Damnation [European] (Xbox 360) (Xbox 360 Games)

This third-person shooter is a trip into hell.

Out-of-the-ordinary steampunk story and setting ; Some of the leaping-around acrobatics can be mildly amusing

Mindless combat ; Shooting-gallery enemy AI ; Annoying frame rate hitches and visual bugs ; Abysmal voice acting ; Grating weapon sound effects

PSI is taking over the Steaming Wild West and Games Xtreme swing along for the ride. Will Damnation be enough to challenge the third person shooter genre, redefining Vertical Combat or will it be just all hot air?

Damnation should have come out a few years ago; it might have made a better impact and is truly one of those titles that are average in many areas. It’s a shame really since there's a lot of potential there. Co-op makes the game a lot more fun.

While developing this title Codemasters tried to differentiate it from all of the other shooters by making the game more vertical than just about any other shooter on the market. In other shooters like Call of Duty, Gears of War or Left 4 Dead you don

Damnation? With a title that's an open invitation for cantankerous reviewers to be cruel if the game isn't up to snuff, Blue Omega Entertainment must have some major cojones. Still, I'm glad it's there: imagining up puns with the name was actually the...

Combat, which makes up the bulk of the game, feels like a shooting gallery. You spring up, fire off a few rounds and then duck down again. The technology is about as complex as a carnival game, too; in a gunfight heads jerk awkwardly back and forth,...

What Kung Lao did on his day off…

Some genre indecisiveness and more general poor direction combine to make Damnation far worse than it looks.

Steampunk games are few and far between, and Damnation also promises to be a ‘vertical shooter' with huge, open levels and lots of platforming. Does it [...]

Story ; Steampunk world ; Level design

Glitches ; AI ; Shooting

"Damnation" had a lot of promise- a good story & setting, and some nice level design. However, the tight platforming is let down by the horrible shooting and dreadful, overpowered AI. It is also missing many features from more recent games such as a...

Set in an alternate universe where the American Civil War has lasted for decades and steam-power has ousted electricity, Damnation tries admirably to be a good steampunk shooter but is hindered by below-par graphics and a near-disastrous opening level.

Riding the jet bike along canyons ; Decent enemy A.I ; Some nicely constructed levels ; Good choice of offline & online modes ; Unlock cheat codes

Dated graphics ; Tiny writing for button directions! Again ; Freezes at weird moments when loading ; The CPU sidekick only catches up with you when he feels like it

Damnation gets off to an abysmal start but does improve once Rourke starts his first mission in Arrowtree. The fierce gunplay and fun climbing abilities are enough to keep you engaged but ultimately the quality of the graphics and the script really let...

A title has never been more fitting. Damnation is the type of game that disappoints more than others. The promise of a steampunk rebellion, with vertical-centric gunplay and platforming is...

Online co-op ; Cool art style

Shooting mechanics ; Stiff animations ; Terrible glitches ; Frustrating AI

War. War is hell! And nothing portrays this better in a video game like having to replay the 30 minutes you just played through because you weren't quick enough to spot an enemy sniper 2km's away. Now this may sound bad but it's not all bad news in...

As we've seen before, taking the best bits of top titles and melding them together does not necessarily make a brilliant game. Wheelman managed it, blending elements of Grand Theft Auto and Burnout to fine effect, making for a fast and fun actioner....