Infernal Hands-On

Imagine if heaven and hell became corporations on Earth but continued to battle each other with heavenly and devilish proxies. That's the premise of Infernal, a third-person action shooter that has you playing as a former angel now working for the devil in a world that's gone upside down. The game is being developed by Metropolis Software and will be published by PlayLogic next month, but we got our hands on a nearly-complete version of the game ahead of time.

Your character in Infernal is Ryan Lennox, a fallen angel who is trying to enjoy the good life on Earth when the agents of Etherlight, the heavenly corporation, come after him. After a shootout at a nightclub, Lennox meets up with the head of the Abyss, hell's corporation, who makes him an offer that he can't refuse. And just like that, the fallen angel is working for his former enemy, and that means you'll have to go to locations around the world to figure out what Etherlight is up to. And you know that the "good guys" are up to no good, mainly through the game's cryptic, conspiracy-laden introductory cutscene that shows Etherlight monks working on some type of strange weapon.

As a third-person shooter, Infernal follows the standard template found in most action games. Movement is handled through the W, A, S, and D keys, and double-tapping on any key will cause Lennox to roll in that direction. Aiming and shooting is handled with the mouse, and Lennox can interact with certain objects, such as doors and computer terminals. The levels are fairly linear in that they don't allow for much exploration off of the main path, but you're rewarded for looking in every nook and cranny, as there may be a crate with an extra ammunition clip in it, or some other goody.

In terms of enemies and opponents, we saw Etherlight agents dressed in what looked like high-tech clerical robes, and they were armed with a wide variety of weaponry. Lennox himself can use pistols, submachine guns, shuriken, and more. Weapons and ammunition can be scavenged from the bodies of the dead. In fact, you'll want to "drain" these bodies of their spirit, as that's one way for your hell-powered fallen angel to recover health. In addition to guns and other conventional weapons, Lennox can use infernal powers to boost his attacks considerably. After all, working for the devil has its own rewards. For example, if you encounter an obstacle such as a thick door, just power up an infernal power by holding down and then releasing the right mouse button, and that will blast the obstacle apart. Or if an enemy is behind cover, you can use an infernal power to perhaps shatter the cover, and the enemy along with it. The downside is that such infernal powers require a lot of mana to work, and the only way to recover mana is to commit evil acts against innocent bystanders, plenty of whom are located throughout the game's levels. Other supernatural powers allow Lennox to teleport around the level, as well as use telekinesis to move objects with his mind.

Speaking of cover, there is a cover system that's similar to those found in games such as Rainbow Six Vegas. If you move against a suitable piece of cover, such as a corner, Lennox will take advantage of it for protection against enemy fire. You can then target an enemy, and when you fire, Lennox will swing out from cover, fire his weapon, and then return to cover once you stop firing. While Lennox is pretty tough and can absorb plenty of damage, not to mention heal rapidly by draining the souls of the recently deceased, the cover system becomes more important as he encounters heavily armed opponents.

Infernal will ship with just the single-player campaign, as there is no multiplayer support of any kind. It looks as though the developers have focused more on delivering an atmospheric third-person story. The graphics engine certainly does a good job with this, as the diffuse lighting effects are put to good use. We saw the glittery indoors of the nightclub, as well as the moody confines of an old monastery. Lennox being a fallen angel is a fitting theme, considering that you'll have to perform evil acts to get through the game. The game itself seems mired in moral ambiguity, feeling like some kind of twilight struggle in which it's hard to figure out the intentions of each side. We'll find out the answers when Infernal ships in May.