Will Tuttle, Editor in Chief: You wish! Batman is nowhere to be seen in Gotham City Impostors, although that's precisely the point. Remember that scene in the beginning of The Dark Knight when a bunch of Batman wannabes decide it's their civic duty to stop crime, only to have their asses summarily handed to them? Well, that's sort of the direction Gotham City Impostors takes, although it's a lot sillier than that sequence. Basically, you play as either a wannabe Batman or a wannabe Joker, attacking your foes with a mishmash of homemade weapons while sporting an outfit that could best be termed "cosplay gone horribly wrong."
Ryan Scott: How random. Did the developers talk about where the hell they came up with the idea? And who's developing it, anyway?
Will Tuttle: The good news on that front is the fact that Gotham City Impostors is being developed by Monolith, the developer of the F.E.A.R. series and the classic No One Lives Forever -- so it's nice to know that it's in the hands of people who know what they're doing. It sounds like the idea started simply, as Monolith wanted to create a multiplayer Batman game. But how? After all, the Dark Knight doesn't use guns, so that makes it pretty tough to create your standard multiplayer shooter. By focusing instead on the office workers and waitresses that want to be Batman, the team had a lot more leeway, and they were basically "greenlit to subvert a paradigm" in a fun way. And make no mistake, this is definitely not a game that takes itself too seriously. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the developers set out to make an over-the-top shooter that pokes fun at the silliness inherent in grown men running around wearing tights.
Ryan Scott: So, walk me through a typical game, as you understand it thus far. Is this like... a Team Fortress 2 sort of deal?
Will Tuttle: Definitely shades of Team Fortress 2 in Gotham City Impostors, especially in the aesthetic department. This is an intentionally cartoony game, trading the dark and gloomy palette of recent Batman efforts for a bright, colorful style that feels more akin to a living comic book. It's campy and silly too, though I highly doubt we'll see any Adam West or Burgess Meredith clones doing the Batusi. The one level that I played took place in the old, rundown Seagate Amusement Park, one of the Joker's bases of operations. The flashing lights and askew building angles made the entire place feel like a large, outdoor funhouse, which only made the proceedings that much more over-the-top. The fact that Gotham City Impostors doesn't take itself too seriously is one of the things I really like about it, as is the fact that I'm a sucker for some good class-based shooting action.
Ryan Scott: What are the various classes like? Anything good for people who suck at aiming (like me)?
Will Tuttle: Well, this being a first-person shooter, no, it doesn't have anything good for people like you. As for the classes, they basically break down into your standard weapon/loadout-based classes (that is, no medics or spies with special skills), though Gotham City Impostors is really more about customizing your own character and class than using a premade one. When creating your character, the first thing you pick is your body type, which dictates whether you're a big tough guy with lots of energy or a more of a nimble, catlike character that's better at avoiding damage than sucking it up. The weapons range from standard machine guns to wild, homebrewed firearms like Molotov cocktails, and a ball-bearing shooter or a rocket launcher made out of PVC pipe and capable of firing fireworks. Monolith is really taking this "backyard Batman" thing seriously -- especially when it comes to the gadgets and support gear.
Ryan Scott: Is your utility belt your superpower? You know, like in the dumb SuperFriends cartoons where none of the writers understood what Batman did?
Will Tuttle: As we both know, part of what makes Batman so great is his reliance on cool gadgets rather than sheer firepower. While the wannabe Batmen and Jokers definitely fall back on firearms, they also sport some gadgets that would make the Dark Knight proud. In addition to your main weapon, you can equip a support weapon like a pipe bomb, a one-shot-one-kill hatchet similar to the one seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops, or a boomerang that would make your personal favorite villain Captain Boomerang proud. While the support weapons add a nice twist, it was the gadgets that I found most interesting. Rather than dealing damage, the gadgets are strictly used for mobility, making it easier to escape from danger or head to high ground on the levels with some extra verticality. Smoke bombs come in handy when an enemy gets the drop on you, while roller skates are great for either getting away from or catching up to a foe. For those who prefer to gain a height advantage, using a glider while jumping over the air vents scattered about launches you up, while the grappling hook is great for both getting up to high places and zipping across open spaces. I really enjoyed experimenting with each, as they might be the one thing (aside from the tongue-in-cheek humor) that sets Gotham City Impostors apart from more standard shooters.
Ryan Scott: Sounds pretty goofy. Got any other cool stuff to take us out on?
Will Tuttle: I have no doubt in my mind that Gotham City Impostors might be the goofiest FPS ever made. This was evident in one game mode we saw but didn't get to play: Psych Warfare is basically a single-flag capture-the-flag variant, with both teams battling to grab a battery from the center of the map. Once one team gets it, they're tasked with heading over to the "propaganda machine" provided to them by their patron hero or villain (in this case, it was the Batmen vs. the Jokers), where they're required to plug it in. The fun doesn't end here, though; the blaring machine makes the opposing team lose their minds, stumbling around in a daze and becoming easy pickings for the propagandists. It's a fun twist on an old-fashioned game mode, and I'm hopeful that Monolith has similar plans for other tried-and-true game types.
