Developer Insomniac Games announced this past week that its forthcoming four player action shooter Overstrike is getting a name change – but thats not all.
From the press release:
Fuse is a 4-person co-op, story-driven, action game where even solo players can experience the unique attributes of each agent by using the game’s LEAP feature to switch between the four characters at will during combat. Each agent is equipped with unique skills and weapons not only integral for survival, but that also allows for unexpected and extraordinary results. Experimental Fuse weapons are powered by a volatile alien substance that gives players unique capabilities that expand their strategic options in and out of combat. Through lethal teamwork, players can complete objectives and kills to earn Fuse points for powerful upgrades. Players can also play online or offline and level up along unique character paths, allowing players to unlock more powerful Fuse-driven abilities as the game progresses. In addition, the game’s progression system is unified between different play modes, allowing players to continue improving their agents regardless of how they play.
I really, really like that you can switch on the fly between all four team members. It’s almost like having a ‘lite’ RTS element in there since you can jump over to control whatever merc has the right skillset to tackle a certain task. Really cool.
Fans of Insomniac’s penchant for bizarro weapons shouldn’t worry either, because along with the ultra-violence, there’s gonna be guns. Lots of guns.
“Fuse demonstrates what Insomniac does best: outlandish and gruesome weapons design, over-the-top action and a touch of humor,” said Insomniac Games’ Founder and CEO, Ted Price. “We’re especially excited to see how players utilize lethal teamwork by combining their Fuse weapons to stop a deadly arms race.”
“EA is honored to be working with world-renowned developer, Insomniac Games, to bring their first multiplatform release to players everywhere,” said Sinjin Bain, Vice President of EA Partners. “This studio is known for delivering high-quality, action-packed, and most importantly – fun – games. Fuse is on target to deliver that and more in March.”
March? Yep, you can look for Insomniac’s Fuse to be blasting away at consoles at the tail end of quarter one, 2013.
What really makes me angry about this change in direction is that Insomniac has proven that they can sell unique games. This is not like EA forcing DICE to create Battlefield games until the end of time; Insomniac survived its first few years be creating titles that were not forcing themselves into market trends. Now Insomniac/EA is following market trends simply because they want to shift more units rather than make a game that will last. I guarantee that when the next generation has had two years to get itself off of the ground, Fuse will be forgotten along with games like Inversion and Mindjack.
While I don't doubt for a second that Fuse will be a one (maaaaaaybe two) and done scenario, I don't think I'd lump it in with the likes of Inversion and Mind*cough*cough*Mindjack quite yet- sorry, thought I was gonna be sick there for a sec…
Remember, this is still Insomniac. They make some pretty solid stuff and I'd like to see the finished product before passing judgement. I guess I'm just saying lets not jump to conclusions about quality till we get some hand on time.
I did not attempt to imply that Fuse was going to be bad, but rather that it would be forgotten because it tried to follow market trends. Inversion was basically trying to be Gears of War and Mindjack was trying to ride the coattails the idea that single player and multiplayer could be combined together, an idea that had the final nail in its coffin when BRINK failed to do the same thing.
Yeah, that's true, that there are a lot of games with a similar feel to Fuse. Still doesn't bother me too much. Whether it'll be a classic of the genre (in the long run) or not, as an action junkie I'm still dying to dig in. *Fingers crossed*