Previews

In Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron players sit in the cockpit of an Allied fighter pilot stationed in the Pacific during Dubya Dubya Two – flying missions against the Japanese Navy. Formerly under the name War Wings: Hellcats and the first game to be published solely by the hardware developer, Madcatz,  the dogfighting game aims to grab the attention of aviation fans with authentic World War Two locations and vehicles while providing an experience that is full of action and easy to pick up...

There are times when a game’s influences are buried well beneath its own style and fresh ideas leaving only the internet’s finest forum detectives to stroke their cyber-chins and ponder what rival discs were spinning away in the dev’s debug kits during development.

Maybe Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler and Steve Buscemi had a point. The Lone Rangers might have been a terrible name for a band, but at least the three airheads realised that you’re guaranteed a longer lifespan as a unit. So while Captain Rouke apes the quintessential Eastwood-loner, he’s going to be a few bullet holes short of a brain if he decides to go it alone.

To fully understand what Damnation is about, you have to forget about Gears of War 2. Forget that they’re both third-person shooters. Forget that they both use the same satisfying over-the-shoulder aiming method. Forget that both have the same darkened ‘ruined beauty’ visual style that is the Unreal Engine’s trademark.

For those who can’t seem to make up their mind between buying a new shooter or a platformer, now you can have both in Blue Omega’s upcoming release, Damnation. The game takes place in an alternate future, as though the American Civil War has dragged on well into the 22nd century. You play as Captain Hamilton Rourke, who leads a guerrilla resistance force called the Peacekeepers. We were able to get our hands on some gameplay at last week’s Codemasters Gamers’ Day 2009, but with the release date only a month away, we could only hope that the final build will show some improvements.

Watch Harmonix's Kinect game win over the hardcore and rhythmically challenged. Oh, this is could get sexy....