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Silver Lining: Inversion and the fear of the great beyond
'Silver Lining' is a column from freelancer Taylor Cocke dedicated to highlighting moments of real potential in less than perfect games. This week he examines Saber Interactive's Inversion. The following may contain story spoilers. Inversion's opening sequence is rather affecting. Protagonist Davis Russel is tied to a pole as a monstrous Lutadore priest babbles on in a difficult to understand tone, preparing to sacrifice the former police officer. In his ostensibly final moments, he begins to remember how he got into the spot he's in. He's lost his family, his city, and soon, his life. It feels like a man reading his own suicide note – he's given up hope and is ready to die.It certainly sets a tone for the rest of the game, which is mostly told as a flashback. Humanity has lost the war against the invading aliens. The people of Vanguard City have been broken down by the relentless invasion of the monstrous Lutadores. And, if the opening sequence establishes anything, it was a war that they were destined to lose. Davis is on a game-long search for his daughter, and the possibility of saving her seems to be the only thing keeping him going.%Gallery-130923%
Inversion review: Gears of Snore
As a kid, there were only two things I truly loved: playing with a motley assembly of action figures, and reading Ender's Game. Inversion, somewhat implausibly, manages to combine Past Me's favorite pastimes. Its topsy-turvy, gravity-switching third-person shooting hearkens back to the portion of Ender's Game most ripe for a game spin-off: the Battle Room. In Inversion's best moments, the player and enemies alike float and dodge through the air, without a care in the world until a hail of bullets interrupts their physics-defying backstroke.The rest of Inversion, though, feels like it was slapped together with all the focus of a child weaving nonsensical yarns in a sandbox. Interesting abilities get the cold shoulder in favor of an obnoxiously intrusive plot that unfolds without the slightest shred of adherence to logic or reason. Modern-day cops take on hulking, Mad-Max-wannabe tribal men because ... hell if I know.It seems like the kind of story that would have emerged if Child Me ran out of police-themed figures and decided to break out WWE wrestlers to even the odds. And so, instead of taking its gravity mechanics to new heights, Inversion largely opts to make pew-pew explosion sounds with its mouth – resulting in a haphazard, hackneyed Gears of War clone that feels like it's made of pathetic, flimsy plastic.%Gallery-130923%
Inversion multiplayer trailer defies gravity
Namco Bandai's Inversion has a new trailer that details the game's hourglass, gravity slaughter, and other multiplayer modes. Inversion is set to launch next week in North America, and was recently delayed to July in Europe.
Inversion delayed to July in Europe, still on track in US
The European launch of Inversion has been delayed to sometime in July, reports Eurogamer. The reason for the delay was not disclosed. When reached for comment, a Namco Bandai representative informed Joystiq that the title is still slated for a June 5 launch in North America. Whatever the reason, it looks like Europe, at least, will have to wait just a bit longer to shoot baddies while walking on the ceiling.This marks the second delay for Inversion, which saw its original February release date pushed back earlier this year.
Inversion flipping out in North America on June 5, June 8 in Europe
Perhaps we should send out Joystiq-themed calendars to game publishers with clear explanations of when seasons begin and end, and maybe a note with the definition of "early" and "late." Despite Namco telling us back in late January that Inversion would arrive in "early 2012" (it was the 24th, so it was actually late in the month), it looks like the game isn't arriving until early June (as in "the fifth and the eighth for North America and Europe, respectively, which isn't even remotely in "early 2012").Namco said the extra time in the oven will give Saber Interactive "the opportunity to create an enjoyable and engaging third-person shooter experience with a comprehensive multiplayer component." We had just assumed that the graphics needed tightening on level three or something, but then that's why we're not game devs, eh?
Inversion delayed until 'early 2012'
Gunning gravity-shifter Inversion has shifted its official release window to "early 2012." Publisher Namco Bandai informed us of the change after we asked it about retailers changing the launch date to March 27."The launch of Inversion has been moved to early 2012, and more details will follow in an upcoming announcement," a Namco Bandai spokesperson told Joystiq. "This additional development time will allow the team to polish several key aspects of the game ensuring Inversion is of the highest quality."For those who had their hearts set on a game for Inversion's original release date of February 7, there's always the "enemy-pounding funfest" of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.%Gallery-130923%
Retailers: Inversion delayed until March
Inversion has had an official launch date of February 7, 2012, for over a year now, but retail listings are shifting to note otherwise. Both GameFly, which lists launch info based on publisher data, and GameStop now present a release date of March 27.Originally announced back in 2009, Inversion was supposed to hit shelves sometime in 2010, back when Namco was still trying out new IP. We've contacted Namco Bandai for official confirmation of the delay.%Gallery-130923%
Inversion gameplay trailer flips dudes all over the place
Inception called and it totally wants its BWAAAAAHM back.
