Gotham City Impostors First Look Preview

Warner Brothers Interactive just took the wraps off a new original game set in Gotham City at its Electronic Entertainment Expo Judge's Week event in Los Angeles. The downloadable game has no firm release date yet but promises a variety of multiplayer game modes and player customization. Gotham City Impostors is set to hit the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Who's Making It: Monolith Productions, the Seattle-based developer known for No One Lives Forever, Condemned, and the first two entries in the FEAR franchise.

What It Looks Like: Gotham City Impostors sports a stylized look that veers closer to more realistic visuals along the lines of a typical first-person shooter. Character models are solid, and the environment that we saw featured a respectable amount of detail. What stood out in this first look was the disparity in style between the cartoony look of the characters in the trailer shown and the in-game player models, which were very different.

What You Do: Gotham City Impostors is a team-based first-person shooter that revolves around two gangs, based on Batman and the Joker, respectively, competing against each other on maps set around notable Gotham City locales. The game will feature a variety of modes, including Psychological Warfare, which offers capture-the-flag-style mechanics that require a team to collect and set up a brainwashing machine in a specific location.

How It Plays: First-person shooter fans will be at home with the game's setup. Monolith isn't reinventing the wheel when it comes to console FPS controls. What is unique about Gotham City Impostor's controls are the variety of gadgets you can equip that let you get around or deal with enemies in style. You'll be able to customize your character in several different areas, ranging from weapon/gadget loadout to body type that has been made to offer unique bonuses. So, in addition to the standard array of machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles, players will be able to equip secondary weapons, gadgets, and support weapons. The ability to use axes, grapple lines, and assorted grenades puts a different slant on combat. Along the same lines, the body type you choose will offer speed or armor boosts that will be useful in a fight. For those who are curious, there's no bot support.

What They Say: "Monolith is creating a game that turns Gotham City upside down, and we think fans are going to have a blast with this creative twist on multiplayer heroism and anti-heroism as they play up the classic rivalry between Batman and The Joker." Samantha Ryan, senior vice president, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

What We Say: We're not sure what to make of Gotham City Impostors. There are some interesting twists on the standard first-person shooter that give it a different feel, but it's hard to get a sense of just how it's going to come together. There is obviously a lot of content that's yet to be shown, such as the different game modes and stages, as well as all the unlockable weapons, gadgets, and costume modifications. We'll be curious to see what the final package looks like and if the Gotham City setting and Batman vibe work well with what the game offers.