Fuse Review

          A new co-op centered shooter about four people versus the world? There are dozens of those already on the market. A co-op shooter from Insomniac, the creators of Ratchet and Clank and the Resistance series? Now I'm interested. Aside from the fact that Insomniac's likeness is printed on the case I never would have guessed that this game was from that developer. I have to say I've quite enjoyed Insomniac's track record over the years, having thoroughly loved the Resistance series on the PS3, though I find myself oddly disappointed by their most recent take on the tried-and-true co-op shooter genre. You may ask yourself what is Fuse? Fuse is a game that was originally titled Overstrike, thrown together from every third person shooter ever made; not really but you see where I'm going with this. The game does nothing inherently new for the genre, but then it never sets out to be anything grand to begin with. Where this game shines is in its replayability, dark humor, and just plain dumb fun. This is the video game equivalent of a Michael Bay film: All shine, bright flashes, two dimensional character personalities and loads of dead bad guys. Having said all that, let's jump in shall we?

The Enforcer mechs are head-bangingly annoying.

Story

          Let's be honest here: Fuse's story is an absolute mess. Though this may seem like a negative tick, it actually works in the game's favor. This is not a very serious game, though sometimes it tries a little too hard to be. There is a whole vibe of ridiculousness to the entire premise of Fuse, with story elements so whacky that I frequently was reminded of old 80s action sci-fi films. What does not work for the game is when it tries to become gritty when dealing with the brief back stories of each of the four characters. Dalton is the stubborn mercenary with a comedically violent past, Naya is a female character with deep-rooted daddy issues, Jakob is an ex-police officer who murdered a bunch of child molesters Punisher-style, and Izzy is a sassy misanthrope who looks unnervingly similar to Lilith from the Borderlands series. Each character gets access to a unique weapon early in the game, because why wouldn't they? Dalton gets a nifty shield-gun, Naya has a black hole rifle(you heard me right), Jakob has an energy crossbow, and Izzy possesses a weapon that fires immobilizing shards of Fuse. I'll cover the weapons more in the Gameplay section. You may have noticed that I used the word Fuse as a noun, which brings us to the meaning of the title. Fuse denotes an alien energy source that is used in the game as a pseudo-space magic plot driving device. It is never really elaborated upon what Fuse actually is, nor where it came from; but these are unimportant because bad guys are evil and must die in fantastical explosions of particles and light. Evil corporation seeks to use energy source as weapon, "good" guys come in and turn the technology against them. We've all seen this story before, what many of us have not seen is an angry giant-Russian firing energy beams from his palms. Be prepared to see that latter part in the game, as it is all kinds of nonsensical and definitely worth mention. The story is just plain generic, it exists solely to transfer you from one battlezone to the next without much thought or cohesion. Play this for the thrill of explosive combat, not in the hope it turns into an unsung epic.

And you thought I was exaggerating about the giant Russian.

 Graphics

          Despite what other reviewers are saying, I must admit that I find Fuse's style to be aesthetically pleasing. Despite some harsh aliasing in the game's engine, everything is rendered with a fine attention to detail that you just don't see in a lot of mindless shooters. Character models and particle effects in particular are crisp and incredibly detailed, with most light sources projecting dynamic shadows when interacted with. Dalton's shield gun lights up the area when deployed, adding to the familiar yet exotic feel of the Fuse weapons, while the Fuse tendrils that erupt from upgraded grenades are dazzling when viewed up close. Animations are surprisingly fluid and the environments are all varied, never feeling like the game is recycling its own visuals to pad out length. One downside is the limited enemy variety in the game, as the sheer number of faceless goons you mow down starts to seem like a mass-clone genocide. I must give props to Insomniac for the interesting effects given off by each character's Fuse weapons, as I've already mentioned Dalton's weapon. Jakob's crossbow sets enemies alight and pins them to nearby surfaces, Naya's rifle tears open the fabric of reality and sucks enemies inside before sealing off like it never existed, and Izzy's gun creates spontaneous crystalline-growths that snare enemies above the ground. Overall the game is definitely no slouch when it comes to visuals.

Of course this game has jet-packs.

