Of course, the not-particularly-interesting gravity abilities would be perfectly acceptable if the core shooter gameplay elements were really well done. There are lots of shoot-'em-ups that don't have much to set them apart from all the other shoot-'em-ups. Some of them are still successful because they do what they do very well.
Inversion, unfortunately, is not one of those games.
It's all very competent, but largely uninspired.
Inversion sticks very closely to the cover-based style of play popularised by
Gears of War. Your firefights are predominantly against groups of enemy soldiers that get in your way, with the occasional heavily-armoured opponent thrown in for good measure. You'll face turrets and mortars and open areas and bottlenecks and... and I could go on, but I think you know the drill.
Of course, you have the option to make baddies float up into view and hurl bits of the environment at them. In fact, your mate Leo will constantly encourage you to 'use the grav-link!' There's a fair chance you won't, though. It's not that it's particularly fiddly to deal with, it's just that it's easier to shoot most of the time.
Alas, while developer Saber Interactive has followed cover system model established by
Gears, it doesn't always work that well. In one particular boss battle in which sticking to cover was particularly important I often found myself hugging the wrong side of a pillar and getting blown into mist.
There are multiplayer options. There's co-op, which is now obligatory. There are two types of deathmatch (although it's a bit of a ghost town and I was just left playing this one fella who was only there for the achievements). They're there. They're available to you. They're unlikely to draw you away from whatever other bullet-fest you're playing right now.
As has been previously noted, there's nothing abysmally wrong with
Inversion. If a big publisher has put enough money behind a mainstream game like this to get it to market, it's going to at least be playable and competent. It's just all very mediocre, and the gravity-based elements feel like a missed opportunity.
Pros:
+ Gravity powers pep things up a little.
+ Environment design sets it apart.
Cons:
- More could have been done with the premise.
- Clunky cover system.
- That feeling that you've played all this before, only better.
SPOnG Score: 6/10
