The Club Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Last year's bumper crop of shooters, such as "BioShock", "Halo 3" and "Call of Duty 4", were notable for coupling bone-jarring realism with finely crafted epic stories. "The Club" promises something a little different.

There's no saving humanity, no detailed world to explore, no need to bone up on military strategy or tactics. Instead, "The Club" boils down simply to this: how many people can you shoot, and how fast can you do it?

Sure, the game is thinly wrapped in a pulpy "Running Man"-style story casting you as one of eight characters, such as an extreme-sports thrill-seeker or a burly Russian hunter, drawn into an underground blood sport for the amusement of rich fans.

That's an excuse, if one was needed, for blasting your way through a variety of mostly industrial settings or fending off waves of attackers as you try to stay alive for a set period of time.

The twist in "The Club" is that you rack up points for each kill, and by stringing kills close together, you earn bonuses that multiply your points. Extra points are awarded for stylish moves like head shots, or breaking through a door and taking out opponents on the other side.

The graphics are decent but not spectacular given where we are in the Xbox 360's lifespan. Sound production is bordering on great, with the various weapons producing a variety of satisfyingly realistic blasts.

The best design element of the game is perhaps the control scheme, which is intuitive and simple, and is notable for the wonderful inclusion of a "quick spin" button that whirls you around 180 degrees in an instant. That's a useful trick when you are beset by foes on all sides, and hopefully will be something that makes its way into other games.

There are eight levels, eight characters with different attributes to choose from, a nice array of weapons, and good variety of game modes. I am guessing it will take an average player an hour to finish each level, though experienced players can probably whip through them in half that.

That's okay, though, because there's plenty of replay value as you'll want to rerun a level to see if you can beat your last score, or that of your buddy's. A "gunplay" mode lets you design your own challenges and play through them with friends. An online competitive mode should also provide extra play value, though I haven't tried that out yet.

The game was developed by UK-based Bizarre Creations, which lifted the core game element from its well-regarded "Project Gotham Racing" driving series that rewards stylish moves like power slides, drafting and catching air. Criterion Games did something similar with 2005's "Black", which wallowed in gun-enabled destruction the same way its popular "Burnout" racing series did with spectacular car crashes.

"Black" didn't revolutionize the genre but got generally positive reviews, a precedent that looks to be repeated for "The Club". It may not be in the same league as recent acclaimed shooters, but the fast-paced action and wide selection of solo and multiplayer challenges makes up for the shallow story.

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Product Description:
The Club, created by critically acclaimed developer Bizarre Creations, is a new breed of third-person shooter, combining fast-paced run and gun gameplay, destructive environments, and lethal weapons. You will fight to survive in a shadowy underground blood-sport controlled by a faceless, obscenely wealthy and influential elite who place their bets on who will survive as the blood-bath ensues before them. Take control of up to eight uniquely trained killers motivated by greed, driven by pure insane bloodlust, and hell bent on earning respect on a global level.

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