Beanpole on Rollerskates? Flying Fat Guy? Pick Your Poison in Gotham City Impostors

Monolith's new title, a team based multiplayer only shooter, is a strange beast. It doesn't turn everything you'd expect from an FPS on its head, nor does it provide the same experience as the droves of identikit military shooters on the market. Here's what sets it apart.

First, there's the body types. Each of these plays very differently. Will you choose the plodding, Sumo wrestler-esque man beast that is 'Mighty'? Or would you prefer the scrawny, fast as a whippet stylings of the speedy class? One's slow as hell (on a slow day) but shrugs off bullets like the Terminator, while the latter is difficult to pin down but could be killed by an overzealous sneeze.

This is a great mechanic, but hardly original in itself. Fighting games practically trademarked the idea back in the days when Pong was amazingly futuristic. It's how it combines with the rest of the character customisation that's a stroke of genius. You can equip a gadget and a support item alongside your guns. A pair of rollerskates for the little guy's hit and run strategy works great. Or, God forbid, a glider for the Mighty. Particularly terrifying. When he uses the divebomb attack from up there, it's as devastating and difficult to avoid as you'd expect half a ton of 'what's that shadow...' incoming high velocity fatass to be.

Gotham City Impostors seems to be trying to appeal to two different kinds of player. It has the K/Ds and killstreaks, not to mention the compulsive stat-keeping, that seasoned FPS fans love obsessing over. At the same time, the slapstick nature and toony, comic presentation may attract those weary of the 'serious' vibe of the Call of Dutys of the world. I haven't enjoyed an FPS since Timesplitters, and the amount of fun I'm having with Impostors is testament to that.

Article by Chris Littlechild