Well, they did it, they finally did it. A game company finally took two of my favorite concepts in the world and smashed them together. Seriously? Did you have to do this?! – because you know I’m just going to become super infatuated with this game and then I’m never going to want to put it down – Oh, what game? Well Gotham City Impostors of course!  How best to describe it? Well take one half of the Batman Universe and mash it together with Team Fortress 2 like a crash-test dummy slamming into a wall at 130 mph!

“If you can’t beat them, just join in the chaos!”

That’s pretty much what this game is all about. It’s a multiplayer shooter experience that will leave you both scratching your head at its oddity, and chomping at the bit to continue the madness! Gotham City Impostors was designed by Monolith Productions and WB Games. The demo wasn’t as lush as I would have liked it to be [ no access to the character costume customization, etc. ] but what I didn’t get to discover in customization I made up for in gameplay.

Now it’s important to note one thing – I found that waiting for lobbies to fill is exhausting. You have to have at least 6 players to play a match, and as soon as you think you’ve got 6 – someone losses connection or drops out and it can screw up the start of a match. All that being said – let’s get to why you come here in the first place: Accessibility. Gotham City Impostors has a lot to offer, but unfortunately, what they offer is an experience that’s mostly catered to able-bodied gamers. Here’s the run down on features:

Pros:

• Color saturation/Brightness is decent enough that it won’t affect colorblind play.
• Players can communicate via headset with each other
• Controls, while complex, felt smooth and unique, after a few sessions.
• Menus are easy to read and understand making navigation of game easier.
• Enemy players glow orange when behind walls/buildings etc. as well as tag above.
• The Initiation Tutorial is both fun and informative.
• Boomerangs have auto-targetting, which is nice for motion impaired gamers.

“Hey guys… does this afro make me look fat?”

Cons:

• Long wait times in the Lobby queues. It took at least 5 – 10 min for enough players.
• No subtitles for deaf players. There is an Initiation Tutorial, but it’s all spoken audio.
• Precision/Motion is key – which makes game much harder for motion impaired.
• Multiple button inputs/Complex control scheme makes havoc for motion impaired.
• NO Customizable Control Scheme available [ Tons of customization, but buttons… ]
• Screen tends to flash red when you’re shot – may cause issue for colorblind gamers.
• Fast paced gameplay/control scheme lends itself mostly to two handed gamers.
• Even though content within the game is rated T for Teen – some of the content, while blurred and bleeped, is still understandable and noticeable, which could be a downside for parents with teen gamers. Just a warning – not really a con per say.

“Step right up! Step right up! First to knock Bats from his perch wins a stuffed Boy Wonder doll!”

Gotham City Impostors is exactly what you want out of a multiplayer-free-for-all shooter type of game – and while it lacks a LOT in the accessibility department I’m still going to give it a nudge and suggest folks check it out. Now keep in mind too that I only played the demo, and I also only played the PS3 version, so I’m not sure if some of these negative issues are resolved on the PC version or the 360 version or not.

All I will say is that this game looks like I would be willing to invest my hard earned coin into it just to roam around the city slaying Bats and Jokers all day long! Clever, unique quips – fun and stylized art and guns – and with DLC packs flowing into it, this game looks like it could take off. Now if only they could refine it a little bit – I’d be all over this thing like Batman chasing Catwoman!

Addition: They have a Steampunk DLC pack – if that doesn’t scream nerdy endorsement I don’t know what will!