I've always said there weren't enough western-inspired shooters out there, which made me happy to see a six shooter-wielding cowboy over at the Codemaster's booth. Damnation’s plot follows a character living during the American Civil war after it has spanned several decades longer than history tells us it did. An ambitions corporation has come to the country, seeing it torn apart by its own war, and decided to take out both armies to gain control the country in one fell swoop. Weapons are reminiscent of those used in the country during the turn of the century with slightly steampunk twists.

The level I played highlighted the combat and acrobatics, both of which functioned very intuitively. Using the different weapons felt very natural and not unlike most other shooters on the console, and the climbing and jumping mechanics felt very tight. Being able to get to the top of a building and slide down a zipline was easy, and shooting at enemies while doing so just as fun as you would imagine. The developer explained to me that the game’s environments are to be massive, with several different paths to take that will change how any encounter turns out.



The full version of the game will feature cooperative play, both online and off, and plenty of deathmatch modes to fulfill your every fantasy. It’s fun, and the only real problem I had with the game was the graphics, which seemed incredibly blurry and muddy. It didn’t hurt the game much and it sort-of set the mood for the dark adventure, but I would have liked for the game to be a little cleaner. The developer also told me that the game features Spirit Vision, a second sight, so to speak, that allows for the protagonist to see through walls to pinpoint opponents locations. Mix this in with the open style of the game, vertical-shooter mechanics, and acrobatic movements and there really is a huge amount of customization on how you handle any situation.

Other features of the game, such as Spirit Vision, weren’t in the part of the game I played, but from the sounds of it Damnation will definitely be something worth checking out when it hits store shelves this November.

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