Crippling connection issues fall in line with amateur Batman impersonators.
One might ask just where a first-person shooter multiplayer game fits into the Batman universe. After all, the Dark Knight is aggressively against the use of firearms, and yet Gotham City Impostors focuses exclusively on Call of Duty-esque gunplay. Strangely enough, this game doesn't actually feature Batman -- or any of his ianfamous nemesis' -- but rather a bunch of "imposter" misfits dressed as the big Bat, his sidekicks and Gotham's most troubled individuals. As far removed from Rocksteady's acclaimed 'Arkham' series as you can get, Gotham City Impostors is still a surprisingly entertaining multiplayer game, heavy on cheeseball antics reminiscent of 60s-era Batman humour and style.
What Gotham City Impostors Got Right
Simple, accessible fun - If you've ever played a Call of Duty game you'll be able to fall straight into what Impostors has to offer on the gameplay front. You'll take control of either a Batman costume-clad enforcer or a Joker-like villain, although you'll have the same objective across each mode no matter what character or loadout you go with. Aiming-down-the-sights, hip-fire and sniping all form integral aspects of the gameplay, offering an essentially copy-and-pasted offering from mainstream multiplayer shooters.
Quirky presentation - While certainly not a standout on the graphical front, the Batman license certainly does give the game plenty of colour and life. The cheeseball antics of the characters, the bright colours of the environments and the outrageousness of the some of the weaponry definitely give the game a 60s-esque feel, something fans of the original Adam West Batman series might appreciate.
Informative tutorial - While much of the gameplay falls back on your typical FPS-style gunplay, Impostors offers a number of unique gameplay abilities that are thankfully explained during an optional tutorial as you start the game up. It teaches you how to use special weapons like boomerangs to aim down multiple enemies at once, how to jump off special ramps for the powerful airborne hover, and how to perform special powerful take-downs mid-air. It's not a complete necessity to undertake before you enter the action, but it's a welcomed inclusion nonetheless.
Character creation and loadouts - For a $15 game you have quite a bit here to work with when it comes to customisation and loadouts. You can dress up your character in any number of wild outfits, while also creating a loadout with your typical assault rifle complimented by a wicked boomerang and spring-shoe gadget. The customisation elements certainly compliment the game's crazy presentation, making for a well-rounded and consistent presentation.
What Gotham City Impostors Got Wrong
Limited number of maps, modes - While Impostors is certainly an enjoyable experience, the game doesn't really offer all that much outside of the basic Team Deathmatch gameplay. There are five maps in total, a number which will be increased with future DLC, and the modes included don't really compliment the environments. Team Deathmatch plays well as there is a simple objective, but the team-based objective modes are slow and somewhat tedious, making for a disjointed experience at times.
Connection issues - When Gotham City Impostors works, it is a real treat to play. Unfrotunately for PC gamers, they will find themselves spending more time in lobbies than actually playing the game. As it stands right now, the game is suffering for a series of connection issues. During our testing, it took on average, 15 minutes to get into a Team Deathmatch game, and of the 25 rounds we played, 6 of them dropped out prematurely. When trying to test other game modes such as Fumigation and Psych Mode, we were very rarely able to get a lobby to connect. This basically rendered the experience useless, and largely unplayable. We're hoping that next month's update and DLC will fix these issues.
Lag, Lag, Lag - Gotham City Impostors runs on a peer-to-peer connection service, much like most console games do. As a result, connections were largely hit and miss, with many of our rounds suffering from horrendous amounts of lag. There are no options to filter games via region, which means most of the time you'll be connecting via someone on the other side of the pond, meaning Aussie gamers are the ones who suffer.
The Final Verdict
Gotham City Impostors isn't a massive standout in the genre, but its cheeseball presentation and antics, quick fun and massive range of unlockables and levels make it a deep albeit simple FPS experience. There's no single-player, and the limited number of maps and modes certainly hurt its value, but its a decent offering for shooter fans looking for something a little different. However due to crippling connection issues, and a decent helping of client-side lag, PC gamers should enter this game with caution.
By Stephen Heller
Please Note: If the connection issues are solved with the upcoming update, the score will be adjusted accordingly.