Inversion

UPC: 722674210348

Platform: Xbox 360

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games America, Inc.

Developer: Saber Interactive

Category: Shooter

Style(s): Third-Person 3D Shooter

Synopsis: Inversion is a third-person shooter with a modern, sci-fi setting, and concussive action that is distinguished by gravity-control powers and destructible environments. In the main campaign, players take the role of an ordinary cop named Davis Russel, who finds himself in extraordinary peril when his city is attacked by an unknown force, armed with futuristic technology. Battles are now waged with weapons that can crush objects, reverse the force of gravity, or remove its effects altogether. The entire story can be played cooperatively, and online multiplayer competition is also available. Developed by TimeShift creator, Saber Interactive, the game uses a version of the Havok physics engine to model collisions and destruction in game's vertigo-inducing skyscraper canyons, where rubble from a crumbling building may as likely fall upwards as downs, or hang weightless in mid-air to obstruct passage or provide cover. The game offers plenty of shooter action, but learning to use gravity to attack enemies indirectly, with objects and debris in the environment, may be crucial in major battles. Players will also manipulate gravity to solve puzzles and progress to new areas. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 24-page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

Two muscle-bound heroes battle an onslaught of savages to save their planet in Namco Bandai's Inversion. If the premise sounds familiar, you've played your fair share of futuristic shooters. Inversion tries to do something a bit different by letting players manipulate gravity, but the feature is underutilized and is more of a gimmick than a game-changer. Inversion is a competent shooter, just one that fails to do anything particularly interesting to justify a purchase. Inversion's gunplay and level design are similar to Gears of War. As you enter each part of a war-ravaged city, you'll need to hide behind cover and trade fire with groups of enemies. The campaign supports online cooperative play, with the computer AI controlling the second character for solo players. While the computer is an adequate teammate for most of the game, it starts to become an annoyance the further you progress. Your partner will quickly become a liability, requiring you to constantly revive him within a short window of time or else the game will end. The game's main hook is the ability to manipulate gravity with a special gadget, but instead of letting players use it however they want, the game requires you to use it in very specific spots within the linearly constructed environments. You can't lift any object in your surroundings, for example, only those that flash. You <i>can</i> use the device on enemies, causing them to float in the air so they can't use cover, but that's about it. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed let you pull, push, and manipulate foes in the air, making you feel extremely powerful in the process. Here, it's a simplified form of skeet shooting. Inversion offers a multiplayer component with the typical assortment of play modes and character progression through experience points. Yet finding a match is not easy, which is not too surprising when there are Call of Duty, Gears of War, Halo, and Battlefield matches to be played at the time of Inversion's release. The market is tough to crack without having an established license and marketing muscle working in your favor, and Inversion simply doesn't offer an experience distinctive enough to set it apart from its competition. Something's amiss when a gravity-based game lacks weight. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.