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Gotham City Impostors Review

Gotham City Impostors is a downloadable game available on the PSN/SEN that has been through several beta cycles before finally making it to final release earlier this month. I was lucky enough to get in on one of the betas, and to be honest I only did so for the heck of it and to be able to say I did. As someone that has kind of soured on FPSs of late, I went in with no preconceptions.

But, what do you know, I loved it!

GCI is an FPS, yes, but it is so off the wall and out there in pure style that it sets itself apart from most other FPSs. If I had to compare it to another FPS, I'd say it's closest to Team Fortress 2, which is another great FPS.

The Bats and The Jokerz

Though Gotham City Impostors is a multiplayer-only game (well, mostly - there is a single player Challenge Mode that I haven't touched yet), there is a little bit of a story. Essentially, Batman and The Joker have gone missing and now a couple groups of knuckleheads have taken it upon themselves to dress up like their idols and battle it out for Gotham City.

The Bats obviously emulate Batman and all their customizable costumes feature his Bat Symbol somewhere on the outfit and cowls of all different kinds. The Jokerz. of course, emulate The Joker and all of their costumes feature clown makeup and similar gags.

This game is a customizable class-based game that lets you choose from a variety of body types and perks to build the character you like to play. Body types include Mighty, Burly, Tough, Nimble, and Speedy, whose names are pretty self-explanatory. Perks include things like making yourself faster, more bulletproof, invisible to enemy radar - things like that. There are also rampages, which are activated by killstreaks.

The Weapons

Gotham City Impostors Review The weapons in Gotham City Impostors are fairly par for the course in FPSs, but with a twist. No gun is just called by it's real-life counterpart. An AK-47, for instance, is called a Partisan. A pump-action shotgun is called a Persuader, and so on.

In addition, there are some improvised weapons. There is a rocket launcher, called The Thunder Dragon, but if you look closely at the rockets you see they are soda bottles filled with gasoline. There is also a slingshot that fires mortars, a freeze gun, and a bullhorn that heals your teammates.

The Gadgets

No Batman-themed game would be complete without gadgets, and GCI comes through in this department as well. The gadgets in this game are divided into two categories, Gadgets and Support Items, and you can equip one of each in every character build.

Gadgets include things like a grapple gun or glider rig (both of which let you get around maps quickly and reach hard-to-reach places), spring boots for high jumps, and targeting goggles that let you and your teammates see your enemies through walls.

Support items include things like body armor, airspace deniers for bringing down flying opponents, boomerangs (not Batarangs?), bear traps, and exploding trap-in-a-boxes.

They're all equally fun in their own ways.

The Balance

One thing that you'll consistently hear about fans of this game is that it is balanced. The guys at Monolith Productions apparently paid attention to their various betas, because it's hard to find a "broken build" in this game. Every build has a counter-build if you care to look for it.

That being said, you'll see a whole lot of mighty bodytypes divebombing for massive damage with their glider rigs and a whole lot of guys using Gatekeeper submachine guns and guys on roller skates using Persuader shotguns. Of course, there are ways to counteract all of these things.

Love It, Love It, Love It

I guess by now it goes without saying that I live Gotham City Impostors. That's not to say that it's a perfect game; it's not. There have been matchmaking issues since the get-go, but Monolith has been steadily improving the game all along and it's a lot better than it was at launch.

They are also supporting the game with free (!) DLC with new maps, gadgets, and other stuff.

In the end, I can't recommend it enough. I don't know if I've ever had so much fun for $15.

Article by - Brett Huffman

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