E3 2011: Overstrike Preview Impressions

For years, Insomniac has been so close to Sony that many people just assumed it was a first-party studio. Such misconceptions will be banished forevermore now that the studio that Spyro built has gone multiplatform. At Electronic Arts' press conference today, it was announced that Insomniac's next game will arrive on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as part of their Partners program. Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price took the stage to talk a little bit about their upcoming project and show the first footage, albeit it in a series of prerendered cutscenes.

First, every game needs a name. Overstrike is the company's latest IP, and it looks to be a combination of Team Fortress 2 and Brute Force. Price said that Insomniac's games contain three core elements: exotic weapons, immersive storytelling, and humor. At least two of those elements were shown in the debut trailer in Overstrike. This is a four-player co-op adventure that centers around crazy weapons in a stylized world, looking much closer to Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank franchise than the serious tone it established in Resistance.

The trailer served as an introduction to the four main characters rather than a proper gameplay demonstration. The leader is Mr. Brooks, who describes himself as a people person. Of course, that translates to hurting people, and you see him punching foes and then summoning a translucent shield to deflect incoming bullets. Jacob is a "pacifist," though his electrical bullets sure look painful.

Maya doesn't like to create a scene. You see her leap from a building and then turn invisible when she lands. She dispatches foes with melee strikes. Finally, Isabel has a gun that shoots liquid metal balls. Like the T-1000 from Terminator 2, the balls can melt and expand to be even deadlier, and you see those contraptions hold a man to the wall so he can't retaliate.

From what we've seen, the game looks to be really fun. But at this point, that's based more on Insomniac's track record than the actual trailer. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to see gameplay in the coming days. Stay tuned to GameSpot to see how Overstrike turns out.