Home Gaming GamesCom 2011 – Gotham City Impostors

GamesCom 2011 – Gotham City Impostors

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impostors_Logo - English copy

While everyone is talking about the upcoming Arkham City, which is certain to be a bestseller, there is another Batman game out there, and I’m not talking about that German pinball Dark Knight that I played at the airport last week. Nope, instead we have Gotham City Imposters, an upcoming DLC game that puts players in the shoes of an average Gotham City citizen, and asks them, what would you do if Batman was real?

And thus was born two new gangs in Gotham City, The Bats and The Jokers, a bunch of bored salary-men and housewives who feel the need to don a homemade cape or some poorly applied clown make up, while running through Gotham and either starting or stopping chaos.

Its this second hand nature which plays a defining role in the game, as outfits are notoriously tatty and haphazard, while the homemade gadgets are effective, yet hilarious to use, like a grappling hook gun that you have to constantly wind up as you scale buildings, or a hang glider that creates a sense of giddy terror and excitement.

Players can choose from three different classes, that determine movement speed and hit points. There’s the greased lightning “Scout” class, the all round “Tough” option, and the hulking “Mighty”, who trades speed for more health. Its a simple selection, but the choices available are varied enough to present some form of strategy for when you start a game.

Gotham-City-Impostors

I played a round of fumigation, a tug-of-war match between the two sides that sees players battle for control of joker gas bombs around the map. The first team to get a hundred points wins, points that are gained by controlling more of these objectives than the other team.

Besides a vast array of guns that are selectable for all classes, players will also get special gadgets, such as sticky bombs and gas grenades, giving the game a further sense of fun strategy. These gadgets have certain limitations though, such as not being able to always fire or see ahead, but they can make a difference when used correctly.

The map we played on was tight with few open spaces, but a few jump pads and more than enough room to grapple hook, glide or rollerblade around left the action thick and intense. The levels are also littered with references to the original comic book source material, something that the fans will no doubt appreciate. In fact, the guys at Monolith confirmed that every single map will be lifted from Batman lore, further cementing the comic book origins of this game.

game_gotham_city_impostors_trailer

With our game slowly going back and forth, the level switched to sudden death mode, as there was no clear winner in sight. A countdown meter started, and the points from capturing checkpoints started to climb rapidly, thus allowing the opposing Joker side to quickly steal the match with a comeback victory. Its a great mechanic that allows for matches to be decided when things start to drag on, as well as give opposing teams a fair chance at fighting back.

The guys from Monolith, who are developing the game have confirmed that there will be more modes available, such as a general team deathmatch, as well as an undisclosed mode called pysch warfare. Its all interesting so far, and for a game that is being developed as DLC, its going to be an extremely affordable way to have fun, without having to strap on hockey pads and go looking for fights with Russian gangsters.

Last Updated: August 24, 2011

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