Fuse

Before I even knew what it was about, Fuse was a game that I was so sure was going to be for me. The reason for this is that Insomniac Games was and is a studio I hold in very high regard. The thought of them making a balls to the wall meathead style action-packed shooter appealed to me greatly. While this game was a massive commercial and critical disappointment, it is a game that I do feel has a few moments of charm.

Where Are The Aliens???

The story that Fuse is telling is an over-the-top big summer blockbuster sci-fi action movie style of story. There is this evil corporation called the Raven Corporation and they are trying to get their hands on Fuse. Fuse is this alien stuff that when applied to human weapons gives them epic and awesome powers.

A team of four badasses called Overstrike 9 are out to save the day and fight off any evil terrorists, corporations, or robots that get in their way! It is pretty fun stuff, but I just find it really weird that we hear about this alien stuff called Fuse, but never see the actual aliens.

Guns!

I have to say that the guns in Fuse are awesome! Insomniac Games know how to make fun guns and this game is no different. Each of the four characters has their own kind of firepower and there is not a bad one in the bunch. My personal favorite has to be Naya’s gun which can shoot little blackholes. If you have played the Ratchet and Clank games and love how crazy the weapons were there, you will love this!

Team Work Makes The Dream Work

Fuse is one of those games that I so, so wanted to like. This is a four-player game with each player taking control of a different member of the team. You need to work together to take down hordes of enemies. When playing with friends and you guys are all communicating and having a few laughs, the game is great. It works well enough and there is fun to be had here. It is pretty basic stuff, but it works.

The problem is if you do not have people to play this with and let’s face it the servers are long dead. Playing this game is an exercise in frustration. The AI of your teammates is just terrible. The guy with the shield that is there to protect the team is more likely to run away and try and be a sniper. They get stuck running into walls and if you fall in battle, you can forget them coming to save you. I have tried playing this in single-player and it is no fun at all.

Hey There Slick!

I have to say that the presentation of Fuse is great. It features a fantastic voice cast including the likes of Jennifer Hale and Khary Payton and there is actually not a bad performance in this game. The dialogue may not be great, but at least the actors delivering it are doing a good job. It is not a terrible looking game either, Insomniac Games have always made good-looking games and this one while it is dated by today's standards is decent enough in the looks department.

Pros:

• The idea is kind of cool
• When you were able to play with friends it was fun
• The guns are insane and pretty awesome
• The voice acting is very good

Cons:

• The AI in the game is terrible
• The servers are no longer available so you can only play with the AI!