacking teams are again given the corresponding update and direction via the HUD.
Call of Duty players will be totally at home with the controls and feel of the guns - you hold the left trigger to aim and yank the right one to fire, you can sprint briefly and knife fools who get too close.
The map seemed to flow well, too. There were high balconies, outdoor and indoor areas, multiple routes the circle the map and twisting corridors. There were also trampolines that spring you up high as you walk over them, serving as a cheeky shortcut to higher ledges. By the end of a single match we had a pretty decent idea of our way around.
Don't write this one off, folks. It certainly won't be a Battlefield beater, but it is a PSN/XBLA/PC digital release, so it'll be cheaper than your average new FPS, yet it puts up a good fight.
Comments
14 comments so far...
hollywood111 on 9 Jun '11 said:
What... a total... complete... and utter... piece or dog puke covered baby sh1t!..
TheLastDodo on 9 Jun '11 said:
I really don't wanna get these comments in another rage but I watched a trailer of this last night and while the game doesn't appeal to me, I genuinely thought the graphics looked better than those you get in CoD.
J_H__ on 9 Jun '11 said:
Is it me or does this look like the bioshock 2 multiplayer with added batman costumes?
If this is the whole game then the price had better be sub £15.
BLARRG on 9 Jun '11 said:
dont be a drama queen it looks good. As long as it takes more inspiration from team fortress 2 than it does cod it will be fun
Moribundman on 9 Jun '11 said:
What's going on with people on here these days?
Are we supposed to wank or s**t all over every release as a knee jerk reaction?
Did I miss that announcement? Is it just because the masthead looks like a tabloid that we now have people in here with the intellectual level of a back-to-front-page Sun reader?
Clusks on 9 Jun '11 said:
For an arcade game is looks quite good and if it's priced reasonably and gets some good reviews I might be interested.
Bryanee1983 on 9 Jun '11 said:
Looking like really good fun, hope it turns out well.
And cvg, your supposed to let the girls win a little.
MPH on 9 Jun '11 said:
So, do you like it or not?
MonkeyWrench127 on 9 Jun '11 said:
This looks crap;
For a decent Batman FPS download the Batman mod for Doom
sulli456 on 9 Jun '11 said:
I thought it actually looked quite fun. I don't understand why people are getting so uptight about new releases. Everyone is becoming cynical. Everyone is becoming Stan from the most recent south park. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFTgO69zD3U
dubplate240 on 9 Jun '11 said:
I thought this looked pretty decent for a download game, reminded me of TF2 as well and that a plus point in my book.
spooney100 on 9 Jun '11 said:
Doesn't look too bad for a download but anyone who thinks this looks better than COD is one of 2 things, either seriously retarded or a sad fanboy of battlefield. Get a grip and stop hating!
Seven24 on 10 Jun '11 said:
Spoony I could watch your profile avatar all day...must go to the toilet...
YouStoleMyKill on 13 Jun '11 said:
“I really don't wanna get these comments in another rage but I watched a trailer of this last night and while the game doesn't appeal to me, I genuinely thought the graphics looked better than those you get in CoD.”
“Doesn't look too bad for a download but anyone who thinks this looks better than COD is one of 2 things, either seriously retarded or a sad fanboy of battlefield. Get a grip and stop hating!”
LMAO at the first comment . on the second comment geez you CoD fanboys are a sensitive bunch its hilarious how defensive u get . Im no CoD hater (except black ops multi) im no CoD lover either im happy to say I can take it or leave it , I do enjoy Black Ops Zombies with friends , with randoms though zombies is the worst experience u can have on xbl , psn every random iv played with is a f**king asswhole , for example this Spanish idiot kept shooting George Romero with the shotgun over and over again , or another example is when I have a ray-gun and im down and theirs like 5 zombies left the random will always choose to use the box if they had firesale and just leavie you their . my record in zombies is round 22 kino , round 25 pentagon , round 30 Ascension , round 8 in call of the dead as all the friends i played zombies with sold ps3 to buy 360 .