Wednesday 17 May 2006
Following the recent news from Project Gotham developer Bizarre Creations that the company is working on a new third-person shooter, we've just had the opportunity to see it in action for the first time. While the Bizarre boys wouldn't let us play the game ourselves - it's still at least a year away from release - they did talk us through a one-level demo.

The game, which Bizarre describes as "paintball with bullets", boasts a striking arcade-style appearance that's not that far removed from the bold aesthetic of Sega's Virtua Cop series. Players take control of a SWAT-garbed character running around a contemporary cityscape, with the aim being to take out as many enemies as possible in a given time.

While the scoring system is still being worked on, it's currently based around a pinball-style multiplier system in which you have but eight seconds to take out another foe. With the clock constantly against you, players are forced to sprint through levels at a relentlessly frantic pace.

Above: The look of the lead character has yet to be finalised but this early shot gives you a good idea of The Club's aesthetic

The overall idea is that, no matter how good you are, it's always possible to replay levels and improve your score. The intense five-minute demo - during which our man from Bizarre managed to take out 32 rivals - gave us only a brief taste of what the game will offer but already we're itching to see more.

Beyond that, little else is being revealed about the next-gen game. The only other details we could pry from Bizarre is that The Club will feature "lots" of online modes and that the development team has already started to think of ways to utilise the tilt function in the new PS3 pad. Well, sort of: "We've got some ideas but we were very drunk at the time".