2o2p Game Review | Fuse

 

 

Overstrike 9, a group of four mercenaries, sets out to stop the evil corporation Raven from obtaining an alien substance called Fuse. This team of mercenaries runs to Point A, takes cover, and shoots anything that moves; then moves to Point B, takes cover, and shoots anything that glows; then moves to Point C, takes cover, and shoots anything that moves and glows only to finish up with a boss battle at the end. Enter the next chapter, rinse and repeat until the game’s final boss battle... and so it goes the way most other games are written.   

 

What makes Fuse unique is it introduces RPG elements allowing you to take control of any one of these four mercenaries on the fly and level up their skills and battlefield proficiencies. This makes the game interesting because you can explore each one of these character’s strengths and weaknesses. The only issue is that these characters and their personas never really develop enough throughout the campaign for you to really care about them.

 

 

 

Another unique game feature is each Overstrike team member, aside from their conventional weapons, carries a Xenotech weapon that is fused with, uh, Fuse, which produces crazy and deadly results on the battlefield. From a weapon that throws up a portable barrier that absorbs enemy bullets and fires them back, to a weapon that, when fired long enough, causes a singularity that sucks in and implodes nearby enemies, Xenotech-fused weapons are the way to go. Unfortunately, the Xenotech weapons and Overstrike 9’s members aren’t enough to keep you playing this game beyond the first few hours. The weapons borrow a lot of inspiration from other titles that, quite frankly, make you just want to pick up and play those titles.

 

 

 

 

As previously mentioned, this is Insomniac’s first title on the Xbox 360 platform and it borrows a lot from other titles. That said, you can’t help but compare it with the 360’s exclusive 3rd person shooter, Gears of War, and when you do Fuse really doesn’t stand a chance.

 

Unlike Gears where the action is fast-paced and frenetic, Fuse feels very sluggish and the AI is, unlike advertised, nowhere to be found. When you need them to provide cover fire or perhaps watch your flanks, they’re hiding in some corner of the map sending a text to their fellow AI’s about how their new combat boots bring out the color in their eyes or they’re adding an instagram filter to the photo of the lunch they bought at the AI cafeteria right before you fired up the game. Their saving grace? If you are downed by an enemy, they will run from across the map to pick you up.

 

As much as I wanted to like the Xenotech weapons and the fact that they are supposed to be unique, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Firing these Xenotech weapons did produce some unique effects but these effects weren’t really anything to make you go “WOW!”. The controls feel weighted, especially when aiming down the sights. One of the easiest ways to play this game is to just simply run and gun while firing from the hip. If you’ve played multiplayer on Mass Effect 3 then you’ve seen most of the “unique” Fuse weapon effects already. Want a unique weapon that will make you go “WOW!”? Get a Lancer! There is nothing more satisfying than shooting a Locust and cutting it up with a chainsaw or chainsawing your friends in multiplayer!

 

 

 

 

Although there were some unique moments in this game, there weren’t enough to warrant a second playthrough even with co-op. When you finish playing campaign or just want to take a break from it, there is an extra mode called Echelon. Echelon allows you to invite three other friends to play a survival mode similar to Horde in Gears of War.

 

One of the major strategies in Horde is to pick an area of the map that you can defend. This allows you to funnel in enemies while everyone concentrates their fire in that area. In Echelon, there really aren’t many places to hunker down because the enemies come at you from all directions. If you’ve never experienced being flanked, you will learn the meaning of being flanked in this game quickly. So quickly that you’ll wish you had video cameras installed on each butt cheek so that you can see who’s creeping up on your left and right sides.

 

 

 

Echelon provides a break from campaign but, more importantly, it provides an opportunity to bring in friends to help you survive the various waves of enemies. I brought in 2o2p writing staff members Sarcasmo Jones and CapnMikeM and here’s what Sarcasmo had to say:

 

"With the exception of the Xenotech weapons, this game doesn’t really provide anything new. The campaign is basically an Ian Fleming book, but instead of a tech-savvy secret agent it’s a group of tech-savvy secret agents trying to save the world. Echelon mode really takes what is wrong with the campaign and exacerbates it. At one point my character went down and Loki ran over to revive me. Unfortunately, the revive button and the melee button are the same button...no need for me to fill in the blanks there, you already know what happened. Another shortcoming unveiled by Echelon mode is that the commands for vault, roll, and run are all mapped to the same button: hitting A does not always produce the same result. Character movement looks weird, which is my chief complaint with almost every third person shooter. Some folks appreciate a hectic experience, and if you like game modes where you’re not exactly sure what the goal is, and you like reviving teammates, then Fuse’s Echelon mode will satisfy on every level."

 

 

A fun game but not quite worth purchasing at full retail. If you really want to play this game revisit Gears of War, Borderlands, and Mass Effect as they are but a few games that have “lent” this game some elements of inspiration. Keep playing those games until Fuse drops in price and when it does, you may want to consider picking it up.