Gotham City Impostors Reviews

From the very first cutscene, Gotham City Imposters immediately separates itself from plethora of rather mundane shooters which have flooded the market over the past decade. With Batman gone, the Batz and Jokerz have started an all of war for Gotham City, so grab a gun, choose a side, and let’s go kick some @$$.

The Basics: Aside from a short tutorial and a limited challenge mode, Gotham Imposters is strictly multiplayer only. The three gamemodes include straight up TDM in addition to Fumigation (best described as Domination or Conquest), and Psych Warfare (Sabotage/Assault). Neither of these objective gametypes revolutionize the FPS genre, but the unique twists presented through both the toxic gas spewing domination points, and the struggle over a battery to power a propaganda machine serve as humorous means to distinguish the experience from your standard shooter's offering.

Gameplay: Whereas other shooters argue over such trivial concerns as “realism”, the comically absurd style of Gotham City troubles itself not with such matters as “believability” or “common sense”, instead opting to assemble an arsenal out of homemade weaponry so wacky, it would bring MacGyver to tears. Players can choose from such exciting weapons as bottle rocket launchers, boomerangs, katanas, energy drinks, glider rigs, electrical gnomes, magic conch shells, even a freakin bear HUMAN trap. Every class comes equip with any two weapons, a gadget, a support item, two fun facts (perks), a rampage (pointstreak), and an exp. modifying psychological profile (Ex: the bipolar psyche gains addition exp. when the team is winning, but suffers an exp. penalty while losing). This is in addition to choosing one of five body types, a unique calling card (Title/Emblem/Catchphrase), and then there's even an in depth costume editor.

The customization in Gotham City is wonderfully addictive. The true beauty is that nothing is ever routine. Every single gadget and support item is so unique that while Gotham Imposters cannot boast a large number of options in any category (14 weapons, around 10 weapon mods in total, and only 7 gadgets) changing even a single weapon or gadget is virtually guaranteed to dramatically alter your play style. Brilliantly, this extreme diversity between customization options keeps individual games from going stale. Every match will pit you against new enemies, with wildly varied stratagies, and will demand quick out of the box thinking to determine the best counter strategy. My advice thus, is to experiment, Gotham Imposters is an entirely new experience for most FPS players and falling into a routine becomes quite tiresome. The heart of soul of the game, is creativity. So even if the scoreboard doesn't reflect it, the true winner in Gotham Imposters is the gentleman with the most entertaining means of painting the room crimson red.

Graphics/Sound design: As expected from an Arcade Game, Gotham Imposters can’t boast cutting edge graphics or a big budget score, but its wacky style and humorous dialogue mask almost all complaints I can think of. Certainly the maps lack polish, but the bright vibrate comic book architecture and low resolution scenery fit perfectly well into the DC universe. Then there's noticeable lack of an epically orchestrated score in a Batman game, which is quite forgivable when your character is crass enough to unheroically proclaim “Kinda tickles my balls” while standing over an air vent. So in the end my only real gripe with the design is the character animations, which are rarely fluid, and occasionally twitchy, particularly when sprinting and knifing. Still for an arcade game, this does not warrant objections.

Achievements: (No bearing on final score) For achievement whores out there, Gotham Imposters will offer an impressive TA score, given the time consuming achievements. 3 will pop straight away for completing a match, customizing a class, and beating the tutorial. But the remaining nine achievements include becoming a nemesis 50 times, completing all challenges for a single weapon (min. 1000 kills) and gadget (min. 500 uses), winning each gametype on each map at least once, earning a 10-kill streak, earning two thirds of all the gold medals in challenge mode, two gametype specific achievements (one VERY time-consuming), and even one for reaching lv. 100 and being promoted (prestiging). In sum expect to play at least 30 hours to earn all 200 GS, but expect at least 600 TA score to boast for it.

Final thoughts: Gotham City Imposters stands as an unexpected instant classic. Learning from the mistakes of most triple-A shooters on the market, Imposters keeps things surprising fresh by swapping menial customization options with surprisingly addictive gadgets, unique support items, and unconventional humor. Crass, unapologetic, completely absurd, Gotham Imposters embraces these aspects of itself and proves to be one Hell of a ride for it. And so, as long as the multiplayer base keeps going strong I can safely say Gotham City Imposters will remain one of the best Arcade games available. Five out of five stars.

