Inversion Preview

At the start of Bulletstorm , we find ourselves walking down the side of a mammoth skyscraper. If you take that concept and expand upon it, you might get something like Inversion , the upcoming third-person shooter from Saber Interactive that toys around with gravity. We will play as Davis Russel, a law officer who must defend himself – and those around him – against the sudden invasion of the Lutadore. Russel’s wife didn’t survive the invasion and his daughter has disappeared; his only help comes from his partner, Leo Delgado, and the two must find a way to restore peace to the city. This doesn’t appear to be a co-op-based game like Arny of Two , though, so bear that in mind.

The key item that will separate Inversion from the throng of shooters out there is the Gravlink Gun. This thing has a ton of potential and allows you to alter the gravity of a specific target; you can either increase or decrease the effect of gravity on that object, thereby giving you a definite edge. A lot of it reminds me of the Telekinesis ability in the Bioshock games, because we’ll be able to pick up various environmental items and use them as projectiles. We’ll also be able to move larger objects that we can hide behind for cover, so it’ll be important to take advantage of our surroundings. But unlike other games you’ve played with gravity elements, this goes a step or two further…

First of all, you’re not the only guy with a Gravlink Gun. Your enemies will have it, too, and they can use it to haul you out of cover, or even cement you in place while their buddies fill you with lead. Beyond that is the ability to utilize vector shifts, which allow you to run up and down walls (yeah, I just used that example), so this begs the question: how chaotic will combat actually be? I mean, if both you and your foes can futz around with gravity to every possible extent, will that be intensely challenging and satisfying or just downright annoying? For now, we’ll just file that under the “wait and see” file but most will like the idea of destructible environments. Being able to take down entire buildings and use the rubble to your advantage? Cool.

Now, while we’re not sure yet if Delgado will accompany you throughout the harrowing quest, we do know we’ll get a co-op feature, that will let another player drop in and out of the action. Unsurprisingly, Saber is also planning an online competitive multiplayer option, although we’re once again struck with the question posed above. Provided the mechanics work out well and they don’t try to do too much with the premise, this one could prove to be crazy entertaining. Inversion Is scheduled to hit store shelves for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on February 7, 2012. Expect to see more details – and hopefully the first gameplay footage – at E3 in June.