So the first-person shooter, multiplayer only, downloadable game for PSN & XBL has its beta currently up and running, and my first impressions are good ones. The game borrows a heavy influence from the Call of Duty series from controller layout to customizing your classes, but adds plenty of features to keep you intrigued & entertained for hours.

The game lays its focus on the streets of Gotham while the capped crusader is taking a brake. There are two factions in this game; one representing Batman’s noble deeds, the Bats, and the other honoring the crusaders archenemy, the Joker - this group is titled the Jokerz. After playing a couple of rounds between both factions I came to realize that the game cartoonish game visuals plus its wacky humor reminded me a bit of Valve’s Team Fortress 2. The set that this game portrays is one that seems well played, and that was my first good impression.

The second was the customization of your player. Similar to Call of Duty, but twisting it to something original & fresh. It varies between choosing your main gun which goes from an assault rifle to a bazooka, and everything in between including weapon attachments like red dot sights, and camouflages from digital camo for the manly man to cheetah print for the ladies. Some features that caught my interest were the character model customization which enables you to pick the characters build that actually plays a role while you’re playing the game such as how the impact damage from dropping down on an enemy from gliding above; the bigger your player, the more pain. Aside from that the customization is massive; guns, shurikens & boomerangs, roller-blades, facial features, clothes, titles & emblems plus quotes, and much more. This overwhelmed a good portion of my time on the beta, but was well worth the time.

Last, and ever so deadly, is the gameplay. This game handles itself well even now in beta as a shooter. I’m a huge fan of FPS video games, and I’ve played them all, and this one is a fresh one amongst them. My first game I was sided with the Jokerz, and I didn’t have the option to create a class, but instead use the preset classes; which are very well balanced in terms of what shooter you claim yourself to be. Now in the beta there is only two game modes; Fumigation, a domination/conquest/territories like mode where both teams need to capture Gasblasters that will inevitable cause the losing teams doom. And the second game mode is Psych Warfare, this is very similar to capture the flag from any other game, but only with an awesome humorous twist. The objective is to take a battery to base and protect it till it unleashes a brainwashing power to the opposing team. Now the funny part is that the opposing team loses control of using guns, but can still slap the battery controlling teams players to rack up kills. Now to get back to describing my first game with the Jokerz. My first game was in a match of Fumigation on a map called Crime Alley which consist of alleys, and a main street in the middle. I picked the first preset class being an assault class with a rifle, shotgun, grenades, and a grappling gun. Once the match starting everyone flung up with their grappling guns, and went to the nearest objection. First thought of the match, “they were all just there a second ago… huh?” This game has a fast pace, and requires you to be on your toes, and keep alert. Once the objectives were captured between teams we went to war. I got killed immediate by an arrow, and I laughed at the humor of my now nemisis laughing while mentioning it was an honor to die by his hand. Once I respawned I got back into the action playing fast, and careful. Couple kills with the rifle, one with the shotgun, and a couple of melee knifes to finish the game. Now this being my first game I backed out to think for a second on how my first game went; we lost, I went negative, and I laughed, chuckled, and giggled through the whole 7 to 8 minute match. I was completely, and thoroughly impressed, and now after ranking up to rank 10 unlocking guns and features I continue to stay impressed, and entertained. This game is awesome, and it’s not a shooter for the strict, but a shooter of fun & wits.

My overall conclusion of the Gotham City Impostors Beta is me logging plenty of hours on the beta till it ends on February 6, and anticipating its full release on the Playstation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade sometime in February. I’ve been enjoying the beta on the Xbox 360, and I hope this provides to be of insight to all you gamers. Enjoy, live long, and game on!

- Roobs

“Live Long and Game” is a website for gamers; by gamers.

Some things you’ll see on this site include:

• Reviews for upcoming games.
• Monthly contests. Prizes can be, but are not limited to: gift cards(Best Buy, Walmart, Gamestop, etc.), gaming accessories, or a free game of your choice from our vault.
• Podcasts & videos about various topics
• “Readers Choice” post, where the readers (you) get to decide what you read next. i.e: post dedicated to MMOs, FPS, RPG, anything. It’s up to you!
• Each month we’ll choose a reader-submitted Fan Art piece from their favorite video game. Each winner will receive a prize.

As dedicated Gamers, we want to give the gaming community a place to go to learn about new games and hear about how their most anticipated games are doing. We also wanted to give people a chance to win prizes with monthly contests. Each contest will be different. We’ll have art contests, game knowledge contests, best headshot video, funniest death video, speed run contests, and more! The contests vary each month so everyone will get a chance to participate.

So stick around, and live long, and game on!