inVersion

Turn the world upside down

inVersion (IGN Review)

inVersion (IGN Review)

Inversion is a third-person shooter with a difference, or at least that’s what it would like you to think. The difference being that on the streets of Vanguard City the normal laws of gravity no longer apply. Down is up, and occasionally it’s left or even right. While this undoubtedly has the potential for exciting gameplay – think of the rotating hallway scene from Inception, for instance – it’s a conceit that is never fully explored. And so it remains little more than a flimsy gimmick, one hopelessly incapable of hiding the fact that Inversion is a middling third-person shooter.


You play as Davis Russel, a young police officer, whose daughter is kidnapped following a bloody invasion led by a race of thuggish aliens known as the Lutadore. You must find her with the help of Leo Delgado, your partner on the force. But the arrival of these intergalactic savages coincides with a series of strange phenomena witnessed across the city. In isolated pockets, the laws of gravity no longer obtain. And despite their feral appearance, the Lutadore seem able to manipulate gravitational field using advanced technology.
Inversion: Official Live Action Trailer
inVersion (Gamespot.com Review)

inVersion (Gamespot.com Review)

There's something strangely familiar about Inversion and its topsy-turvy, postapocalyptic world. It's not so much that it takes inspiration from the greats of the shooter world as that it rips them off entirely. Trying to find an original idea in this cover-based shooter is as hard as trying to find depth in its ludicrously over-the-top tale of planetary invasion, or in its painfully generic multiplayer offerings--there simply isn't any. For all the bombastic set pieces and gravity-based blood and guts it throws at you, you're left with nothing but a feeling of deja vu: you've jumped from these exploding buildings, splattered these heads with a sniper rifle, and guided this meatheaded protagonist to victory many a time before.


And yet, there's a certain sick pleasure to be had from revelling in Inversion's inherent B-movie qualities. Take the story--a mindless sci-fi romp so full of plot holes and action cliches it's laughable. It stars one Davis Russel and his partner, Leo Delgado--a pair of hotheaded city cops. They might not do things "by the book," but dammit they get the job done. Davis has a family, and it just so happens to be his daughter's birthday, and you can see where this is going a mile off. Cue an attack from a mysterious race known as the Lutadore--who suddenly gain that name halfway through the game without any explanation--the arrival of gravity-powered weapons that turn the city into rubble, and the nonchalant slaughtering of masses of Lutadore to find Davis' now-missing daughter.