Gameplay

          The gameplay elements in Fuse are plentiful, though not always successful. Right off the bat we'll start with the good, then the bad. A leveling system for each character that expands upon their weapons and abilities is a good way to encourage multiple playthroughs, especially with each of the four characters. Dalton fits into the tank role, with his shield able to absorb loads of damage and even being usable as a close-range offensive weapon with an insta-kill function that sucks energy out of its ammo counter at an alarming rate. At higher levels Dalton can even deploy his shield for his comrades to hide behind and receive a damage boost if they are firing through it. Naya fits into the role of an assassin, able to cloak herself and perform easier takedown maneuvers when she closes into melee range with an unaware soldier. It should be noted that every character can perform an insta-kill execution, though it is much easier for a stealth focused role to achieve this. Jakob is primarily a sniper-oriented character, though his crossbow bolts can be charged to tag enemies, where they will receive extra damage from any source. Isabelle's role is that of a disabler and medic, having the ability to immobilize her foes with her primary weapon and heal her team with an unlockable healing grenade. I beat the game as Dalton in my first run, though I shall return to play as each of the other characters in time. As a team these individuals kick so much ass that Death is going to need some lengthy vacation time. In the game also exists a currency of solid gold bars which can be used to purchase team perks, weapon skins, and character skins. Why the developers chose solid gold bars is perplexing to me as it conjures the images of an extremely tortured group of individuals lugging around heaps of the weighty things. Why not just piles of cash? We may never know, though it does add to the game's humor and silly premise. Fuse can be a jaw-clenchingly frustrating game if you are playing solo with A.I. teammates instead of living, breathing humans. This game loves to incapacitate you, with many enemy types existing only to pin you down or grab you and force an ally over to pry them off. Several times I had to reload checkpoints as my entire team was either taken hostage or downed by a ferocious barrage of combined enemy fire. The aggressiveness of the A.I. is completely unbalanced in contrast to how idiotic your team mates can actually be. I have lost count of how many times I was in need of aid only to have a nearby ally take several agonizing seconds to register that I was crawling on the ground and gushing like a pinata filled with blood, only to run directly into the sight of four enemies dead set on turning them into chunky puddles composed of blood and my very own tears. One light in this dark area is that your allies know how to use their Fuse weapons with skill and precision, displaying an honed affinity for ranged combat while unfortunately displaying all the grace of someone who has been hit in the head with too many hammers in close range scenarios. This problem is exacerbated by several melee-focused enemy classes who seek to cause hair loss via hand removal. Another odd addition to this game is a climbing mechanic that vaguely reminds me of Assassins Creed, if the protagonist was weighted down by loads of guns and resembled a bear shimmying up a mountain. It fluctuates between being graceful and cumbersome, and it makes me question why it was even added in the first place other than to break up the shooting sections with various views of well-detailed pipes, frozen mountainsides, and sweeping vistas. There are also three types of heavy weapons you can collect from fallen mech enemies that act as mini-bosses that are recycled throughout the campaign to oblivion, these weapons are of little use because soon after you collect them you are forced to discard them before proceeding to the next area filled with enemies. I must ask yet again why were these added if they are largely useless? Sure they look cool but you can only gawk at a giant electro-flamethrower for so long before the desire to test it out overtakes you. I will point out one final gameplay element that strikes me as being completely out of place here: The stealth mechanics. Why they did not just leave the sneaking around to Naya is beyond me but nearly every new area you enter is filled with enemies who are facing the opposite direction than where you are looking. Its like they have post-its glued to their armor that says "Please don't stab me here Mr. Unseen Hero". In a game largely based on class utilization it seems detrimental to essentially cancel out the effectiveness of your stealth fighter by having even the incredibly muscular team member able to imitate the motions of a seasoned assassin. Included with the game is an Eschelons mode which features large objective-based skirmishes where a team of agents has to survive as long as they can against ever-growing waves of enemies. Sadly I did not get to test that mode yet so I cannot comment on it. Fuse contains an amalgamation of good and bad design decisions that seem to only bring out the flaws more instead of the positive aspects. Take that how you want, but Fuse is still damn fun. Brainless, but fun.

It has a nifty space level too!

Sound

          There really isn't much to say about the musical score for this game, other than its your usual generic action game fare. You won' be paying attention to the music because you'll be too focused on not having an Infiltrator sneak up on you and play point-blank target practice with your cranium. Enemies shout orders, scream in pain, call out your every action, and nothing else of interest. Witty quips between the four main characters is interesting and kept the aural experience fresh as the main story tried to make any kind of sense. I'll simply say the sound department is forgettable in Fuse, it just does not draw the attention. The Fuse weapon effects sound nice though, so I'll give it that.

How a solid beam of energy does not slice through a simple metal pipe is beyond me.

Conclusion

          I went into this game expecting to have an explosively good time, and that is exactly what I took away from the experience. I was; however, left wanting more from a game by the creators of the Resistance franchise. This game lacks variety in many areas and seems to borrow lots of gameplay mechanics from far superior titles that have come way before it. Fuse tries to be too many things without focusing on straightening up its insane story logic. It is a fast-paced shoot-em up that too often tries incorporating a new feature to keep its audience enticed, while at the same time losing some of that wicked innovation that Insomniac is known for. Sure the weapons are neat and function well, but I wanted to see more of them. I was left wondering what would happen if they had expanded the weapons' interactiveness. What if Naya could infuse Dalton's weapon with the ability to create a roving shield vortex? What if Jakob could give Isabelle's debilitating crystals the ability to erupt into damage multiplying shards? Sadly these options are never expanded, though I have a feeling that they might appear in the sequel. So that is Fuse for you: An action-packed shoot-a-thon that spreads itself out a little too thin while bringing nothing new to the shooter genre. Bring some friends to play this game, as it will be much more enjoyable not having to suffer through A.I. pathfinding issues or allies standing out in the open just begging for a face full of lead. Buy it for the co-op, not the story. Insomniac, you can do better than this. This game may be loads of fun, but it lacks the substance it needs to truly cement itself as a standout title. 6.5/10 (Xbox 360 version reviewed)