Joe Robinson gives us an updated look at Inversion
15 May 2012 | By Joe Robinson
So, not long to go now before the world is inverted and all our 9/10’s become 1/10’s and generally shit be going down. Namco Bandai’s Inversion may not be making quakes as big as the ones featured in the game, but there’s some interesting enough ideas here and despite the slightly obvious Gears comparisons. In a secret location on the ceiling of Namco Bandai’s UK offices, we got extensive hands-on with the game’s single-player and multiplayer components, and I for one am glad to see something other than the same demo they’ve been showing for, like, EVER.
We have to be honest though, going by what we’ve seen of the single-player so far there’s not going to be as much innovation as we’d like in terms of using the gravity manipulation. Don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty of interesting gameplay set-pieces to experience as you make your way from A to B – zero-gravity segments, the vortexes that allow you to ‘jump’ from one plain to another etc… The thing is though, you’re always moving in a straight line, and there doesn’t seem to be anything ‘clever’ about the level design. Perhaps it gets better in late game, but walking in a straight line that happens to involves you also walking on walls, is still you walking in a straight line… what we would have liked to have seen is some kind of puzzle or maze element, but most importantly room for error and dead-ends.
It’s not so bad on the combat side though – using mechanics that are very reminiscent of Gears of War, the added gravity manipulation allows you to tear down structures, lift up enemies, and through things left right and centre. It takes a while to get to that point mind – we played roughly two-hours of the campaign and we only just got the ability to grab things in the air and throw them (there’s a segment right at the beginning though that lets you experience the full range of gravity powers), so there’s the added issue of things possibly being a bit ‘slow’ to get going, but there’s plenty of regular action thrown at you, so it’s not all bad.
The story is probably going to end up being one of those love/hate things mind – set in ‘Vanguard City’ (really?), we’re not actually sure whether or not this is meant to be set on Earth, or an ‘Earth-like’ planet much like Gears’ Sera. Regardless, much like the sudden Locust invasion, a mysterious army of human-like aggressors known as the Lutadores suddenly and without fanfare attack and take over the city, mainly with their use of gravity weapons but we wouldn’t be surprised if it also had something to do with the fact that they talk in a dialect of the annoying jibber-jabber language. After getting captured, the main protagonist spends just over a month in an internment camp before escaping and going on a mission to find his daughter. There is a thread here worth following, as there are a lot of unanswered questions; we just hope the game keeps you interested enough to find out the answers.
Surprisingly, the most interesting aspect of Inversion right now seems to be the multiplayer. Free from the linear restrictions of a story, Saber has actually managed to experiment more with the whole concept of gravity manipulation. To be fair, there’s not a hell of a lot of difference between what’s done in MP and what’s done in SP (most of what you see in MP has had a SP set-piece), but the context of multiplayer allows it to be more freeform. So you’ve got game modes that involve teams fighting over a control point (attacker vs. defender style), and if the attacker succeeds then the entire centre of gravity shifts and you end up playing on the roof, and the attackers now have to defend the control point, otherwise it shifts back.
You’ve also got maps that use the plain-shifting vortex’s, or you’ve simply got maps that curve up either side so that you’re essentially walking on the ‘walls’ and can shoot ‘down’ on enemies even though you’re looking up. With the standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch modes, as well as modes specifically catered for the Gravity ‘thing’ as mentioned, this is actually the bit we think is going to be the most fun. There’s light character customization elements as well, allowing you to tailor the appearance of your multiplayer avatar, although you can’t choose load outs as everyone starts off with either an assault rifle or a shotgun. The only real downside to the multiplayer at the moment is the graphical fidelity in multiplayer – everything takes a hit and it can all look a bit rough at times.
So, whilst the game is looking better than when we last saw it, there are still a few causes for concern. New IP’s don’t seem to be doing that well right now, but hopefully the Gears-esque gravity bending mystery of Inversion will attract enough people for it to do well. Graphically it’s honestly not the best game we’ve seen on the home-console, but that probably speaks more for the need for new hardware than anything else, and it remains to be seen what the rest of the game has in store. Optimism is set to ‘caution’ for the moment but at the very least, we’ve got multiplayer to look forward to. Inversion is due out on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 5th in North America, and June 8th in Europe.