Breakdown:
Gameplay: 5/5
Map design: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5
Sound Design: 5/5
Fun Factor: Extremely High
Overall: 5/5



*Additional Notes:

*Monolith Productions has released a title update to address many of the fans complaints about matchmaking. This TU is FREE and includes:
- A new map taking place on the 25th floor of "Gotham Times"
-Drop in/Drop out matchmaking
-Improved matchmaking speeds
-A mute feature
-New weapons, gadgets, fun facts, and several costumes.

*A second set of FREE DLC includes:
-Another new map set in the dilapitated urban setting of "The East End"
-A new gametype "Bounty Hunter" where players must confirm their kills by picking up damage boosting bounties dropped by dead enemies to score.
-An added option to change which language your characters will scream obscenties and kill phrases in.

*A third piece of FREE dlc which is now available will:
-Finally send all the Batz and Jokerz where they belong, on a new map set in Arkham Asylum.

*Gotham City's first PAID DLC "The Pirate Rodeo Pack" includes:
-A new weapon, gadget, and fun fact as well as many new costumes.
-New voice-overs options for both Batz and Jokerz.
-And a new weapon camo; hope you like pizza.

*GCI's second PAID DLC "The Steamy Punk Pack" includes:
-A new "anti-camping" weapon, fun fact, and support item (a frickin jetpack!! For those of you wondering)
-New voices-overs and costume options for both the Batz and Jokerz
-A new mascot who will hover over your shoulder while you fight.
-And a new weapon camo; who doesn't love Dinosaurs.

*Many players have reported unacceptable matchmaking issues, including frequent drops and excessive lagging, which have still yet to be addressed in the aforementioned Title Update. For more information, read the comments below.

*To much fan controversy, Monolith Productions offered over $200 of dlc on day 1. This “DLC” allows players to unlock costumes earlier then they should, by paying with Microsoft Points. Now this is purely cosmetic, but to the gripe of many fans as costumes were supposed to be a means of showing off dedication and hard work. Even more damning is the fact that players may also PAY for hour long sessions of double experience at a rate of 40 MSP/hour in-game. Naturally angering fans who put twice as much effort in, merely to match players rich or stupid enough to pay for such a thing.

Have you ever played Team Fortress and thought "you know what would make this awesome, Batman!". Well sir/madam you are in luck, enter Gotham City Impostors. A highly customizable fps game with frantic action, hillarious one liners and a pleasing graphical style.

At its base GCI is a simple 6v6 fps, game modes are Team Death Match, Fumigation (domination) and Phychic Warfare (sabatage). TDM is your straight forward kills count for 1 point first team to 50 wins, while Fumigation has you take upto 3 gas blasters (dom points) will while controlling will increase your percentage. With both teams starting at 50, and the game ending when one team is at 100 and the other at 0. Phychic Warfare requires you to grab a battery at the start of the match and take it to the enimies home base, once there. You plug it into a speaker and if not unplugged nets you a point. This mode from what little I have played is time based and you switch sides mid game, team with the most points at the end wins.

Gotham really shines in its extensive customization, you can change what your character wears, body build, face and voice. Similar to call of duty black ops player card you have a calling card with a background, emblem and catch phrase all unlocked via in game feats.

Gothams fast-paced game play is a fun addictive time killer and for the modest price of 1200 msp gives you a great little arcade fps. Currently there are 5 levels (a free one to be added in the first dlc which is free) and more weapons and customizing options than I dare try to recall off the top of my head.

This is a game that all fps fans should give a try (there's a 1 hour playable demo that's basically the full game on a time limit) and all batman fans should seriously consider.
Note - all of the dlc is costume items that are unlocked by playing the game and have no effect on gameplay

COD and Team Fortress 2 are probably the most popular games since 2007. COD is well known for its over the top cinematics and its world renowned multiplayer. Team Fortress 2 is also popular because it has great sense of humour and chaotic servers. If you like any of those two games then you will absolutely love this parody/clone. When I mean parody/clone, I mean that this arcade game plays just like COD and Team Fortress 2. To put it in an even simpler term you could say that this is COD and Team Fortress 2 combined with a Batman twist.



Just so you know Gotham City Imposters is not developed by Rocksteady who are the masterminds of creating Batman Arkham City. This game is actually developed by Monolith Productions who are the creators of Condemned: Criminal Origins. This might get your hopes down because Rocksteady is an epic developer but Monolith's attempt at creating a batman game is pretty epic.

