Previews// Gotham City Imposters

It’s not every day that you get to preview a game under the guise of a superhero. And yet here I was in Warner Bros’ pad, sitting down to play Gotham City Imposters as Batman. Well, one of many Batmen actually, as this downloadable XBLA and PSN title is a madcap multiplayer affair starring imitations of DC Comics’ favourite billionare detective - and his insane clown-faced nemesis.

Far from the gritty realisations of Gotham City as portrayed in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight or Rocksteady’s Arkham City, this first-person shooter takes a light-hearted comical approach with vibrant colours and a humourous premise. Two gangs of wannabe Batmen (Bats) and Jokers (Jokerz) do battle in quirky renditions of classic Gotham locations using guns, gadgets and a whole heap of insanity.

These gangs don’t exactly have the budget that their idols have when it comes to weapons though. In the words of WB Games community manager Dayne McClurg, it’s a case of “crazy fuckin’ guys building shit in their garage.” And there’s a wealth of ghetto guns to unlock - from standard rifles to submachine guns, snipers and shotguns. Even different kinds of rocket launchers.

You start off by choosing which allegiance you want to serve and create your own character to suit. As this is a multiplayer-only shooter, WB has gone out of its way to provide an absolutely monstrous amount of perks, rewards and unlockable content that can be tied to a character’s persistent level increase. You can also set loadouts and modify a “Calling Card” that is sent to your opponents every time you kill them in-game.

There are all kinds of modifications you can make to your disproportionate comic underhero. As a Bat, you can swap over different headgears, change the cape design and mess about with the batsign on your chest. If you’re a Joker your hair, makeup and fashion sense can be altered to your heart’s content. To give you an idea of just how much fun the developers are having with this game, look no further than costume pieces titled “Detective Denim” and “Vest of Vengeance.”

This kind of fantasy lunacy permeates throughout the entire game - menus have little cartoon renditions of Batmen running around popping guns with huge grins on their faces, while in-game the ridiculously modeled character classes and comedy voice acting add some hilarity to the mix. Dying as a Joker is made all the more fun when your Batman vanquisher heroically exclaims, “You have been duly clobbered by the hands of justice, evildoer!” It’s all a bit Adam West, really.

In gameplay terms, it’s classic fast-paced FPS fare - the action runs lightning quick and the maps have a good balance of claustrophobic corridors linking through to open-air spaces. The Docks stage features two spacious bases with steel containers providing plenty of vantage points, separated by an indoor scrapyard that keeps things close and personal. All the while there’s a crazy carnival undertone to the proceedings. Similarly, Ace Chemical glows with a toxic green hue, dotted with alleyways and various nooks and crannies to hide within.

What keeps the usual run-and-gun action interesting is the introduction of support items and gadgets. The default is a grapple gun that can be deployed at any time and pull you towards any surface from any given distance (within reason). You can shoot while flying upwards, escape from enemy fire by grappling to the side, or even spear someone in the chest for a quick kill. You can also swap this for a glider cape that allows you to use updrafts to gain altitude. This can double as a nice weapon as you can opt to slam into the ground and instantly kill a nearby enemy.

While Team Deathmatch simply pits Bats and Jokerz together in various scenarios, there are other game modes that put a unique spin on the classic multiplayer deathmatch formula that might be worth returning to. Psychic Warfare is a remix of Capture the Flag - each team looks after a brainwashing device, which needs a battery to run.

A single battery appears on the map and must be carried to the opposing team’s machine and protected until a timer runs down. At which point, the losing team will lose control of themselves and have to resort to happy slaps as their only means of attack. It’s hilarious fun, especially when a team loses as you get to see them flail about helplessly against a carnival music track.

Fumigation is easily the best time-killer though, with rounds that can last for ages. Like a twisted King of the Hill match, this mode presents three different gasblasters that need to be controlled by either Bats or Jokerz to win the round. As a gang controls a blaster, the colour of the gas it expels changes accordingly, and the percentage ratio of toxic gas is rebalanced in their favour. When one gang reaches 100 per cent or so of gas domination, the other unceremoniously dies - the Bats by nerve poisoning and the Jokerz by hordes of flying rodents.

There are even single-player challenges that can be accomplished whenever you want to try and practice your hand at something different. The matches I played involved reaching various flags in an area within a certain time limit, with medals awarded for however quickly I managed it.

It certainly looks like WB Games has thought about the long haul for this downloadable title - along with experience points and levelling up, players can earn costume coins to deck out their characters, earn stamps for various achievements and unlock a Batcave’s worth of additional weapons for their loadouts. Some decorations for your Calling Card ask for some serious play time too - one requires you to reach level 900 to unlock!

Gotham City Imposters looks like a totally bonkers take on the dark world of Batman, and I’m loving it because of this fact. It comes out in January 2012 as well, so there’s not long to wait either. Now, to run away dashingly whilst chanting the Batman tune. Danana nananana nananana nananana...