Most Anticipated Feature: Seeing what other inventive things they can do with the Gravity thing in multiplayer.
We have to be honest though, going by what we’ve seen of the single-player so far there’s not going to be as much innovation as we’d like in terms of using the gravity manipulation. Don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty of interesting gameplay set-pieces to experience as you make your way from A to B – zero-gravity segments, the vortexes that allow you to ‘jump’ from one plain to another etc… The thing is though, you’re always moving in a straight line, and there doesn’t seem to be anything ‘clever’ about the level design. Perhaps it gets better in late game, but walking in a straight line that happens to involves you also walking on walls, is still you walking in a straight line… what we would have liked to have seen is some kind of puzzle or maze element, but most importantly room for error and dead-ends.
 |
| The tech behind the gravity-bending is pretty neat, we have to say |
It’s not so bad on the combat side though – using mechanics that are very reminiscent of Gears of War, the added gravity manipulation allows you to tear down structures, lift up enemies, and through things left right and centre. It takes a while to get to that point mind – we played roughly two-hours of the campaign and we only just got the ability to grab things in the air and throw them (there’s a segment right at the beginning though that lets you experience the full range of gravity powers), so there’s the added issue of things possibly being a bit ‘slow’ to get going, but there’s plenty of regular action thrown at you, so it’s not all bad.
The story is probably going to end up being one of those love/hate things mind – set in ‘Vanguard City’ (really?), we’re not actually sure whether or not this is meant to be set on Earth, or an ‘Earth-like’ planet much like Gears’ Sera. Regardless, much like the sudden Locust invasion, a mysterious army of human-like aggressors known as the Lutadores suddenly and without fanfare attack and take over the city, mainly with their use of gravity weapons but we wouldn’t be surprised if it also had something to do with the fact that they talk in a dialect of the annoying jibber-jabber language. After getting captured, the main protagonist spends just over a month in an internment camp before escaping and going on a mission to find his daughter. There is a thread here worth following, as there are a lot of unanswered questions; we just hope the game keeps you interested enough to find out the answers.
Surprisingly, the most interesting aspect of Inversion right now seems to be the multiplayer. Free from the linear restrictions of a story, Saber has actually managed to experiment more with the whole concept of gravity manipulation. To be fair, there’s not a hell of a lot of difference between what’s done in MP and what’s done in SP (most of what you see in MP has had a SP set-piece), but the context of multiplayer allows it to be more freeform. So you’ve got game modes that involve teams fighting over a control point (attacker vs. defender style), and if the attacker succeeds then the entire centre of gravity shifts and you end up playing on the roof, and the attackers now have to defend the control point, otherwise it shifts back.
 |
| We’re honestly (pleasantly) surprised that zer0-g etc… made it into multiplayer |
You’ve also got maps that use the plain-shifting vortex’s, or you’ve simply got maps that curve up either side so that you’re essentially walking on the ‘walls’ and can shoot ‘down’ on enemies even though you’re looking up. With the standard Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch modes, as well as modes specifically catered for the Gravity ‘thing’ as mentioned, this is actually the bit we think is going to be the most fun. There’s light character customization elements as well, allowing you to tailor the appearance of your multiplayer avatar, although you can’t choose load outs as everyone starts off with either an assault rifle or a shotgun. The only real downside to the multiplayer at the moment is the graphical fidelity in multiplayer – everything takes a hit and it can all look a bit rough at times.
So, whilst the game is looking better than when we last saw it, there are still a few causes for concern. New IP’s don’t seem to be doing that well right now, but hopefully the Gears-esque gravity bending mystery of Inversion will attract enough people for it to do well. Graphically it’s honestly not the best game we’ve seen on the home-console, but that probably speaks more for the need for new hardware than anything else, and it remains to be seen what the rest of the game has in store. Optimism is set to ‘caution’ for the moment but at the very least, we’ve got multiplayer to look forward to. Inversion is due out on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 5th in North America, and June 8th in Europe.
Most Anticipated Feature: Seeing what other inventive things they can do with the Gravity thing in multiplayer.
