Gotham City Impostors

Gotham City Imposters was a particularly surprising announcement from Warner Bros. a few weeks ago. The idea of transforming the publisher's popular Batman license into a competitive multiplayer FPS was almost as strange as Bats' rogues gallery. After getting my hands on the game's Psychological Warfare, I'll say this: It's still a completely bizarre setup, but it's an awful lot of fun.

The goal of this particular mode is simple: Two competing teams, the Bats and the Jokerz, race to pick up a car battery that's been dumped in a neutral area. Once a team member snags the power supply, it's up to the rest of the team to escort him to the team's base and install it. Then, the winning team earns a point and a fun audio bonus. The winning team will temporarily power up a speaker system that offers positive audio reinforcement, congratulating them for doing a great job and being the best. The other team, on the other hand, is subjected to taunts and ridicule. Occasionally, this negative feedback is so powerful that teams will temporarily be demoralized and unable to wield their weapons. At that point, all they can do is slap their opponents and hope for the best.

Speaking of weapons, the game packs in conventional weaponry familiar to the FPS set including shotguns, machine guns, and rifles. There are also a few more unique items in the game as well, which shouldn't come as a shock. This is a world, after all, where adults are dressed as clowns and superheroes and fighting it out in amusement parks. Some are themed to the Bats' gang, such as the batarang. Others, like the explosive proximity mine shaped like a Jack-in-the-box, are definitely in the style of the maniacal Jokerz. Fortunately, you don't lock yourself into a weapon style when you choose a faction. Players can select whatever weapons are available to them in their loadouts, regardless of whether they're fighting for the Bats or Jokerz. 

The Batman theme continues beyond cosmetic details such as what the gangs are wearing or using to blast each other apart. There are also some nifty gadgets that are useful to navigate the maps. They include skates, batwings, or, my favorite, the grappling hook. Using the hook, I was able to launch a shot at a high spot and reel myself away to a strategic location or away from immediate danger. It took players a few minutes to get the hang of using the hooks, but once they did the skies were filled with friends and foes alike. Combat is tuned to be fast and deadly, so being able to escape on a whim is critical. Fortunately, whenever I died I respawned in a matter of moments.

The game appears to have all the bells and whistles you'd expect, including unlockables, character progression, and a bit of customization. For instance, you can change up your calling card, which is what players will see when you blast them into bits. Even though the characters cover a wide array of shapes and body types, Warner points out that it's not a class-based shooter. That big guy might move a bit slower and can absorb some more damage, but he's not the only dude who can use the heavy machinery.

While I didn't walk away from the demo thinking that the concept was any more sane than before I started, I can say without a doubt that it's a lot of fun. I hope that it manages to grab a steady following when it launches on XBLA and the PSN this year. That's a critical component of this kind of game, and I hoping to have lots of variety when I go Bats hunting.