PS3 Fanboy

Thick and visceral, The Club is all about head-shots and body count. Nick Davies, Bizarre Creations design manager, says "it's everything that Splinter Cell and Gears of War isn't." And boy, he isn't kidding. Wearing a bullet-proof vest, the game-play demonstration showed an on-screen character running directly towards baddies and firing multiple rounds. There is no ducking for cover here, and certainly no stealth. What sets the game apart is its implementation of a combo system where points are multiplied with head-shots, explosions and all varieties of interesting kills. In order to keep you focused on the task at hand, the combo meter begins to drain between gaps in the killing, so best to head towards large occupied rooms. In addition to the details gathered on our last look at The Club, it seems levels are broken up in pieces, allowing you to tackle these "bite-sized challenges" in any order you'd like, one at a time.

There is something strangle fun and yet, sickening about the game I can't quite put a finger on. Nevertheless, take a gander at more details of the quick preview and share with us your opinions. Is this a game that will be on your radar? Or are you sick and tired of shooters and yearn for more non-violent gaming?

Bizarre Creations and SEGA finally unveil their title, The Club, with a good bit of in-game screens (trust it, these aren't pre-rendered) and a large interview with design manager of Bizarre, Nick Davies and lead designer Matt Cavanagh. Let's see what they have to say about this third-person shooter based on skill, timing, and fun.

• The game is based on skill and performance -- not fragging enemies. Sure, hitting enemies is the idea, but you get points and multipliers based on your abilities. Sort of a throwback to things like House of the Dead, but third-person and against other players.
• The level layout varies from linear to non-linear, giving those with knowledge of the maps a smaller advantage than some other online titles.
• Enemies spawn semi-randomly -- no real "spawn points" for you to camp at and rack up the points. Enemy AI is treated with care, so don't expect a walk in the park on higher difficulties, either. They'll react differently depending on your reactions or how the battle is progressing as well as look different physically. Variation is good.
  
• Contemporary, but numerous guns will be available. However, bigger guns doesn't mean the most points -- using the right tool in the right circumstance is key.
• Single-player mode will boast about 50 levels across 8 environments with a variety of game modes. Each of the playable characters has their own story, too.

Look for this game on the PS3 and 360 before the end of the year. It seems like it'll be a fun PS3 Fanboy community game, if nothing else. Hopefully it'll be easy to organize matches.

There's no more originality in the genre. I mean, "meet me at the mall, it's goin' down"? How about my knee meets your groin? That would at least make you sing with a little bit of tone sensitivity. Anyway, rants about annoying radio station's programming aside, SEGA has finally let slip some new info about their third-person action shooter, The Club.

To quote WorthPlaying, "The Club mixes the best elements from action shooters with arcade accessibility, the pace of racing games and a story structure based on fighting games." Which, if you like any of the above genres, is a tough link to make in your mind. So, it's twitch-kill, fast-paced, and a large cast of characters fighting in a tournament of sorts for personal causes? Yep, that really about sums it up. You could call it a third-person fighting game. Which is cool enough, especially with the added features of online play and the always welcome split screen.

While not many gameplay details are explained, there's a pretty long narrative about the game itself -- backstory, story, frontstory, sidestory... just a lot of bits and pieces of the game's universe revealed. It's an interesting read and we really couldn't do a better job telling you about it, so check it out!