Gotham City Impostors Review (Xbox 360)

Shining through the intense surrealism, Gotham City Impostors core team-based, shooter dynamics blend together with its character modification features to offer a solid and enjoyable game.

Theoretically set in DC Comics' fictional Batman universe, Gotham City is for lack of a better word bat s**t crazy. Showing what happens in the city when Batman's away, the game focuses on the ongoing war raging between gangs of fake batmen and jokers, offering those willing to sample its craziness six versus six online competitive play.

It is worth noting that, past a brief tutorial and a selection of challenges, Impostors has no real single player options. In the multiplayer you take on the role of your own custom batman or joker wannabe, in one of three competitive modes - the equivalent of team death match, capture the flag and king of the hill.

Despite its crazy premise, Imposters does a very good job of remaining accessible to newcomers. Featuring controls and a character modification system similar to Call of Duty's, any gamer who's played a first person shooter in the last few years will quickly pick up the game's fundamentals.

The game's character leveling system is pretty simple, seeing you accrue experience and "batcoins" as you play, with bonus points being awarded for kills and various other feats of skill. As you level up you'll be awarded points that can be used to purchase new weapons, skills and body types for your custom 'loadout' (equipment list). Batcoins can similarly be used to customise your character's appearance, buying new costume items.

Two welcome additions that adds a welcome layer of depth to the Impostors experience is the inclusion of classes - or body types as they are called in game - and gadgets. When creating your loadout you can pick from numerous body types, each of which come with certain advantages and disadvantages. Pick a light body type and your character will be able to move across the battlefield more quickly, but will be able to take less damage. Choose a larger build and while being a larger and easier to hit target, you'll have more health and will be able to wield heavier weapons more effectively.

Gotham City Impostors' gadget arsenal is similarly fun and varied. Sticking to the Batman theme all the gadgets are budget knock-offs of the Dark Knight's kit. Letting you pick from a hand cranked zip wire, a semi-reliable glider, or a pair of homemade infrared goggles, Imposters' gadget arsenal caters to numerous play styles and rewards experimentation - adding an air of longevity to what could otherwise have been a very dull game.

This said, Gotham City Impostors is not without its problems. Currently offering just five maps and less than 20 weapons, the game isn't packed with content - though a free DLC pack has been promised in the near future. Additionally while some will love the over the top interpretation and presentation, it certainly won't be to everyone's taste. Yet, all this pales in comparison to the game's annoying tendency to try and fleece you for more money.

The game shamelessly makes use of micro-transactions, letting players unwilling to go through the leveling process buy items for real world cash. This wouldn't be a problem other than the fact that the game's character development system is insanely slow. Often you'll have to spend hours playing the game just to unlock one weapon. In the end the slow pace of the game's character development begins to feel like a cheap ploy to get you to just buy the weapon or clothing item you want.

Summing up, Gotham City Impostors is an energetic and fun - albeit at times crazy - game. While it doesn't break any new ground, instead offering a re-skinned version of the familiar first person competitive experience, the game does feel fresh, with its zany art style and comic book setting making it feel suitably original and one of a kind.

The Good