In terms of gameplay, nothing all that new but the replay value alone sets the Club apart from other FPS
The mechanics of "The Club" are pretty well the same as most standard FPS. There is really nothing revolutionary about the gameplay itself but the level design, the combo system and the various modes or level types that you play through make the entire experience fresh enough that I would consider this to have perhaps as much single player replay value as it does multiplayer.
The single player is pretty low on story, you basically have to win a series of tournaments in a series of locations and have the option of three difficulty settings at first and a fourth once you complete the game. Where the game really stands on its own is the level by level requirements. The general purpose of the game is the compete the level with the highest amount of points possible, this is accomplished by killing as many people in a short period of time as quickly as you can to crank up your combo meter.
Seems pretty simple? The perk is that each level has different requirements. You may have a level that requires you to simple make it to the exit killing as many or as few enemies as you want, or you may have to make it to an exit with a timer running which tends to encourage a creative balance of killing and speed, or you may simply need to run three laps of a certain level while you have baddies shooting at you from every which way and every direction with a timer ticking down and getting three seconds added for every enemy you kill, this again leads itself to a very creative way of completing a level. Then of course you have my personal favorite "Survival". You are in a chalked in area that you have to stay within while you are fired at in every direction for a period of time with very little cover.
The XBL achievement system truly does lend itself to this game, because the achievements are not as much hard for the sake of being hard, but require you to complete a level in a different manner, for example the efficiency achievement calls for you to kill all the enemies in a level with less then 50 bullets. Needless to say it made me a much more accurate shooter which really helped in the multiplayer aspect.
The multiplayer is also pretty interesting as it allows you to play all the areas of the game which are quite large and lend themselves to a series of different ways to plays in your standard deathmatch.
Most of the standard multiplayer options are there, although I find the "Hunter Hunted" mode to be pretty interesting, basically one person starts as the hunter you have to kill him and whoever does becomes the hunter and scores points based on how long he stays alive, very entertaining.
Graphically, it's nothing new. It looks and plays like your standard FPS. Some of the enemy models get recycled which for some can be an issue but all and all don't bother me whatsoever.
The soundtrack is interesting, as it really does match the game. It's a gritty sort of techno beat which does suit the various levels that you play within. I may be giving it more credit then it deserves but perhaps that is because I have some of the tracks stuck in my mind at the time of writing. To its credit I don't think I could hum the scores to most FPS's whereas I could hum three of four levels of "The Clubs" score.
What makes the Club worthwhile is the replay factor, it all goes back to the simple need for "points" that comes from the Pac Man era of gaming. Once you beat a tournament you can play select levels at your leisure and since some shorter levels you can blow through fairly quickly it makes playing them less tedious and while you play those levels you get a strong feel for the layout which again is handy later for the multiplayer aspect.
It's been a while where I could honestly say that I was able to get replay value from a single player aspect of a game, I think the whole online aspect has really killed that portion of gaming.
I don't replay games that I have completed, and I rarely take advantage of side quests in games unless they net me something super beneficial, so the fact that I am replaying levels in "The Club" is somewhat of a rarity. Take that for what its worth.
Give it a rent before you commit, but with the twenty dollar price point its at now I don't think you will regret buying it.