Gotham City Imposters is an arcade game that allows you to play online. There is no single player but there are challenges to kill time. As a first impression this game doesn't really look like much because of its bland visuals and horrible matchmaking. However once you have played this game for an hour or two you might just change your tune. Personally I didn't like it much at first but then I got past rank 6 and thought that this game offers quite a bit of replay value and enjoyment. It is a great combination of COD, TF2 and Batman.



So far I have been playing this game for endless hours simply because there is a lot of content. There is just so much to do. There are 5 game modes. Team Deathmatch, Fugimation, Psych Warfare, Bounty Hunter and challenges. There is also a mode called initiation which is just basically a helpful tutorial. Team Deathmatch is just basically killing players on the other team. Fugimation is like capture the base. In order to win you will have to capture and protect all three bases. If you do then the bases will unleash a gas throughout the entire map which will only effect the opposing team. Once that team has consumed the gas into their lungs the player will have no access to weapons and have a disorientated vision. They only have ten seconds to live before the match is over. During that time the winning team can hunt them down like deers and kill them like dogs. However the opposing team is not completely defenseless. The team can do a powerful melee attack which consists of waving their arms at you. At long range useless but at close range deadly. Best sure to stay away.



Psych Warfare is basically demolition mode from COD. Each teams objective is to plant the bomb at the opposing teams base. Unlike COD the match is not over when the bomb is detonated. What happens instead again a toxic gas will flood the map which will turn the enemy team into wavy armed maniacs. once the gas stops the bomb will reset back to its destination and you will have to repeat the whole process again. Bounty Hunter is basically Team Deathmatch but this time in order to score points you will have to collect the coins that the enemy drops when they are dead. Challenge mode is a good way to kill time. In this mode you will have to reach the goal whilst using a specific gadget. This mode will score you a small amount of EXP but hopefully you will be able to be more familiar with a certain gadget.

All of those Game modes are great fun with their unique twists but these game modes are foiled by horrible matchmaking. Usually you will have a hard time searching for a server even though there are still many people playing. If you do however find a server then you are pretty much in the clear but sometimes the servers crash and all of your rewarded EXP for that match that you almost completed will be forfeit (cancelled).

Aside from the action stuff you can customize your loadout and characters. In the loadout section you can unlock guns, attachments, Paintjobs, Character Body types, Gadgets, and Perks. There is a lot of unlocking to do with a decent amount guns, great whacky gadgets and cool attachments. On the customization side of things you can change your character's appearance. There are a ton of costumes and you can even personalize your character's voice. There are tons of cool voices with great personalities like the Cass voice which consists of a loud mouth mobster which yells out insulting comments with a ton of bleeped out words. For %$&! sake. In fact I like the voices so much that I have started to do voice impersonations of them. I can do the hero voice very well but it was quite easy.



What I really enjoy about this game is its great sense of humor. The dialogue is hilarious and the sound effects are cheesy in a funny way but what really makes me laugh are the hand drawn tutorials. While helpful they are also entertaining to watch because they are hilarious. There was even a time that I just logged on just to watch all the tutorials. It's a crazy reason for just loading the game but I'm not exactly your average Joe. Onto summary!

Summary:
+ COD, TF2 and Batman combined.
+ Great sense of humor.
+ Lots of content with a lot of depth.
- Horrible matchmaking.
- Bounty Hunter is tacky.
- Server crash at the end of the match.

Overall for an arcade game this is quite epic. You can easily spend hours playing the game and still find plenty to do. By the way you don't actually need to buy this game on Xbox because this game is free on Steam where there is even more content.

While the draw of a game of batman vs. joker imitators may be interesting at first it is at its core a first person shooter with added stuff. Just like any other first person shooter, unless you are really good, you will most likely end up on the losing side at the end of the round no matter the game type.
The gadgets do add something unique to game. Although few of them actually seem useful in battle.
There is a nice degree to both your weapons and the character you play as. This also one of its downfalls. Particularly with the character part as many of the most unique parts of costumes are hidden behind pay walls. Although customization of characters is purely cosmetic, it makes customizing your character the way you want frustrating. You end up having to play a lot of matches to buy what you want, paying real money to get in game currency, or paying real money to get very unique costume parts which can not be unlocked any other way.
Some achievements can very tedious to get or impossible depending on your skill. The promotion achievement requires you to get to level 100 which will take a long time no matter your skill level. The kill crazy achievement which requires you get a 10 kill streak can be very hard to obtain if you are stuck with players who are used to playing shooters.