Damnation has slipped quietly out of Codemasters door and is now available to buy for both Xbox 360 and PS3, but what’s it all about and why haven’t we heard about it much when compared to other games being released at this time?

 

So why has this game had a quiet release? Well because quite frankly it’s awful. Everything about this game is unfortunately mediocre, whether it is the stuttering framerate, the lacklustre story, the less than impressive presentation or the quite appalling targeting system.

 

The story behind the game sees you play as Hamilton Rourke as you lead a group of rebels against the PSI, who are a military force hell bent on restoring order no matter who or what is in the way. The game can be played both as a single player campaign or using split screen co-op, meaning that you always have someone next to you in battle whether they are controlled by the computer or a human.

 

 

Straight from the beginning it is hard not to spot the games quite obvious flaws, for one the framerate judders constantly, especially during any moments when you are in battle against the opposition, however that’s just a minor annoyance compared to the action itself. The combat is perhaps the most frustrating thing you will ever experience in gaming, to aim you use the shoulder button and to fire you use the trigger, you can also zoom by clicking the right thumbstick, however aiming is a big problem due to your weapons site having a mind of it’s own. Constantly throughout the action I was becoming repeatedly frustrated as I tried to aim at the enemy and the controls did not respond, therefore by the time I did manage to actually hit the enemy my character was already riddled with bullets.

 

The cover system is no better than the combat unfortunately, you can take cover behind rocks and ruins, however you cannot really fire over them, therefore you will need to come out of cover fire and then duck again, which is not only disappointing but very frustrating as it’s hard enough to hit the enemy anyway.

Outside of the combat the game goes from bad to worse, for example at the beginning of the game you are alongside a character named Professor (Charles) Winslow, now with all of the bullets flying around there are a few occasions where he catches a few and you have to help revive him, however since there is no map or any indicators of where he is on the screen you are constantly scouring the level looking for him. To be honest I got fed up looking for him so I carried on and wouldn’t you know he turns up right as rain ready to show me where to go. Oh Dear. The same type of problem arises later on too with the motorbikes as your partner teleports into the passenger seat should you drive off without him. Yes it really is that bad.

 

When not in combat, Damnation will have you running through environments, hanging from ledges and climbing buildings, This is probably the most positive part of the game as it works fairly well and it is quite obvious where you need to go next. Sometimes you will need to leap at walls and spring off them again in order to reach a higher ledge and you will also need to take sprints to reach far away jumps. The game also allows you to fire your weapon while hanging from ledges, if you can bear to try and fire at anyone with that quite awful crosshair that is.

 

 

Unfortunately the multiplayer game is not much better than the single player campaign, even though you can play online co-op and versus modes the same problems still exist, and anyway by the looks of things everyone has figured out how bad this game is already and therefore chances are you will not be able to find anyone online.

 

As I’ve mentioned, the graphics in this game are very poor, not only does the framerate disappoint but the character look awful and the environments are very ordinary. The sound is not much better either, the voice acting is below average and is almost comical to listen to.

 

Damnation is unfortunately an awful example of a next generation game, in fact it is an awful example of a last generation game. Avoid this at all costs, well unless you have more money than sense that is.