A few months back, High Voltage announced that the previously Wii-exclusive The Grinder would be heading to the Xbox 360. For those who don't know, it was a first-person shooter attempting to take some of the concepts popularized in Left 4 Dead and apply them to a more fantasy-horror style. Because of the focus on cooperative gameplay, the Xbox 360 made sense for a port, and I was excited to see the HD version after seeing the game at E3 last year. Now, it has been announced that the Xbox 360 version would be dramatically different, and that the Wii version may, too, follow in suit, and devolve from a first-person shooter to a top-down shooter.

Yeah.

They say that they're doing it due to the overpopulation of FPS on the system, which, while not entirely untrue, is a bad reason. A very bad reason. There are a lot of FPS out there because people like them, and they sell. IGN has some images of the new version of the game and they look pretty fun - the style is pretty cool. Even so, there's no reason to gut a wholly unique looking game in favor of a Gauntlet rip-off. Now, it looks like an XBLA game, which is less than it deserves. Apparently, the same fate might befall the Wii version as well, though the game's fate isn't decided. When we meet the developer at PAX East at the end of the month we'll be sure to beg them not to, and threaten them with bodily harm should they choose to.

We'll keep you posted.