Inversion multiplayer preview: Grab a Gravlink and go
Sometimes an otherwise-uninteresting looking game has a few tricks up its sleeve. Just about all of Inversion smacks of mediocrity -- its generic storyline (aliens invade Earth!), derivative gameplay (maybe you've played Gears of War?) and unoriginal multiplayer modes (two different kinds of deathmatch!) are all a big turn-off at first glance. But Inversion has one thing going for it: the Gravlink. It's a device that enables the core mechanic of the game, gravity manipulation. By firing off a red or blue beam, you can increase or decrease the gravity of an area or object. It's one-time use, however you can pick up little energy boosters around the environment that allow you to use it more than once. When I became comfortable with the Gravlink, I found myself having some fun with Inversion. %Gallery-133111%
Inversion's gravity gameplay explained in trailer
Inversion's grav link allows you to inflict low gravity around enemies, lifting those meatsacks for easy targeting, and then high gravity to smush 'em with environmental objects. But the real stomach drop happens with the perspective-altering "vector shifts." Wait at least 30 minutes after eating before play.%Gallery-130923%
Namco Bandai media roundup: Trailers from Tekken, Tales, Ace Combat, and more
Namco Bandai went just a little crazy at GamesCom, releasing entirely too much media for us to post piecemeal. So after the break, you can find new trailers and screens for two Ace Combats (on PS3/Xbox and 3DS), two Tekkens (on PS3 and 3DS), Tales of the Abyss, Inversion, and more. Armored Core 5 alone has earned a "blowout" appelation, with no fewer than three videos and a gallery. How much do you love mechs? Find out right now!
Inversion trailer shows off buddy co-op
My buddy. My buddy. Wherever I go, he goes. I'll teach him to flip gravity like I know. My buddy and me like to climb up a tree. My buddy and me, we're the best friends we could be. My buddy and meee!
Inversion preview: New perspectives on an old game
The gimmick in Saber Interactive's Inversion -- combat across multiple planes -- isn't quite enough to carry the lackluster shooting. Like Dark Void, Fracture, and Timeshift before it, Inversion relies heavily on its unique twist to set it apart from other shooters, while leaving the central mechanic unpolished. As the perspective flipped repeatedly throughout the demo, I was distracted how similar the game's set of flimsy guns felt. Sure, baddies stick to walls in completely separate gravity planes (turning firefights into more than just what's directly in front of you), but shouldn't shooting at them be more fun?%Gallery-126047%
Students build self-balancing TIPI robot, plan new world order (video)
Remember this guy, the QB robot that was priced at a whopping 15 grand? Seemingly, the webcam wheeler inspired a team of young minds at the University of Waterloo, who've unleashed the DIY in themselves to build one of their own. TIPI, or Telepresence Interface by Pendulum Inversion, was designed to give humans the feeling that they're not actually talking to a six-foot tall cyclops cyborg with an LCD face and webcam eye, but rather, evoke the emotions drawn when speaking the old, conventional, face-to-face way. Thanks to this team of mechatronics engineers, the low-cost TIPI uses an accelerometer, gyro and pendulum to balance by itself and can be remotely controlled while communicating via its Beagle Board and Polulu Orangutan SVP brain. Head past the break to see the robot struttin' its stuff -- oh, and get ready to rave. You'll see what we mean.
Inversion preview: War of gravity
In late 2009, Namco Bandai announced a gravity-manipulation FPS from TimeShift developer Saber Interactive. It was to be called Inversion, and it went completely MIA following the announcement. So imagine my surprise when the publisher premiered the first footage of the game this week at its Ignite 2011 event, and then topped that with a hands-on demo. Inversion's premise remains unchanged all these mysterious months later (even if you don't remember it -- I sure didn't): Ex-cop Davis Russel fights an invading army of aliens -- the "Lutadores" -- with an awesome, gravity-altering gizmo called the Gravlink. In its most powerful state, this device allows players to manipulate objects and enemies as if they were in zero-gravity space: Shoot a car with the Gravlink and it'll float up into the air, at which point the player can lasso the vehicle (still using the Gravlink) and employ it as mobile cover, or simply toss it as an offensive projectile. The shortcoming of the short demo I played, though, is that it didn't feature access to the full capabilities of the Gravlink, as I'd seen in the pre-demo footage. In the demo, I was only able to toy with smaller objects, like traffic cones and random boxes. Without full access to the Gravlink, the game mostly plays like a straight-up cover-based shooter -- a competent albeit uninspired experience that's highly reminiscent of Gears of War. %Gallery-115714%
Inversion flips out on February 7, 2012
Saber Interactive's sci-fi shooter, Inversion, was announced back in 2009 and was scheduled to arrive in late 2010 -- and it's still in development. Publisher Namco Bandai has announced today that the game is currently pegged for a February 7, 2012 launch on Xbox 360 and PS3. Inversion allows you to create isolated zero-gravity fields, forcing objects caught inside to defy nature's laws and provide some cover against enemy fire. You can read our preview of the game later today -- in the meantime, you can check out a new teaser trailer just above below the break. %Gallery-115714%
Namco Bandai introduces gravity-flipping shooter Inversion
click to fall up into our galleryNamco Bandai and TimeShift developer Saber Interactive hope you'll flip for their new shooter Inversion. Because it literally features the ability to reverse gravity.The third-person shooter takes place during an invasion by the alien luchadores Lutadore, which happens to coincide with the appearance of random "bubbles" of anti-gravity or gravitational vector change (just go with it). That means that at various times throughout the game, you'll enter an area and start floating, or be flipped over as the ceiling suddenly becomes the floor.The player, as cop Davis Russel or, uh, cop's neighbor Leo Delgado, is armed with a Grappler weapon that allows the manipulation of gravity to move giant objects around. This permits the player to move enemies' cover or make their own out of items in the environment. Or to just throw stuff.Inversion will ship sometime in 2010 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.%Gallery-75993%
